2009 Australian Open
2009 Australian Open | |
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Francis Casey Alcantara / ![]() | |
Girls' doubles | |
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The 2009 Australian Open was a
Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova were the defending champions. Djokovic was forced to retire in his quarter-final match against Andy Roddick due to heat stress, ending his title defence, whilst Sharapova chose not to defend her title due to long lasting shoulder surgery;[3] the withdrawal subsequently dropped her out of the WTA's Top 10 for the first time since July 2004.
Second seeded Serena Williams regained the women's singles title and recorded her fourth Australian Open title and tenth Grand Slam title overall after defeating third seed Dinara Safina in straight sets. Serena, partnering with her sister Venus, also won the women's doubles tournament.
First seeded
This tournament was notable for being the warmest tournament weather-wise; the average daily maximum temperature throughout the tournament was 34.7 degrees Celsius, nine degrees above normal. The coolest Australian Open was in 1986, when the maximum temperature averaged just 22.5 degrees Celsius, 3.5 degrees below normal.[4][5]
Day-by-day summaries
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Day 1 (19 January)
Day one's play began with 7th seeded
In the women's singles, last year's finalist and 5th seeded
- Seeds out:
- Men's Singles:
Feliciano López
- Women's Singles:
Ágnes Szávay,
Sybille Bammer,
Maria Kirilenko
- Men's Singles:
- Schedule of Play
Day 2 (20 January)
With temperatures soaring in Melbourne, Andy Murray had life made easy in his first round match when opponent Andrei Pavel was forced to concede with a back injury early in the second set, having lost the first. Other top-ten seeds such as last year's finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and James Blake also progressed comfortably, along with Gaël Monfils, Fernando Verdasco, Richard Gasquet, Jürgen Melzer, Ivo Karlović and Radek Štěpánek, while Igor Andreev and Nicolás Almagro both won through in five sets. In a five-set thriller that lasted three hours and seven minutes, former finalist and 13th seed Fernando González overcame home-crowd favorite Lleyton Hewitt. Later on, top-seed Rafael Nadal posted a 6–0, 6–2, 6–2 win against Christophe Rochus that tied with Andy Roddick's first-round score, establishing himself and Roddick as the most dominant male performers of the first round. Two more seeds fell in the first round, with Russian 29th seed Dmitry Tursunov losing to Flavio Cipolla, while another former finalist, 30th seed Rainer Schüttler was defeated by Israel's Dudi Sela.
In the women's draw, Polish 9th seed
- Seeds out:
- Men's Singles:
Dmitry Tursunov,
Rainer Schüttler
- Women's Singles:
Agnieszka Radwańska,
Francesca Schiavone,
Aleksandra Wozniak,
Tamarine Tanasugarn
- Men's Singles:
- Schedule of Play
Day 3 (21 January)
Day three saw the second round matches getting underway in
In the women's draw, it was a perfect day for the seeds, with the exception of 17th-seeded
- Seeds out:
- Men's Singles:
David Nalbandian,
Robin Söderling,
Paul-Henri Mathieu,
Philipp Kohlschreiber
- Women's Singles:
Anna Chakvetadze
- Men's Singles:
The doubles matches also began, with most of the seeds in action passing their first tests, including
- Men's Doubles:
Arnaud Clément /
Marc Gicquel
- Women's Doubles:
- Men's Doubles:
- Schedule of Play
Day 4 (22 January)
Day four saw the conclusion of all second round matches in the singles competition. In the men's draw, top seed Rafael Nadal continued on his quest for a first Australian Open crown without too much trouble from Roko Karanušić, winning through in straight sets 6–2, 6–3, 6–2. Likewise, an in-form 4th seed Andy Murray eased into the 3rd round by defeating Marcel Granollers 6–4, 6–2, 6–2. Other top ten seeds that moved on included 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 6th seed Gilles Simon, both dropping a first set tiebreak but went on to win the next three sets, and 9th seed James Blake, who cruised past Sébastien de Chaunac. Gaël Monfils, Fernando González, Fernando Verdasco, Richard Gasquet, Nicolás Almagro, Radek Štěpánek, Jürgen Melzer and Igor Andreev all won through, while Ivo Karlović was the only seed to fall in the men's draw, losing to compatriot Mario Ančić after surrendering a two sets to one lead.
