Kuznetsova joins night session critics

The top men have been complaining about the programming for years after being forced to play into the early hours of the next day and now the women have added their voice.

The issue reached farcical proportions two years ago when a match between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis did not finish until 4:34 am, prompting complaints from the men that they were being unfairly treated.

Organisers had traditionally scheduled two singles matches for the night-session at the Rod Laver Arena with the women playing first followed by the men.

To appease the men, tournament organisers agreed to alternate the schedule this year, giving them the chance to play the first night match and leaving the women to play last.

Kuznetsova got her first taste of what it was like to play into the small hours when her third round match against German qualifier Angelique Kerber began just before midnight on Friday.

The French Open champion eventually won 3-6 7-5 6-4 just before 2 am but said it was an experience she would not want to repeat.

"I was running and going crazy in the locker room so I can stay awake," the world number three said.

"I had to remind myself I'm playing the Australian Open, it's not just a regular tournament.

"You kind of lose the importance of these big events. For Russia it's great, they can watch my match on television, but for me it's two o'clock in the morning."

Kuznetsova's comments followed a similar complaint from Australian teenager Bernard Tomic earlier in the week.

Tomic was hauled before the tournament organisers to explain his outburst but Kuznetsova said officials needed to understand the players' view.

"I grew up in a sports family and my parents always taught me to wake up at eight and to go to bed at 10," she said.

"I don't understand why we have to play after the men anyway, I think it's never happened before. We need equality, the men have complained, it sounds weird.

"But I don't even think men should play at two o' clock in the morning."

Justine Henin, who beat Elena Dementieva in the first night match on Wednesday, said even her finish, which was much earlier than Kuznetsova's, had effected her for days.

"I faced a few issues and my body suffered a lot," said the Belgian, who is in the early stages of a comeback.

"I did not have enough sleep. I slept terribly. I was in bed at two when I beat Dementieva. I slept five hours."

To help her stay awake before her match, Kuznetsova decided to join the spectators in the stands and watch the men's contest between Rafael Nadal and Philipp Kohlschreiber, a four-set match which went three and a half hours.

"It was frustrating. They told us if it was going to a fifth set we were going to be moved to another court," she said.

"I agreed to move court if it went to a fifth set but I was praying to Rafa to win in four sets because I wanted to play on Rod Laver (Arena).

"It's better to play on Rod Laver than Margaret Court (Arena) where nobody is watching. At least people keep you up because you're falling asleep there."

Source: eurosport.com

Hewitt aiming for Oz title

The feisty Australian has not won a Grand Slam title since 2002 and has steadily slid down the world rankings with injuries and the demands of fatherhood taking their toll.

He was off the circuit for five months in 2008 after undergoing hip surgery and has been troubled by niggles ever since, including a back spasm at this month's Hopman Cup.

But the former world number one has never given up hope of making it back to the top, driven by his dream to win the Australian Open.

He has already won Wimbledon and the US Open but the closest he has come to winning his home Slam was when he made the final in 2005.

"I love walking down the corridors, walking onto centre court," he said. "I've got a lot of great memories from this place, playing at Melbourne Park.

"They all come back when you walk through the corridors out on center court."

Hewitt has hardly rated a mention in the run-up to this year's Australian Open, which starts on Monday, and is wary about his aching body but the 28-year-old father of two is no less enthusiastic.

"You're always trying to improve and work on little areas of your game," he said. "Obviously I had a few setbacks with injuries and having surgery and stuff like that.

"Your training sometimes alters a little bit compared to some of the stuff you may have done before but it's a management thing.

"As you get older, you start getting a few niggles, you have to work around that. In terms of playing, I still know my A-game."

Hewitt's fighting qualities have never been in doubt but as he starts his 13th season on the professional tour, he is facing more and questions about his future.

The Aussie insists, however, he has no plans of retiring.

"It's not something I'm thinking about. I haven't thought about it in the past. This year's no different," he said.

"I'm not thinking about that right at the moment. It's still a great excitement every time I come here.

"I've done all the hard work. Now it's a matter of going on the match court and hopefully executing.

"If I play my game and play as well as I know I can and the way I'm hitting the ball, yeah, I've got a chance."

There's nothing like the Australian Open

For me, the Australian Open is the most enjoyable Slam by a long way.

