Extreme Heat Conditions Hits Australian Open Day Two
Posted on January 16, 2007 - Filed Under Australian Open, Tennis | Leave a Comment
The heat was most definitely on at Melbourne Park and it was the climatic types this time around. The tournament organizers had to pull matches off the outside courts and retract the roofs on the show courts as things got underway on day two. The players ran for cover and organizers evoked the extreme heat policy for the first time as temperature soared above 40C to make matters really worse for the players.
Maria Sharapova struggled to come to terms both with the heat and also her opponent Frenchwoman Camille Pin. Maria won a ragged first set 6-3 but the unseeded Camille hit back winning the second and then led the fifth 5-0 as Sharapova was staring down at defeat. The 2006 US open champion who had to battle the extreme heat the found enough reserves in her to stage a stunning come back to take the set and match 6-3 4-6 9-7.
Meanwhile, Kim Clisters made light work of Russian Vasilisa Bardina blanking out her opponent 6-0 6-0. Swiss Miss Martina Hingis also registered an easy straight sets win over Nathalie Dechy winning in straight sets 6-0 6-2. Other seeded players to have progressed included Samantha Sotsur, Anna Chakavetadze, and Tatiana Garbin. Eleni Denilidou was the only seeded woman’s player to have fallen on day two who lost to Japanese Aiko Nakamura. Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza also won her match against Ukrainian Olga Savchuk 6-3 7-5.
The men’s side saw much tougher competition but British number one Andy Murray had it as easy as it could get winning 6-0 6-0 6-1 against Spaniard Alberto Martin. The match was a total disaster for the clay court specialist as Murray produced a clinical performance and Martin just about got onto the score sheet in the second last game of the match. Another Spaniard and number two seed Rafael Nadal meanwhile had a good workout against American Robert Kendrick forcing a first set tie-breaker. Nadal won in straight sets 7-6 7-3 6-2.
Home favorite Lleyton Hewitt was trailing by two sets to nil before he staged a remarkable come back against American Michael Russel to move into the second round with a 3-6 3-2 6-3 6-3 6-3 win. Marathon man David Nalbandian was also two sets down before he won the next two and his opponent Janko Tipsarvic conceded the match in the fifth. As the heat continues Oliver Rochus also took the match the maximum distance to win 6-3 5-7 5-7 7-6 7-9. Tenth seed Fernando Gonzalez meanwhile battled past Russian Evgeny Korolev to win in four sets 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2.
It was business as usual for Nickholay Davydenko, James Blake, Fabrice Santoro and Tommy Hass all won their respective encounters in straight sets. Frenchman Sebastian Gorsjean though won when his opponent Christophe Rochus conceded the contest in the second set when the twenty-eighth seed was leading 6-4 4-1
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