Unseeded Spaniard Carla Suárez Navarro scored the biggest upset to date in women's singles, defeating one of the pre-tournament favourites, 6th seeded Venus Williams 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, after coming back from 5–2 down and saving one match point while serving at 5–4 down in the third set. Venus' younger sister, second seeded Serena Williams had to work hard to dispatch Argentina's Gisela Dulko, saving six set points, while Dulko served for the second set at 5–3 in a game that featured 12 deuces, then fought through six more deuces to lead 6–5 and eventually won 6–3, 7–5. 4th seed Elena Dementieva extended her winning streak in the new season to 12 matches with a win over Iveta Benešová, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, Amélie Mauresmo, Victoria Azarenka, Dominika Cibulková, Zheng Jie, Flavia Pennetta, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Alona Bondarenko all moved on to the third round, while Swiss 14th seed Patty Schnyder fell to Virginie Razzano. Unseeded local hope Samantha Stosur also won.
- Seeds out:
- Men's Singles:
Ivo Karlović
- Women's Singles:
Venus Williams,
Patty Schnyder
- Men's Singles:
Majority of the first round matches in the doubles competition also ended. Top seeds Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić led a charge of seeded pairs to the second round, including Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles, Leander Paes/Lukáš Dlouhý, Marcelo Melo/André Sá and Martin Damm/Robert Lindstedt, while in the women's competition co-world number ones Cara Black and Liezel Huber eased into the second round, along with seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual, Květa Peschke/Lisa Raymond, Daniela Hantuchová/Ai Sugiyama, Victoria Azarenka/Vera Zvonareva, Nuria Llagostera Vives/María José Martínez Sánchez and Sorana Cîrstea/Monica Niculescu, meaning no seeds fell in the women's doubles that day.
- Men's Doubles:
Simon Aspelin /
Pavel Vízner,
Eric Butorac /
Jamie Murray.
- Men's Doubles:
- Schedule of Play
Day 5 (23 January)
Day five of the tournament saw the commencement of third round matches in the singles event, where seed started playing against each other. In men's singles, defending champion
In the women's draw, following
- Seeds out:
- Men's Singles:
- Women's Singles:
Daniela Hantuchová,
Kaia Kanepi,
Ai Sugiyama,
Caroline Wozniacki,
Ana Ivanovic
In men's doubles action, the upset of the day was created by unseeded
- Men's Doubles:
Daniel Nestor/
Nenad Zimonjić,
Marcelo Melo/André Sá,
Max Mirnyi/
Andy Ram,
Christopher Kas/
Rogier Wassen,
Travis Parrott/Filip Polášek
- Women's Doubles:
Tatiana Poutchek/
Anastasia Rodionova
- Mixed Doubles: .
- Men's Doubles:
- Schedule of Play
Day 6 (24 January)
The top seeds in the upper half of the men's draw did not have much trouble in progressing into the last 16. Rafael Nadal made it to the next round with a solid 6–4, 6–2, 6–2 victory over former World No. 2 Tommy Haas, producing over 50 winners and just eight unforced errors. 13th seed Fernando González is up next for the Spaniard, after the latter came back from the dead against 24th seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet in a 249-minute thriller, in which both players exhibit barrages of winners, and a gripping third set tiebreak in which both had opportunities to take the set, or the match for Gasquet, and eventually it was González who prevailed 12–10 in the decider. Andy Murray comfortably won his match against Jürgen Melzer as well, 7–5, 6–0, 6–3, and set up a tie with 14th seed Fernando Verdasco. The Spaniard was clearly on form as he completed a 6–4, 6–0, 6–0 thrashing of Radek Štěpánek, the same player who beat him in the Brisbane International final just two weeks before. Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils set up an all-French fourth round encounter after powering past their opponents, unseeded Croat Mario Ančić and 17th seed Nicolás Almagro. In contrast, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga need to overcome a third set lapse before defeating Dudi Sela in four and will play James Blake in the last 16, who dropped one set against Igor Andreev as well.
- Seeds out
- Men's Singles:
Nicolás Almagro,
Igor Andreev,
Radek Štěpánek,
Richard Gasquet,
Jürgen Melzer
- Women's Singles:
Flavia Pennetta,
Amélie Mauresmo,
Alona Bondarenko
- Men's Singles:
Seeds continued to tumble in the second round of the men's doubles, including 5th seeds Wesley Moodie and Jeff Coetzee, who lost to local wildcards Joseph Sirianni and Andrew Coelho, František Čermák/Michal Mertiňák losing to another local pairing in Paul Hanley/Jordan Kerr, and Martin Damm/Robert Lindstedt, who were upset by Mardy Fish/John Isner, while former champions Bob and Mike Bryan are safely through. Women's top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber went through to the next round as well, along with Victoria Azarenka/Vera Zvonareva, Daniela Hantuchová/Ai Sugiyama, Květa Peschke/Lisa Raymond while Sorana Cîrstea/Monica Niculescu fell to Nathalie Dechy/Mara Santangelo.
The seeds also went 1–1 in the first round of mixed doubles competition, with second seeds Yan Zi/Mark Knowles defeating Nadia Petrova/Max Mirnyi while third seeds Lisa Raymond/Marcin Matkowski losing to Iveta Benešová/Lukáš Dlouhý.
- Men's Doubles:
František Čermák/
Michal Mertiňák,
Wesley Moodie/Jeff Coetzee,
Martin Damm/
Robert Lindstedt
- Women's Doubles:
Sorana Cîrstea/Monica Niculescu
- Mixed Doubles:
Lisa Raymond/
Marcin Matkowski.
- Men's Doubles:
- Schedule of Play
Day 7 (25 January)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Stosur_Stubbs_Australian_Open_2009.jpg/220px-Stosur_Stubbs_Australian_Open_2009.jpg)
4th round matches begin with 8th seed Juan Martín del Potro advancing into his first Australian Open quarterfinals after recovering from a one set deficit to beat 19th seeded Marin Čilić. Both players were tipped to be highly successful in the future, but it was del Potro who stood firm with less error count as he prevailed 5–7, 6–4, 6–4, 6–2 and will play three-time champion, world no. 2 Roger Federer. Federer himself survived the challenge from 20th seeded Tomáš Berdych, who have not beaten him since their first encounter in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Berdych looked sharper of the two, showing little nerves as he went two sets up, but Federer came out firing from the third set onwards, and eventually came through safely, winning 4–6, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–4, 6–2. 7th seed Andy Roddick also moved on to the quarterfinals with a comprehensive 7–5, 6–1, 6–3 victory over Tommy Robredo, and will play defending champion Novak Djokovic for a place in his 4th Australian Open semifinals. Djokovic looked impressive early on against former finalist Marcos Baghdatis, racing to a 6–1 first set victory, but the Cypriot gave him a much harder time, though giving up a one-break lead in the second set to lose a tiebreak and winning another third set tiebreak. However, the defending champion was too hot to handle and eventually by 2.30 am, Djokovic has sealed a 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–7(5), 6–2 victory in over three hours.
In the women's draw, top seeded
- Seeded players out: Marin Čilić, Tomáš Berdych, Tommy Robredo; Jelena Janković, Nadia Petrova, Alizé Cornet, Alisa Kleybanova
Doubles play continue with 2nd seeds Bob and Mike Bryan progressing to a quarterfinal clash against compatriots Mardy Fish and John Isner, who sent 7th seeds Bruno Soares/Kevin Ullyett out of the tournament. 6th seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski and unseeded Feliciano López/Fernando Verdasco also advanced to the quarterfinals. The top women seeds were not as lucky as four of the top eight pairs were sent crashing out, with Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of 16th seeds Peng Shuai/Hsieh Su-wei, 3rd seeds Květa Peschke/Lisa Raymond losing to Nathalie Dechy/Mara Santangelo, 5th seeds Rennae Stubbs/Samantha Stosur defeated by Venus and Serena Williams while 6th seeds Yan Zi/Zheng Jie lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives/María José Martínez Sánchez.
- Seeded players out: Bruno Soares/Kevin Ullyett; Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual, Yan Zi/Zheng Jie, Samantha Stosur/Rennae Stubbs, Květa Peschke/Lisa Raymond
- Schedule of Play
Day 8 (26 January)
Day eight saw the remaining fourth round men's matches with a warm forecast to complement Australia Day. However it was quite a disappointing day with three seeded players from both men and women's draw retiring due to various reasons. In Rod Laver Arena, 6th seeded Gilles Simon battled against his in-form countrymen, 12th seed Gaël Monfils, with Simon taking the first set 6–4 only for Monfils to hit back 6–2. However, he began to show signs of suffering in the third set and after a medical timeout while 4–1 down and eventually losing the set, Monfils retired citing a wrist injury, sending Simon to his first Grand Slam quarterfinals, where he will face top seed Rafael Nadal. Nadal appeared to be in complete control over Fernando González, easily winning the first two sets and coming through the third set with heavier resistance from the Chilean, but the Spaniard never looked in doubt in his quest for a first Australian Open title. However, the surprise of the day came when 4th seeded Andy Murray, tipped by many as a favourite to win the title, crashed out to an in-form Fernando Verdasco, despite leading by 2 sets to 1. Verdasco, who had only lost twelve games on his way to the fourth round, came out firing in the last two sets, serving with astonishing accuracy, and won 85% of his first serves to outlast the Scot 2–6, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, and set up a quarterfinal tie with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who sent James Blake packing with a straight sets victory, meaning Murray was the only top eight seed to not make it to the quarterfinals.
In the women's draw, following Monfils' withdrawal earlier on, Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams took the court earlier than expected, and it was the young Belarusian who made the better start, breaking the three-time champion twice to take the first set 6–3. However, after a missing chances to go 2–0 up in the second, Azarenka started to show signs of discomfort and was broken instead to trail 3–2, and a medical timeout couldn't do the wonders as the youngster retired in tears after another game. Azarenka later explained that she had been throwing up all morning and was feeling weak, but thought she could play after feeling better before her game, but ultimately succumbed. Williams went through to the quarterfinals, where she will play 8th seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, who benefited from yet another withdrawal, in the form of 22nd seed Zheng Jie, who retired after five games with a wrist injury she picked up in the third game after falling and landing awkwardly on her hand. Elena Dementieva advanced with her fourteenth win of the season, this time dominating Slovakia's 18th seed Dominika Cibulková, 6–2, 6–2, and will play another giantkiller, unseeded Carla Suárez Navarro in the quarterfinals, the latter easily dispatching compatriot and 21st seed Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–3, 6–2 earlier in the day.
- Seeded players out: Andy Murray, Gaël Monfils, Fernando González, James Blake; Victoria Azarenka, Dominika Cibulková, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Zheng Jie.
In men's doubles, 4th seeds Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes advanced into the quarterfinals after defeating local pairing of Paul Hanley/Jordan Kerr, while Joseph Sirianni/Andrew Coelho also lost to Simone Bolelli/Andreas Seppi. 3rd seeds Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles and unseeded Łukasz Kubot/Oliver Marach filled in the remaining quarterfinal slots with straight sets victory over their respective opponents. In the women's side, top seeded Cara Black and Liezel Huber advanced after Victoria Azarenka, partnering Vera Zvonareva pulled out with an illness, and 7th seeds Flavia Pennetta/Maria Kirilenko also conceded a walkover to Casey Dellacqua/Francesca Schiavone due to Pennetta suffering from right foot bursitis. 9th seeds Daniela Hantuchová/Ai Sugiyama won through easily against Ágnes Szávay/Elena Vesnina, and Anna-Lena Grönefeld/Patty Schnyder also won. In mixed doubles second seeds Yan Zi/Mark Knowles were also shown the exit in the second round by Canadians Aleksandra Wozniak/Daniel Nestor, while 7th seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues/Tommy Robredo won their first round match.
- Seeded players out: Victoria Azarenka/Vera Zvonareva, Maria Kirilenko/Flavia Pennetta; Yan Zi/Mark Knowles.
- Schedule of Play
Day 9 (27 January)
In the first quarterfinal match of the day, women's 7th seed
In the men's draw, Novak Djokovic's reign as the defending champion came to an abrupt end after he forfeited his match against Andy Roddick while 7–6(3), 4–6, 2–6, 1–2 down, due to heat stress. Djokovic had started shakily, winning a tiebreak after both players failed to force a break point on their opponent's serve, but some inspired play by Djokovic saw him taking the tiebreak. Roddick, however, was too strong on his own serve in the second set, dropping just two points and eventually taking the second set 6–4. Djokovic was clearly not himself from the beginning of the third set, and laboured for the final eleven games of the match battling cramps and heat stress before finally decided to give up after he was broken to love in the third game of the 4th set, handing Roddick a 4th semifinal appearance in Melbourne Park. Roddick will face a familiar foe in second seed Roger Federer next, after the Swiss recorded an astonishingly easy victory over Juan Martín del Potro, who is playing in just his second Grand Slam quarterfinal. After losing the first set 6–3, del Potro seemed to have given up while Federer only appeared more devastating as the match progressed, before recording a 6–3, 6–0, 6–0 victory, after which the Argentine admitted that there was little he could do against Federer if he was not playing well.
- Seeded players out: Novak Djokovic, Juan Martín del Potro; Marion Bartoli.
The women doubles semifinals lineup was also completed. 9th seeded Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama reached the semifinals after ending the dreams of co-world number ones Cara Black and Liezel Huber in three sets, winning a third set tiebreak 12–10, and will be up against unseeded Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo next, the French-Italian pairing coming from behind to send Spanish 11th seeds Nuria Llagostera Vives/María José Martínez Sánchez packing. The other semifinal match will be between French Open runners-up Casey Dellacqua/Francesca Schiavone against the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, with the 12th seeded Australian-Italian pair coming back from a first set bagel to defeat Anna-Lena Grönefeld/Patty Schnyder while the 10th seeds needed 3 sets to get past Hsieh Su-wei/Peng Shuai as well. In men's doubles, giantkillers Łukasz Kubot/Oliver Marach defeated another seeded team, 6th seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski and will play 3rd seeds Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles in the semifinals.
In mixed doubles, it was a bad day for Black and Huber as well as the top seeded Cara Black and Leander Paes crashed out to the unseeded pairing of Patty Schnyder/Wesley Moodie, while Liezel Huber and Jamie Murray lost to Nathalie Dechy/Andy Ram. 7th seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues/Tommy Robredo and unseeded Iveta Benešová/Lukáš Dlouhý made it to the quarterfinals, both with wins in a match tie-break against their respective opponents, leaving Medina Garrigues and Robredo as the only seeded team left.
- Seeded players out: Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski; Cara Black/Liezel Huber, Nuria Llagostera Vives/María José Martínez Sánchez, Hsieh Su-wei/Peng Shuai; Liezel Huber/Jamie Murray, Cara Black/Leander Paes.
- Schedule of Play
Day 10 (28 January)
Day ten of the competition saw temperatures reaching as high as 43 degrees Celsius, causing the
The second semifinal match in the men's singles has also been decided when top seed Rafael Nadal set up an all-Spanish encounter with compatriot, 14th seed Fernando Verdasco. Nadal experienced momentum swings against 6th seeded Gilles Simon, winning the first set 6–2 with ease, but had to come from behind in the next two sets, including saving a set point in the second set, but eventually breaking Simon to win both sets 7–5, and continued his march to a first Australian Open crown after advancing to a second straight semifinals without dropping a set. Hopes of a rematch of last year's semifinals were dashed after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was sent out of the tournament in four sets against a fired up Fernando Verdasco, who had been on song since winning the Davis Cup for Spain at the end of last year. Tsonga's serve appeared impenetrable early on, while Verdasco was forced to save break points but raced to a 5–2 lead in the tiebreaker before eventually winning 7–2. Tsonga hit back with his first break which sealed the second set, but Verdasco's serve once again proved to be the deciding factor as Tsonga's falter, Verdasco racing to a 4–0 lead in the third and converting all four break opportunities he has, in contrast to Tsonga's two out of thirteen, and powered into his maiden Grand Slam semifinals 7–6(2), 3–6, 6–3, 6–2.
- Seeded players out: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon; Svetlana Kuznetsova
In men's doubles, second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan advanced to the semifinals with a hard-fought win over compatriots Mardy Fish/John Isner, where they will take on 4th seeds Lukáš Dlouhý/Leander Paes in a rematch of last year's US Open final, who ended the journey of Italians Simone Bolelli/Andreas Seppi. The mixed doubles semifinals lineup is also completed with 7th seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues/Tommy Robredo defeating Patty Schnyder/Wesley Moodie in a match tie-break, and will play Nathalie Dechy/Andy Ram after the unseeded pair defeat Dominika Cibulková/Jürgen Melzer in straight sets. Last year's finalists Sania Mirza/Mahesh Bhupathi also won through against Aleksandra Wozniak/Daniel Nestor, and will play Czechs Iveta Benešová/Lukáš Dlouhý, who received a walkover from Alizé Cornet/Marcelo Melo.
- Seeded players out: None
- Schedule of Play
Day 11 (29 January)
The women's semifinals were played at Rod Laver Arena with the roof closed due to high temperatures, which eventually caused the
In the first men's semifinals, Roger Federer was back to his best as he dismantled American Andy Roddick 6–2, 7–5, 7–5 to move on to his fourth Australian Open final, having won the previous three in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Federer was in complete control in the first set, quickly breaking Roddick twice to open up a 5–1 lead, but had to stave off a late Roddick charge to secure the first set 6–2. The second set was much closer, Roddick relying on his big serves and constantly charging to the net to stay in the set, even though Federer looked comfortable and broke the American in the eleventh game, serving out with ease. The third set was similar to the second set, and as Federer sealed the decisive break to lead 6–5, there was no stopping the Swiss as he advanced to the finals, where he awaits the winner between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.
- Seeded players out: Andy Roddick; Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva.
The men's and women's doubles semifinals were also concluded, with Bob and Mike Bryan easing past Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes 6–3, 6–3 in just 54 minutes, advancing to their fifth final in six years, while Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles needed just four more minutes to defeat surprise package Łukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach 6–3, 6–1. The women's doubles finals will be between 9th seeded Daniela Hantuchová/Ai Sugiyama and 10th seeded Venus Williams/Serena Williams. The Slovakian-Japanese pairing looked sharp on the way to a 6–4, 6–3 victory over Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo, while the Williams sisters, with Serena fresh from her singles semifinals, crushing 12th seeds Casey Dellacqua/Francesca Schiavone 6–0, 6–2. Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram were the first to advance to the mixed doubles final, sending the last seeded pair Anabel Medina Garrigues and Tommy Robredo out of the tournament with a 7–6(7), 6–4 win.
- Seeded players out: Lukáš Dlouhý/Leander Paes; Casey Dellacqua/Francesca Schiavone; Anabel Medina Garrigues/Tommy Robredo.
- Schedule of Play
Day 12 (30 January)
In the second men's singles semifinals, top seeded Rafael Nadal took on his countrymen, 14th seed Fernando Verdasco, in the first ever all-Spanish semifinal in Australian Open. Nadal was the favourite to advance, only losing one set to his older opponent in 6 meetings and is yet to drop a set this year in Melbourne Park, however Verdasco had been on his peak form, upsetting favourites like Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his way to his maiden Grand Slam semifinal. With Roger Federer waiting in the final, both players carried their form into the match, holding on to their own serve as they entered a first set tiebreak, where Nadal had the initial advantage, but Verdasco's big serves comes to his rescue again and earned two set points after a lucky net cord, which he duly converted to take the first set. Nadal was heavily tested on his own serve in the second set while Verdasco powered to several love service games, but Nadal hung on and with some astonishing play, saved two game points in the 10th game and broke Verdasco, levelling things at one sets all. The momentum appeared to swing to Nadal's side as he broke Verdasco twice in the third set, only for Verdasco to break back immediately each time, bringing the third set into a tiebreaker which Nadal won handily. Verdasco's huge forehands and serve continued to pose a problem for Nadal, even though he had to call on a trainer at changeovers to tend to what appeared as a problem to his left calf. Another tiebreak was needed to settle the 4th set, and Verdasco sprinted away with a 7–1 victory, bringing the match to a decider. By then the match had already lasted more than 4 hours – but neither player showed signs of tiredness, even though Nadal appeared to be more at ease. Having come down from 0–30 down to lead 5–4 in the decider, Nadal gained 3 match points courtesy of only a 3rd double fault from Verdasco, and even though Verdasco managed to save two of them, a second double fault of the game – 4th overall – handed Nadal the match and a place in the finals. Nadal only managed to win one more point than Verdasco (193 to 192), who blasted 95 winners past Nadal, in a match that broke the Australian Open record as the longest men's singles match at 5 hours and 14 minutes (previous record by Boris Becker and Omar Camporese in 1991 at 5 hours and 11 minutes).
- Seeded player out: Fernando Verdasco
In an earlier match, the women's doubles final was played out between Daniela Hantuchová/Ai Sugiyama and Serena Williams/Venus Williams. Playing beneath the roof of the Rod Laver Arena as temperatures hit 43 degrees Celsius outdoors, the Slovak—Japanese pairing appeared to have the upper hand at first, breaking Venus to take the opening game. But it did not take the sisters too long to find their rhythm as Sugiyama was broken for 2–2. Sugiyama's serve was under pressure again by some heavy returns and the sisters break again, serving out the first set 6–3. All four players failed to hold serve at 1–1 in the second set, with Sugiyama's first to go, but eventually the Williamses get the decisive break to lead 4–3. Two games later, Hantuchová was left serving to stay in the match, but the sisters combined power proved too much, as they eased to a 6–3, 6–3 victory, for their 8th Grand Slam doubles title together, meaning they are now the joint 3rd most successful doubles pairings in the Open Era, together with Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez, and behind Martina Navratilova/Pam Shriver (21) and Gigi Fernández/Natasha Zvereva (14).
Last year's mixed doubles finalist, India's Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi also earned the opportunity for another shot at the title, cruising past Iveta Benešová/Lukáš Dlouhý 6–1, 6–4 to advance to the finals against Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram.
- Seeded players out: Daniela Hantuchová/Ai Sugiyama
- Schedule of Play
Matches on main courts[18] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Matches on Rod Laver Arena | |||
Event | Winner | Loser | Score |
Women's doubles – Finals | ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–3, 6–3 |
Mixed doubles – Semifinals | ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–4, 6–1 |
Men's singles – Semifinals | ![]() |
![]() |
6–7(4), 6–4, 7–6(2), 6–7(1), 6–4 |
Matches on Margaret Court Arena | |||
Event | Winner | Loser | Score |
Junior Girls' singles – Semifinals | Laura Robson [5]
|
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6–4, 6–3 |
Junior Boys' singles – Semifinals | ![]() |
![]() |
6–4, 6–2 |
Colored background means night matches |
Day 13 (31 January)
The women's singles final saw second seed Serena Williams clash against third seed Dinara Safina, with the winner ascending to the top spot in the WTA rankings, replacing Jelena Janković, in the post-tournament rankings. Safina was also aiming to be just the second Russian to ascend to the position with her maiden Grand Slam title, while it would be the 10th for Williams. Having won the women's doubles title a day earlier, Williams settled down quickly, comfortably holding serve and built up a 2–0 lead following multiple double faults from Safina. A hope for a Safina comeback was quickly extinguished as Williams looked sharp, blasting winners and heavy returns past her younger opponent, and sealed the first set 6–0 in just 22 minutes. Safina regrouped and proceeded to break Williams in the opening game of the second set, her first lead of any kind in the match, but the advantage was short-lived as Williams broke back immediately, and after easily holding to love, two more double faults and errors from Safina allowed her opponent to seal the decisive break. Safina could do nothing more than fighting to hold her own serves, forcing Williams to serve out, but another dominant service game saw Williams clinched her 4th Australian Open title after wins in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Safina admitted later during the prize giving ceremony that she felt like a ball boy on court against her opponent, promising to return the following year, while Williams will spend her 62nd non-consecutive week on top of the rankings next week.
- Seeded player out: Dinara Safina
Following the women's singles final, the men's doubles final took place in the Rod Laver Arena. Second seeds, American twins Bob and Mike Bryan overcame the third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles to take home their third Australian Open title together. Bhupathi and Knowles came out firing first, playing a near flawless first set to take the first set 6–2 after just 27 minutes, with a series of clever play that wrong-footed the twins on various occasions. They continued to pressure the 30-year-old Americans in the second set, forcing numerous break points but unable to convert each time, as the momentum shifted over and with Knowles' serve starting to falter, the Bryans were able to put away some smashes and volleys to take the second set 7–5. From there, they looked comfortable, steamrolling past the decider 6–0 to regain the title they last won in 2007, and dash Bhupathi's hope of winning two titles (he made it to the finals of the mixed doubles as well).
- Seeded players out: Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles
- Schedule of Play
Matches on main courts[19] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Matches on Rod Laver Arena | |||
Event | Winner | Loser | Score |
Junior Girls' singles – Finals | ![]() |
Laura Robson [5]
|
6–3, 6–1 |
Junior Boys' singles – Finals | ![]() |
![]() |
6–3, 6–1 |
Women's singles – Finals | ![]() |
![]() |
6–0, 6–3 |
Men's doubles – Finals | ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
2–6, 7–5, 6–0 |
Matches on Margaret Court Arena | |||
Event | Winner | Loser | Score |
Junior Girls' doubles – Finals | ![]() ![]() |
6–1, 2–6, [10–4] | |
Junior Boys' doubles – Finals | [7] | ![]() ![]() |
6–4, 6–2 |
Colored background means night matches |
Day 14 (1 February)
Nadal and Federer's first encounter for the year resulted in a five-set epic—lasting 4 hours and 23 minutes—with Nadal prevailing, 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2 for his sixth Grand Slam title and his first on hard courts.[20] Nadal is the first Spaniard in history to win the Australian Open and the fourth male tennis player – after Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander and Andre Agassi — to win Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces. Later in 2009, Roger Federer would become the fifth player to accomplish this feat upon winning his 14th grand slam title at the 2009 French Open. Federer, who was pursuing a record-tying fourteenth Grand Slam title, was unable to hold back tears during the trophy presentation.[21]
- Seeded players out: Roger Federer
- Schedule of Play
Matches on main courts[22] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Matches on Rod Laver Arena | |||
Event | Winner | Loser | Score |
Mixed doubles – Finals | ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–3, 6–1 |
Men's singles – Finals | ![]() |
![]() |
7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2 |
Colored background means night matches |
Champions
Seniors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Nadal_Australian_Open_2009_2.jpg/150px-Nadal_Australian_Open_2009_2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Serena_Williams_Australian_Open_2009_2.jpg/150px-Serena_Williams_Australian_Open_2009_2.jpg)
Men's singles
Rafael Nadal[23] defeated
Roger Federer, 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–2
- It was Nadal's 1st title of the year, and his 32nd overall. It was his 6th Grand Slam title, and his 1st at the Australian Open.
