Ivanovic bounced from Australian Open

MELBOURNE: Serb fifth seed Ana Ivanovic tumbled out of the Australian Open on Friday, losing to Russian teenager Alisa Kleybanova 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 as her form slump continued.

Ivanovic, the reigning French Open champion and a losing finalist here last year, staged an epic fightback in the second set of the marathon third round match, but it was not enough to overcome the Russian 26th seed.

Her loss is the second major upset in the women's draw in as many days, with the Serb pin-up following American sixth seed Venus Williams out of the season-opening Grand Slam.

Kleybanova said she played the game of her life against Ivanovic in the two-hour 33 minute clash, eclipsing her run to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.

"I'm so happy that I did it," the ecstatic 19-year-old said.

"We both played great tennis and I really enjoyed the crowd over three sets. I'm happy to win because I was able to play my best tennis today."

The match began as a baseline slugfest, until Ivanovic broke the deadlock, capitalising on her first break point opportunity to go up 5-3.

Kleybanova switched tactics and came to the net, setting up a four-game winning streak that gave her the first set.

Her stunning form continued when she broke Ivanovic for the third time in the opening game of the second set, holding her opponent to love in the next game for a 2-0 lead.

Urged on by the Melbourne Park crowd, Ivanovic desperately searched for a way back into the match but Kleybanova was relentless, breaking the Serb again to go ahead 3-0 when her opponent hit her return into the stands.

Seemingly down and out, Ivanovic bludgeoned her way back into the match in a rollercoaster set stretching 66 minutes where eight games went against serve.

Both players appeared exhausted at times but kept at each other in a fiercely competitive match.

Every time Ivanovic cancelled out a Kleybanova break, the Russian edged ahead again, coming within three points of sealing a win when she served at 5-4, only for the Serb to make her fourth break-back of the set.

Ivanovic even had to stage a mini-comeback when the set went to a tie-break, trailing 3-1 but recovering to serve her way to a 7-5 win in the decider, sparking wild applause in the stands.

But Kleybanova refused to let her superstar opponent wrest the momentum in the third set, bringing up two break points in the second game and capitalising when Ivanovic netted a forehand return.

She held to lead 3-0. Yet again Ivanovic picked herself up off the canvas to break-back only to have Kleybanova break her again in the next game.

This time the Russian did not surrender her advantage, making her third and final break when Ivanovic served to try to stay in the match.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ivanovic_bounced_from_Australian_Open/articleshow/4022530.cms

Liverpool's Gerrard denies assault charge

England and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard told a court on Friday he would plead not guilty to assaulting a man in a bar brawl in December.

The Liverpool captain was arrested in the early hours of December 29 after police were called to the Lounge Bar nightclub in Southport, north of Liverpool in northwest England.

Company director Marcus McGee, 34, required hospital treatment after receiving facial injuries in the incident.

In a short hearing at North Sefton magistrates court, Gerrard, 28, said he intended to deny charges of assault occasioning bodily harm and affray, the Press Association reported.

He was released on bail and the case was adjourned until March 20. Two other men, John Doran, 29, and Ian Smith, 19, both from Liverpool are also charged with the same offences.

The incident occurred following Gerrard's man-of-the-match performance in a 5-1 win over Newcastle United in which he had scored twice.

After his arrest, the club pledged its full backing for the player.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/eplarticleshow/4022323.cms

Tsonga survives third set lapse

MELBOURNE: French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga survived a third set lapse to overcome Israeli qualifier Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 and book his place in the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday.

Tsonga was cruising at two sets to love when he seemed to lose concentration and allowed Sela back in the match.

However, the 2008 runner-up quickly regrouped and overwhelmed the Israeli in the fourth set to win a highly entertaining match.

Tsonga made his breakthrough at the 2008 Australian Open, thrilling crowds with his athleticism and shot-making on his way to a memorable final against eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

But he suffered a knee injury in May which required surgery and forced him out of the game for three months and caused him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.

He recovered in time for the US Open, where he made the third round, then went on to win the Paris Masters in November.

"I felt really good on the court today," he said. "I was happy to win -- we played a great match."

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Specials/Australian_Open_2009/Tsonga_survives_third_set_lapse/articleshow/4025465.cms

Cup offers Scolari banana skin

LONDON: Luiz Felipe Scolari's position has been strengthened after back-to-back wins but the Chelsea manager knows his future will once again be under the spotlight if his side falter against Ipswich this weekend.

On paper, the visit of the mid-ranking Championship team to Stamford Bridge should guarantee Scolari's side easy passage into the FA Cup fifth round. But Chelsea's season has so far been anything but routine and having lost their air of impregnability at home, the game suddenly carries far more significance than it would have done just a few weeks ago.

Scolari approached last weekend's league clash with struggling Stoke apparently battling to save his job after Chelsea had been humiliated by Manchester United and then required a replay to scrape past League One Southend United in the last round of the cup.

And with growing reports of player unrest - particularly in the case of Didier Drogba who was omitted from the squad and has this week been linked with a 15-million-pound move to Manchester City - the manager appeared to be losing his grip.

With Chelsea trailing against Tony Pulis' Stoke side with just three minutes to go, the odds on the Brazilian still being in charge for the visit of Ipswich had lengthened dramatically. A stirring finale, however, capped by a superb goal in added time from Frank Lampard transformed the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge and suddenly the talk at the club has been all about spirit and pulling together.

The reaction of the Chelsea players in mobbing the manager after Lampard's strike was an attempt to downplay reports of disunity in the camp. That upbeat mood will be shattered if Chelsea falter again and Scolari will take no chances in a clash that could consolidate his standing - for now, at least.

Nicolas Anelka, though, believes the Stoke win is a turning point in the club's season and could relaunch their bid for league and cup glory. "Against Stoke, we scored two goals in a short space of time to claim the victory," said the striker. "Winning after adversity is always positive. It proves that what goes around comes back around. This game can boost our confidence regarding our title chances. Manchester United are top. The Reds are hard to beat, they are really brilliant. But it's still possible."

Anelka's goals have been crucial to Chelsea's fortunes this season and the Frenchman insists he is ready to end his recent barren spell. "Okay, I haven't scored in the Premier League lately," he added. "But I scored in the FA Cup. Besides, I was played on the right wing in some games. I scored goals in the past. What I want to do is win titles. Happy days if I can finish top scorer, but it's secondary."

Drogba has been included in the squad for the match but could start on the bench, leaving Anelka to lead the attack. Scolari's hope that John Terry would be fit to return after a back problem were dashed with the centreback requiring more time to recover from an injury he suffered in the warm-up before last weekend's match against Stoke.

Ipswich's hopes of springing an upset won't been helped by the absence of German defender Moritz Volz who has a pelvic problem. But manager Jim Magilton has been lifted by a run of four unbeaten games culminating in last weekend's thrashing of Crystal Palace and is confident of springing a surprise.

Magilton said: "Saturday gives my players a chance to challenge themselves against some of the best players in the world."

Source; http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Didier_Drogba_returns_for_Chelsea/articleshow/4025178.cms

Kuznetsova continues steady progress

MELBOURNE: Svetlana Kuznetsova insisted on Saturday she doesn't care about the lack of attention she gets despite being a top 10 player as she continued her steady progress at the Australian Open.

The eighth seed is the forgotten Russian at this year's Australian Open, with most of the column inches devoted to Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.

However, she won the US Open in 2004, beating Dementieva in the final, and has been in the top 10 for the last three years so cannot be discounted for the title. "I don't care about the (lack of) attention," she said.

"Before maybe I was thinking about it but now, no, I don't care. In the end what is important is the result." The 23-year-old from St Petersburg ensured a place in the fourth round when she downed Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.

She survived three set points in the first set tie-break to clinch the set then broke Bondarenko early in the next set to take out a tense clash. "It was tough but I think I did the right things," Kuznetsova said. "I tried to play to my serve and wait for her mistakes, and she was waiting for my mistakes. Sometimes I went for too much and I made too many unforced errors."

Kuznetsova said saving the set points in the first set had been crucial. "It was great, I was just looking to fight for every point and that is what I did," she said.

The Russian next meets China's Zheng Jie, who beat Bondarenko's sister Kateryna 6-2, 6-2, and must be favoured to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the first time since 2005.

"Zheng's tough -- I've never lost to her but I know she's very confident now and she's playing better," Kuznetsova said.

"She's very dangerous. I think I have to be very focussed. She plays very flat and she moves well."

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kuznetsova_continues_steady_progress/articleshow/4025568.cms

Bhupathi-Knowles reach doubles third round

MELBOURNE: Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles advanced to the Australian Open men's doubles third round after a straight-set victory but it was curtains for Rohan Bopanna and his Finnish partner Jarkko Nieminen who lost their second-round match on Saturday.

Third seeds Bhupathi and Knowles had to fend off a tough fight from the unseeded Russian pair of Igor Kunitsyn and Dmitry Tursunov before emerging 7-5, 7-5 victorious in a 92-minute duel.

The Indo-Bahamian pair will next take on Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador and Tommy Robredo of Spain who defeated Bopanna and Nieminen 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.

Bhupathi and Knowles played near flawless tennis with no double faults and just three unforced to their opponents' 14 in the whole match. Though they had a slower service, the third seeded duo converted four out of nine break points that came their way.

Bopanna and Nieminen, on the other hand, were error-prone and committed as many as 16 unforced errors to their opponents' 11.

Another Indian, Leander Paes, and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy, seeded fourth, had also sailed into the third round defeating unseeded Italian-Croat pairing of Fabio Fognini and Ivan Ljubcic 6-3, 6-4 on Friday.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Specials/Australian_Open_2009/Bhupathi-Knowles_reach_doubles_third_round/articleshow/4025383.cms