Perhaps it's because we come out of the Arctic winter each year - especially this year - and are greeted by gorgeous sunshine: it certainly doesn't do any harm.

But it's the character of the place too. It affects the players, it affects everybody who's around it and even in the build-up to the tournament, it doesn't feel like a Slam.

It's all so relaxed - the players haven't seen each other for a while as they've had the off-season and gone to very different tournaments to warm up. So they're all seeing each other again for the first time in a couple of months.

And there's a freshness and a newness about it that's almost touchable. I think the organisers do a very good job in keeping that feeling: there's a lot of space for everyone to roam around.

The media and the players get on better at the Australian Open than at any other time during the year because again there are fresh faces and the players haven't been weighed down by the same questions for months at a time. It's just the perfect tournament to kick off the year.

Melbourne's a very compact city as well, which helps. From the media's point of view we can walk just 10 minutes across Melbourne Park, past the MCG, and we're there. It's the same for the players - everything is within touching distance. The restaurant area, the bars, everything is accessible.

It's beautifully set up, but there are one or two problems obviously. The security can be a little slow in dealing with the Serbs and the Croats and various others who take their rivalry a little too far sometimes.

Sometimes the night matches go on too long and there is a little mismanagement of the night session; but I can understand that. To a certain extent that is television driven, although I don't know what kind of viewing figures Channel Nine has at two or three in the morning. But that's the way they want it - a lot of people have pleaded with them to change it, but we're stuck with it how it is.

But having said that, the night sessions invariably produce the most intoxicating matches, more so there than anywhere else. The night matches at the Australian Open are always something special.

There is also a lot of other entertainment going on: the Heineken Area where they have a live band every night around 6.00 or 6.30pm; behind that there's a whole new area for kids; then there's another restaurant area, a bar area and another music stand. So there are two bands every night between the day session and the night session.

The Australian Open also has a much younger feel than the others - which is something I love about it. At every other Slam the crowd is almost middle-aged, but the profile of the audience at the Australian Open is totally different.

Primarily, it's full of youngsters. A lot of them will sit in the garden square, buy a few beers and watch the tennis. Some of the time they don't even watch the tennis. They are there because it's a good place to go and it's very reasonably priced.
There's so much to recommend it and there's so much to do- it is quite extraordinary.

Australian Open - Tough Australian draw for Federer

In their last meeting, Andreev took Federer to five sets at the 2008 US Open and should the Swiss continue his march to the fourth round, local hope Lleyton Hewitt or 11th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon could block his path to the quarter-finals.

Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who the world number one defeated for the 2006 title, also looms as a possible fourth-round opponent, ahead of a potential quarter-final against in-form Russian world number six Nikolay Davydenko.

Second seed Rafa Nadal has a much smoother route to the last eight as he sets out to defend the title he claimed in a five-set thriller against Federer a year ago.

The Mallorcan world number two was paired with low-ranked Australian Peter Luczak when the draw was made on Friday but may face a third-round hurdle against big-serving American John Isner, who knocked Andy Roddick out of the US Open last year.

"I was just boarding the plane actually and one of my mates called up and he said I (had) Nadal," the 78th-ranked Luczak said. "Yeah, it was a bit of a depressing flight that one."

Third seed and 2008 champion Novak Djokovic will open against 73rd-ranked Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, while US Open champion and fourth seed Del Potro of Argentina faces 79th-ranked American Michael Russell.

Fifth seed Andy Murray may have to beat all of last year's Grand Slam winners in consecutive matches if he is to end Britain's 74-year wait for a men's Grand Slam champion.

Murray has a straightforward run to the quarter-finals, but then runs into defending champion Nadal.

Should he make it through that match, he will probably then face del Potro in the semi-finals - and if not Del Potro it will likely be Andy Roddick, who knocked Murray out of Wimbledon last year - with Roger Federer potentially waiting in the final.

In the women's draw, four-times champion and top seed Serena Williams opens against Poland's 71st-ranked Urszula Radwanska to start what appears to be a relatively trouble-free run to the quarter-finals.

However, Russian fifth seed Elena Dementieva will need to be on her best form early on if she hopes to match or improve on her semi-final run last year after being dealt a possible second-round encounter with former number one Justine Henin.