Women's singles
Serena Williams defeated
Dinara Safina, 6–0, 6–3
- It was Serena's 1st title of the year, and her 33rd overall. It was her 10th Grand Slam title, and her 4th at the Australian Open.
Men's doubles
Bob Bryan /
Mike Bryan defeated
Mahesh Bhupathi /
Mark Knowles, 2–6, 7–5, 6–0
Women's doubles
Serena Williams /
Venus Williams defeated
Daniela Hantuchová /
Ai Sugiyama, 6–3, 6–3
Mixed doubles
Sania Mirza /
Mahesh Bhupathi defeated
Nathalie Dechy /
Andy Ram, 6–3, 6–1
Juniors
Boys' singles
Yuki Bhambri defeated
Alexandros Georgoudas, 6–3, 6–1
Girls' singles
Boys' doubles
, 6–4, 6–2
Girls' doubles
Christina McHale /
Ajla Tomljanović defeated
Aleksandra Krunić /
Sandra Zaniewska, 6–1, 2–6, [10–4]
Wheelchair events
Wheelchair men's singles
Shingo Kunieda defeated
Stéphane Houdet, 6–2, 6–4
Wheelchair women's singles
Esther Vergeer defeated
Korie Homan, 6–4, 6–2
Wheelchair quad singles
Peter Norfolk defeated
David Wagner, 7–6(7–5), 6–1
Wheelchair men's doubles
Robin Ammerlaan /
Shingo Kunieda defeated
Stefan Olsson /
Maikel Scheffers, 7–5, 6–1
Wheelchair women's doubles
Korie Homan /
Esther Vergeer defeated
Agnieszka Bartczak /
Katharina Krüger, 6–1, 6–0
Wheelchair quad doubles
, 6–2, 6–3
Singles seeds
Withdrawals: Lindsay Davenport,[24] Katarina Srebotnik,[25] Nikolay Davydenko,[26] Maria Sharapova,[27] Li Na,[27] Nicolas Kiefer[28]
Wildcard entries
Men's singles wildcard entries
|
Women's singles wildcard entries
|
Qualifier entries
Men's qualifiers entries
Lucky losers |
Women's qualifiers entries
|
Withdrawals
|
|
References
- ^ a b 10 most memorable matches of 2009, www.tennis.com
- ^ Nadal calls for fewer hard court events, sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis, 2 February 2009.
- ^ Sharapova out after shoulder fails to recover - The Age
- ^ Melbourne set to sizzle for Australian Open 2014 Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Australian Open official website, 1 December 2013
- ^ "Melbourne set to sizzle for Australian Open 2014". Melbourne, Australia: Tennis Australia. 1 December 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "TENNIS HISTORY TUESDAY: Record-Setting Match in Melbourne…". tennisgrandstand.com. 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
- ^ "Day 1 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 8 August 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 2 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 3 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 4 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 5 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 6 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 7 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 8 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 9 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 10 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 11 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 12 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Day 13 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Rafael Nadal Completed Matches, 2009 Australian Open". Tennis Australia. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ Newbery, Piers (1 February 2009). "Nadal beats Federer in epic final". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- ^ "Day 14 Schedule". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ Nadal became the first Spanish player, male or female, to win the Australian Open singles title.
- ^ "Pregnant Davenport pulls out of Australian Open". Reuters. 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
- ^ "Srebotnik Pulls Out of Australian Open Due to Injury". STA – Slovenska Tiskovna Agencija. 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
- ^ "Davydenko Out of Chennai, Australian Open". atpworldtour.com. 7 January 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
- ^ a b "Sharapova Withdraws From Australian Open". sonyericssonwtatour.com. 11 January 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
- ^ "Kiefer withdraws from Open". skysports.com. 17 January 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)