Jankovic ousted in fourth round at Aussie Open
Jelena Jankovic went out in the fourth round of the Australian Open today and No. 3 Dinara Safina was twice a point away from following the top-ranked player to the exit at Melbourne.
In consecutive matches at Rod Laver Arena, Frenchwomen took it to the top seeds. Jankovic was ousted by No. 16 Marion Bartoli. Safina survived, fending off double-match point against No. 15 Alize Cornet.
Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon runner-up, was the aggressor in a 6-1, 6-4 win against Jankovic that wasn’t entirely unexpected.
The 23-year-old Serb remains without a Grand Slam singles title and could also be without the No. 1 ranking in another week.
Safina, who was down 5-3 and 40-15 with Cornet on serve, rallied to win 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. She assumes the top ranking if she wins her first major here.
Men’s No. 1 Rafael Nadal ripped 53 winners in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Tommy Haas and next faces 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzalez rallied to save match point en route to a 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (10), 6-2, 12-10 win over Richard Gasquet of France.
No. 4 Andy Murray won 11 straight games during a 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 win over Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, losing finalist last year, joined fellow Frenchmen Gael Monfils and No. 6 Gilles Simon in the fourth round. He next faces No. 9 James Blake, the second American to reach the final 16 after Andy Roddick.
Roger Federer’s quest for a record-equaling 14th major continues when he plays 20th-seeded Tomas Berdych.
NBA
Heat solve Magic
Dwyane Wade scored 27 points, Mario Chalmers added 20 and the Miami Heat snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Orlando Magic with a 103-97 victory in Miami.
Udonis Haslem added 12 points – including two huge baskets down the stretch – for Miami, which wasted a 15-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
College basketball
Irish’s streak over
Jerome Dyson scored 15 points and No. 3 Connecticut held 19th-ranked Notre Dame to a season-low 33 percent shooting in a 69-61 victory at South Bend, Ind., ending the nation’s longest home winning streak at 45 games.
The Huskies (18-1, 7-1 Big East) also prevented the Fighting Irish (12-6, 3-4) from breaking the conference record with their 21st straight league win at home.
Luke Harangody scored 24 for Notre Dame and Kyle McAlarney added nine.
•Memphis edges Tennessee: Tyreke Evans scored 17 points, including a free throw with one second remaining that helped the 22nd-ranked Tigers (16-3) fend off Tennessee (12-6) 54-52 at Knoxville, Tenn.
Boxing
Mosley beats Margarito
Shane Mosley dominated from start to finish, scoring a technical knockout of Antonio Margarito at 43 seconds of the ninth round to win the WBA welterweight title in a stunning upset in Los Angeles.
Margarito was coming off an impressive victory over previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto six months ago, and boxing experts had tabbed the 30-year-old one of the top pound-for-pound fighters.
Miscellany
Vonn finishes second
Lindsey Vonn is heading to the World Championships with a few kinks to remove from her downhill form – and perhaps a new challenger for her speed crown.
Dominique Gisin of Switzerland won her second straight downhill, edging Vonn and Anja Paerson in one of the most prestigious races on the women’s World Cup circuit at Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy.
•Kljestan scores three in soccer exhibition: Sacha Kljestan became the first American in 75 years to score his first three international goals in the same game, leading the United States over Sweden 3-1 in an exhibition at Carson, Calif.
•Miller falls short in downhill race: Didier Defago of Switzerland won a World Cup downhill race for his second win in eight days, while Bode Miller finished tied for fourth at Kitzbuehel, Austria.
•Davis wins Tour Down Under: Allan Davis of Australia is the Tour Down Under cycling champion, finishing among the main bunch in the final stage to claim the title at Adelaide, Australia. Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner coming out of retirement, was among the leaders in the final stage, and fnished 29th overall.
•White shines in Senior Bowl: Local hero Pat White passed for 95 yards and a touchdown and directed two scoring drives to lead the South to a 35-18 win over the North in the Senior Bowl at Mobile, Ala., a showcase game for many of college football’s top prospects. Washington State’s Brandon Gibson did not play because of a hamstring injury.
•Emelianenko defeats Arlovski: Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko stopped former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski with a right to the chin in the first round of the Affliction M-1 Global: “Day of Reckoning” mixed martial arts event at Anaheim, Calif.
•Austrian wins ski jumping event: Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer captured a World Cup ski jumping event in the first competition held on the hill that will be used at the 2010 Winter Olympics at Whistler, British Columbia.
•Bryant in front in Hawaii: Brad Bryant shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Bernhard Langer after two rounds in the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Golf Championship at Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii.