Translated material
High degree
Half of the Russians who started on Tuesday are leaving Melbourne
The Australian Open has become a real test for athletes. On Tuesday at seven o'clock in the evening the thermometer showed 27 degrees Celsius, and at the height of the day it was approaching 40. It is clear that those players who played their matches closer to noon had the hardest time. But even Elena Dementieva, whose name was listed first on Tuesday’s schedule, later openly admitted that she was glad that she “survived” this heat.In total, 11 Russians took to the courts of the tennis club in Melbourne on the second day of the Australian Open. Unfortunately, more than half of this number were forced to cover their rackets after the opening round. Among these were the recent finalist of the tournament in Auckland Elena Vesnina, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Mikhail Youzhny, last year’s Kremlin Cup winner Igor Kunitsyn, Dmitry Tursunov.
The initial forecast for the Australian Open for the South was quite optimistic. Considering that last year the tennis player had already reached the quarterfinals, it was believed that this year he would be able to repeat the previous result. Mikhail was luckier with his opponents than the rest of his compatriots; in the first rounds he should not have experienced any big problems. However, in the opening match, the Russian lost to the Austrian Stefan Kubek in three games - 3:6, 2:6, 2:6. The student of Boris Sobkin was also accompanied by Pavlyuchenkova, who has been receiving advances for several years. However, after success at the junior level, Anastasia has not yet been able to compete at the same level in adult tournaments.
The duel between Croatian Ivan Ljubicic and Igor Kunitsyn lasted more than four hours. Having won the first game, the Russian brought the next two losses to tie-breaks, and chalked up the fourth to his own account. But in the decisive fifth, Ljubicic still prevailed - 4:6, 7:6 (7:3), 7:6 (9:7), 5:7, 6:3. The duel between another Russian, Igor Andreev, and the Canadian Peter Polanski took place according to approximately the same scenario. Five sets, more than three hours on the court, and after the first two lost games, when it seemed that the game was done, the Russian takes three sets in a row and advances to the next round.
The fights involving Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova ended with the victory of the favorites. After two victories at tournaments in Auckland and Sydney, Dementieva played a rather difficult match for herself in Melbourne, in which she tested the German Christina Barrois. Despite her 28 years, the German tennis player has still not won a single tournament in her career. Nevertheless, in Australia she was able to give the fight to a rather tired Russian woman. The initial sections of the first two games remained with her opponent Dementieva, but in the first set with a score of 2:5, the Russian woman was able to turn the tide of the game. In the end, the Russian woman turned out to be stronger - 7:6 (7:4), 2:6, 6:1.
The match between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Rodionova turned out to be intriguing. Until recently, this match would have been called a Russian derby, but Rodionova has already finally decided on her citizenship and now feels at home in Australia. At first it seemed that the match would be fleeting. The tennis players spent half an hour on the first set. Kuznetsova's advantage was obvious. She took three games straight away and finished the game with a score of 6:2. However, then there was a decline in the Russian’s play, and now the newly minted Australian set the tone. With the score 4:2 in her favor, Rodionova broke away and brought the second set to victory. But in the decisive third set, Kuznetsova did not give her opponent a chance.
Among the other games of the day, it is worth noting the easy victory of Scotsman Andy Murray. He turned out to be the first winner on Tuesday, as his 35-year-old opponent, Romanian Andrei Pavel, withdrew an hour after the start of the match, citing a back injury.
Many experts believe that Murray and the Swiss Roger Federer will play in the final. Murray has already won a major tournament in Doha this season, during which he defeated Federer. And at the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, he defeated the first racket of the world, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who is still bothered by an injured knee. But Federer, who dropped out of the fight in the semi-finals of the Australian Open last year, is determined this time. Let us remember that last season the Swiss came to this tournament having suffered from mononucleosis, which did not really allow him to play to his strength.
Results with the participation of Russians : Teimuraz Gabashvili - Marcel Granollers (Spain) - 4:6, 6:7 (3:7), 6:4, 0:6, Mikhail Youzhny - Stefan Kubek (Austria) - 3: 6, 2:6, 2:6, Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) -- Igor Kunitsyn -- 4:6, 7:6 (7:3), 7:6 (9:7), 5:7, 6:3 , Peter Polanski (Canada) - Igor Andreev - 7:5, 6:3, 4:6, 3:6, 4:6, Flavio Cippola (Italy) - Dmitry Tursunov - 4:6, 6:2, 7 :6 (9:7), 7:5, Christina Barrois (Germany) - Elena Dementieva - 6:7 (4:7), 6:2, 1:6, Tatyana Garbin (Italy) - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - - 6:4, 2:6, 7:5, Ekaterina Bychkova - Lourdes Dominguez-Lino (Spain) - 3:6, 0:6, Vera Dushevina - Iveta Beneshova (Czech Republic) - 4:6, 6 :0, 2:6, Elena Vesnina -- Julie Quain (France) -- 4:6, 6:4, 1:6, Svetlana Kuznetsova -- Anastasia Rodionova (Australia) -- 6:2, 3:6, 6 :3.