===============
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
(Melbourne, Australia; outdoor hard (Plexicushion); Grand Slam)
=============== http://www.australianopen.com/
Contents
--------

1. Photos
2. First round: Chakvetadze v Petkovic review
3. Second-round draw: Bottom half
4. Third-round draw: Top half
5. Women's Doubles: First-round result
6. Order of Play for Thursday

---------
1. Photos
---------

Anna Chakvetadze:
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=chakvetadze
search Getty Images for "chakvetadze"

Various players including Anna Chakvetadze consoling her injured
opponent (I think you can see where the burglars injured Anna too):
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7188629.stm
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?pg=1&cap=1

---------------------------------------------
2. First round: Chakvetadze v Petkovic review (Tuesday 15th January)
---------------------------------------------

+ ANNA CHAKVETADZE [6,EF] d. Andrea Petkovic, 0-0* (40/40) retired
(right-knee injury)

What a shame. Anna is lacking match-play, so I was hoping for a much
longer workout than these 3 minutes of play. On the other hand, she
was "spared the sapping sun" [Ossian Shine, Reuters].

Apparently Petkovic hyperextended her right knee in her opening
service-game, and collapsed in agony. Of course I'm sorry for her,
but it had to have happened to one of them with the match after
theirs starting as soon as it did, so thank God it's her instead of
Anna.


2.1 Articles (containing new information about December's burglary)
------------

Kuznetsova eases past Dechy test [CEEFAX 493]
>>>
And sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze also progressed when Andrea Petkovic
retired hurt in the first game of their match.
<<<

Kuznetsova in a hurry [Teletext 497]
>>>
Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze played only six points before German
opponent Andrea Petkovic retired, while ninth seed Daniela Hantuchová
also won.
<<<

Sixth seed Chakvetadze through after Petkovic injury (Reuters)
(reporting by Simon Cambers; editing by Greg Stutchbury)
>>>
Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze advanced to the second round of the
Australian Open on Tuesday when Germany's Andrea Petkovic retired
with a right-knee injury in the first game of their match.

The 20-year-old Petkovic, ranked 92, suffered the injury when
stretching for a forehand, and after treatment, the tearful German
told Chakvetadze she was unable to continue.

Russian Chakvetadze was a quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park last
year.
<<<

Đokovic and Ivanovic lead charge into Aussie Open tennis round two
(AFP)
>>>
Russia's Chakvetadze was the first player through to the second round
on Tuesday, barely breaking a sweat with German opponent Andrea
Petkovic retiring hurt after wrenching her knee.

Chakvetadze revealed her preparations had been shattered after she
was tied up by armed thieves during a terrifying robbery last month
at her home just outside Moscow.

"I am trying not to think about it; I am trying to think about tennis
and trying to forget this," she said.
<<<

Venus, Ivanovic advance at Australian Open (AFP)
>>>
Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze, meanwhile, revealed she was still
struggling with the trauma of being tied up by bandits at her Moscow
home last month, and wanted a winning-streak Down Under to take her
mind off events.

Chakvetadze went through when Germany's Andrea Petkovic retired after
wrenching her knee in the opening game of their match.

The 20-year-old said she was grateful to be able to concentrate on
tennis rather than dwelling on a robbery last month, where hooded
thieves burst into her house, pistol-whipped her father and stole
about $250,000 in cash, jewellery and other goods.

Chakvetadze suffered a minor finger-injury when she was tied up, and
the ordeal left Australian Open preparation in tatters.

"I am trying not to think about it; I am trying to think about tennis
and trying to forget this," she said.

"If I think about it more, I won't be mentally ready to play."
<<<

Chakvetadze moving on
By Neil Frankland: AP Sports Writer
>>>
After a brutal home-invasion last month interrupted her Australian
Open preparations, sixth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze is still lacking a
much-needed match-practice after her first-round opponent retired in
the opening game.

Chakvetadze and her parents were tied up by six masked assailants who
broke into her home outside Moscow on 18th December, stealing money
and goods worth more than $300,000 and beating her father.

The 20-year-old player said she lost feeling in the fingers on her
left hand for several days as a result of being bound around her
wrists.

Her first match of this year's Open lasted just six points on Tuesday
before her opponent Andrea Petkovic retired with an injured right
knee with the score at 0-0 and deuce.

"I think it's better to play some matches before a Grand Slam event,"
a disappointed Chakvetadze said.

Chakvetadze said she's trying to put last month's robbery out of her
mind and concentrate on the Australian Open.

"I feel better, I feel okay, and I'm thinking about tennis right now,
trying not to think about these things that happened with me and my
family," she said.

Chakvetadze is accompanied by her father Djambuli, while her mother
and 9-year-old brother Roman remained in Moscow.

"Now we have everything," she said of the beefed-up security at the
family-home. "We have a bodyguard in the house, we have an alarm. But
before it happened, we had just security on the gate."

Chakvetadze, playing in her fourth Australian Open, reached the
quarter-finals here last year before losing to eventual runner-up
Maria Sharapova.
<<<

Other Anna-quote: "You can't control these things; it can happen to
anyone."

---------------------------------
3. Second-round draw: Bottom half
---------------------------------

* VENUS WILLIAMS [8] v Camille Pin
* SANIA MIRZA [31,DF] v Timea Bacsinszky [Q] (my loyalty is to Sania)
* Maria Elena Camerin v LI,NA [24] (forza Maria Elena!)
* Marta Domachowska [Q] v Sofia Arvidsson (dawaj Marta!)