The Belgian reached the Brisbane International final earlier this month in her first tournament back from retirement and should have too many weapons for compatriot and first-round opponent Kirsten Flipkens.

Should she continue through the tournament, Henin could set up a mouthwatering quarter-final against either French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova or fellow Beligian Kim Clijsters, who won the US Open on her own comeback last year. Clijsters, who needed three sets to edge Henin in Brisbane, has drawn a qualifier in the first round.

"I didn't think that someone could come back that fast but Kim proved otherwise," seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe said, paying tribute to the former world number one, who gave birth to daughter during her two-year break.

"Justine's one of the great players that played. Certainly to me the three favourites are those two (Belgians) and Serena (Williams)."

Tournament director Craig Tiley said ticket bookings were tracking up from last year and that their expectations were to have "record-breaking crowds every day right throughout the fortnight."

The final draw will be released after qualifying wraps up this weekend and could throw up a twist in the women's draw.

Belgian world number 16 Yanina Wickmayer, who was unable to enter the tournament due to a doping ban, is making her way through qualifying. The ban was overturned but too late for her to get direct entry or a wildcard.

Serena Williams loses to Dementieva

Dementieva completely outplayed the American world number one, who was troubled by a sore left knee that restricted her movement on court.

Williams said later the injury was not serious and would not prevent her from playing at the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne on Monday, but had distracted her.

"It's Just a little pain and the strapping usually helps the pain go away sometimes," Williams said.

"I haven't played for two months on a competitive level, so I think it's good for my body to go through this now, especially since I'm in doubles as well as singles.

"I think it's a great blessing in a way. I played four matches and my body hasn't been used to it. Now we're ready and ready to go."

Dementieva's win was her fifth in 12 meetings with Williams and provided her with her 15th WTA title and her second in Sydney after she beat Dinara Safina in last year's final.

"I'm very satisfied the way I was playing today and the whole week," said Dementieva, who received the winner's trophy from Margaret Court.

"That's what I was really looking for coming here in Sydney, just playing aggressively and playing with a lot of pressure.

"It was a great experience and it's gonna help me next week."

Dementieva is still chasing her first Grand Slam title after making the finals at the French Open and US Open six years ago and said her win in Sydney had given her a real boost heading into the Australian Open.

"Such a big win gives you a lot of confidence," she said.

"When it comes to the Grand Slam, it's gonna be a new challenge and I have to be ready and recover from this week and be ready from the first round.

"I feel I had a good preparation here and I just want to keep the good form coming into the next week."

Dementieva seized control of Friday's final from the outset, breaking Williams' in the third game. The American immediately broke back and led 3-2 before Dementieva won the next seven games on the trot to take the first set and a 3-0 in the second.

"I think she played well. I made about a thousand and two unforced errors," Williams said.

"I was struggling a little bit, but I hate to make any excuse. I think she definitely deserves all the credit for what she did."

Gasquet Baghdatis win Sydney final

Gasquet (pictured), who was embroiled in an arduous and messy doping case which he was eventually cleared of, defeated his fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-3 7-5 to reach his first ATP final since Stuttgart in 2008.

Baghdatis had to work much harder before booking his place in the title match with a 6-4 6-7 7-6 victory over American Mardy Fish at the Olympic tennis centre.

The popular Cypriot made the Australian Open final in 2006 but has been plagued with injuries since and missed the last two Grand Slam events of 2009.

The world number 42 had the chance to wrap up victory in straight sets but squandered a match point in the second and had to wait until the deciding tiebreak for another opportunity in a thrilling encounter.

"I had some moments of the match that I lost my concentration, but the most important thing is that I won the match and I'm playing a final tomorrow, so that's pretty positive," Baghdatis said.

"It's nice at the beginning of the year to play in a final and have a chance to win another title."

Gasquet was all smiles as well after his won over Benneteau, although the match did not reach the same heights as the second semi-final.

The former world number seven said he was just happy to be playing again without worrying about the murky doping case he was involved in last year.

He was provisionally suspended in May after testing positive for cocaine but was later cleared of any wrongdoing after explaining that he became contaminated from kissing a woman in a nightclub.

"It's tough to come back," he said.

"It's hard in the head, so it was really tiring, more tiring than to play one hundred matches for sure.

"I want to play just for fun. That's why I'm there. I'm enjoying the match."