* Sabine Lisicki [Q] Mariya Koryttseva (komm jetzt Sabine!)
* ALYONA BONDARENKO [21] v Caroline Wozniacki (my loyalty is to
Alyona)
* KATARINA SREBOTNIK [28] v Anastasia Rodionova (dajmo Katarina!)
* ANA IVANOVIC [4,DF] v Tathiana Garbin (ajde Ana!)

* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [6,EF] v Alisa Kleybanova [Q] (DAVAI ANNA!!)
* MARIA KIRILENKO [27,DF] v Akiko Morigami [S] (my loyalty is to
Maria)
* Virginia Ruano Pascual v Catalina Castańo (ˇvamos Virginia!)
* DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [9,EF] v Alizé Cornet (I like Alizé, but PODME
DANIELA!!)

* Anne Kremer v NADIA PETROVA [14] (dajee Anne!)
* Yvonne Meusburger v Ekaterina Makarova
* AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [29] v Pauline Parmentier
* Tsvetana Pironkova v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [2] (aide Tsvetana!)


3.1 Preview of Anna's second round
----------------------------------

Anna has never played the 18-year-old world #154 Alisa Kleybanova
before, and I don't know much about her. Last year, she played almost
exclusively on the ITF Women's Circuit, winning $25k Monteroni
d'Arbia and compiling a 41:13 record for 2007. In 2008, she
successfully qualified for Gold Coast, and lost 6-1 6-3 to Patty
Schnyder in the first round there.

Let's take a look at the qualifier Kleybanova's route to the second
round:
1q + Marie-Čve Pelletier, 6-3 6-4
2q + Iveta Benešová, 6-3 6-1
3q + Olivia Sánchez, 6-0 6-4
1r + Peng,Shuai [S], 7-5 4-6 9-7

With seven wins this year, Kleybanova certainly has an advantage of
match-play over Anna, but her last match was a three-hour marathon in
the hottest part of the day (I believe it was (or at least going to
be) 37°C on Tuesday), so it could be very tough for her to recover
from that, and Anna should have way too much class for her despite
the trauma of the burglary.


Venus Williams returns to action (PA SportsTicker)
>>>
Also lurking in the bottom of the draw are No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze of
Russia and ninth-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchová.

Chakvetadze had an odd start to her tournament on Monday, winning her
first-round match when Germany's Andrea Petkovic retired with a knee-
injury just three minutes in.

The 20-year-old Russian had her best showing here last season when
she reached the quarter-finals, losing to countrywoman and eventual
runner-up Maria Sharapova.
<<<

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/3/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=1978
>>>
(6) Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) vs. (Q) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) - First
Meeting

Russia's Chakvetadze enjoyed, without doubt, the smoothest passage
into the second round of the Australian Open after her first-round
foe Andrea Petkovic was forced to retire after injuring her right
knee in the very first game.

Contrastingly, her compatriot Kleybanova was pushed to the very limit
on her Grand Slam début against Peng,Shuai, defeating her Chinese
opponent 7-5 4-6 9-7 in a thrilling encounter.

Chakvetadze experienced a truly magnificent year on Tour in 2007,
capturing four titles and firmly establishing herself in the elite
Top 10. However, the 20-year-old's form began to tail off towards the
end of the season, and while she still sits a massive 148 places
above her opponent in the world-rankings, she is unlikely to have
things all her own way in Thursday's battle of the Muscovites.
<<<

-----------------------------
4. Third-round draw: Top half
-----------------------------

* JUSTINE HENIN [1] v FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE [25]
* Aravane Rezaď v Hsieh,Su-Wei [Q,S] (my loyalty is to Aravane)
* SHAHAR PE'ER [17] v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [11] (kadima Shahar!)
* MARIA SHARAPOVA [5,EF] v Elena Vesnina (I like Elena, but DAVAI
MARIA!!)

* JELENA JANKOVIC [3] v VIRGINIE RAZZANO [30] (I want Jankovic to win)
* Casey Dell'Acqua v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [18] (anyone but Mauresmo)
* NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [12,EF] v Ai Sugiyama (POJDME NICOLE!!)
* VICTORIA AZARENKA [26] v SERENA WILLIAMS [7] (Azarenka may be
growing on me, but I'd still prefer Nicole to have the honour of
putting the defending champion out of my misery)

--------------------------------------
5. Women's Doubles: First-round result (Wednesday 16th January)
--------------------------------------

- Anna Chakvetadze [EF]/Li,Na
lt. (PENG,SHUAI [S]/SUN,TIANTIAN)[8], 2-6 7-6 (9/7) 2-6

-----------------------------
6. Order of Play for Thursday
-----------------------------

Margaret Court Arena: day-session (start 11:00 AEST = 00:00 GMT)
MS 2r: Alun Jones [WC] v JUAN CARLOS FERRERO [22]
WS 2r: ANNA CHAKVETADZE [6,EF] v Alisa Kleybanova [Q]
MS 2r: Juan Martin del Potro v DAVID FERRER [5]
|
Margaret Court Arena: evening-session (start 19:30 AEST = 08:30 GMT)
MS 2r: JAMES BLAKE [12] v Michael Russell

Full order of play:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/chakv/