Radwanska, Craybas to meet in Pattaya finale

Pattaya City, Thailand (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and seventh-seeded American Jill Craybas were Saturday's semifinal winners at the $170,000 Pattaya Women's Open.

The 18-year-old Radwanska dismantled helpless Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 6-1, 6-1, while the 33-year-old Craybas handled Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova 6-4, 6-0 on the hardcourt at Dusit Resort.

Radwanska will appear in her second career final. She titled in Stockholm in her first-ever title match last year. Craybas will also appear in her second WTA final. She titled in Tokyo in her only other title bout, back in 2002.

The Australian Open quarterfinalist Radwanska is 1-0 lifetime against Craybas, with the victory coming in three sets on a grass court last year at Eastbourne.

Sunday's winner will collect $25,650.

Strong-serving Sharapova wins Australian Open title

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Russian Maria Sharapova used strong serving to capture her third Grand Slam title, beating Serbian Ana Ivanovic, 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday to win the 2008 Australian Open.

The fifth-seeded Sharapova won 24 of her last 26 service points in the battle of 20-year-olds. Incredibly, she won 24 of 27 points on her first serve for the match.

"This is just incredible," Sharapova said to the crowd at Rod Laver Arena after the match. "If someone had told me in the middle of last year that I'd be standing on this stage in front of all you guys with the big one I'd probably say forget it."

Sharapova, who didn't lose a set over these two weeks, had also won Wimbledon in 2004 and the U.S. Open in 2006. She lost the 2007 Australian Open final to American Serena Williams.

Sharapova said the last year has been a trying one since her coach's mother passed away. Sharapova said she also got inspiration for the match from a text message earlier on Saturday from Hall of Famer Billie Jean King, the 1968 Australian Open champion.

"Champions take chances and pressure is a privilege," Sharapova described the text message as saying. "I think as an athlete, that's what Ana and I, and everyone that plays wants to achieve. We all want to take our chances and I'm just so fortunate I took mine today."

It was a sparkling week for Sharapova, as she topped No.1 seed Justine Henin in the quarterfinals and third seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the semifinals. In all, Sharapova dropped just 24 games heading to the final, the fewest number of games surrendered leading to the title match since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario lost 23 and was the runner-up in 1995.

This was the second Grand Slam final appearance for the fourth-seeded Ivanovic, who lost to Henin in last year's French Open final.

"I'm very emotional and you guys make it very special for me," a tearful Ivanovic said to the fans after the match. "I really look forward to seeing all of you next year."

By reaching the final, Ivanovic moved to a career-best No.2 in the world, surpassing Svetlana Kuznetsova. Sharapova remained fifth.

"Ana has a wonderful future ahead of her," Sharapova said. "She's a great young girl and I'm sure we're going to be playing many, many more times. Both of us are going to have many more chances."

Ivanovic was ahead 5-4 in the first set and up 30-0 in the ensuing game, but Sharapova won 12 of the final 14 points of the set.

Sharapova won 23 of 24 service points at one juncture in the second set until Ivanovic hit a return winner, but that was only to get within 40-15 in the eighth game. Sharapova then moved to a 5-3 lead on the next point when Ivanovic's return was well wide.

Sharapova caught the sideline with a powerful forehand return to move to match point and then hit a return long, unsuccessfully challenging the call. Ivanovic saved a second championship point, but on Sharapova's third try, Ivanovic hit a return wide and the Russian crumbled to her knees in elation.

Sharapova used a dominating serve in the opening set under the hot conditions with plus-100 degree court temperatures. The Russian broke Ivanovic's serve when a return went long to move to a 3-2 lead. Sharapova held at love again in the next game.

"When I was in Singapore a couple weeks ago it was so hot and humid out there," Sharapova said. "I got to practice there for about three days outdoors. It was great, because when I got out on the court today, I was like, 'This is a piece of cake.' Even though it's hot, it wasn't nearly as hot as it was over there."

After holding, Ivanovic finally secured a point on a Sharapova serve in the eighth game. Sharapova double faulted later in the game to face break point, but was fortunate when an Ivanovic backhand return went into the net. That put the game at deuce.

After a second deuce, Sharapova double faulted two consecutive times to send the break Ivanovic's way. The Serb then held serve for a 5-4 lead when Sharapova returned a ball into the net.

Sharapova was behind 0-30 in the next game, but rallied by winning the next four points to square the set. Ivanovic then saved one break point, but a long return gave Sharapova a 6-5 lead and a chance to serve out for the set. The powerful Russian did just that as Ivanovic reached for a forehand, but returned the ball wide.

"It's a little bit disappointing because I thought I had a lot of chances in that first set but didn't use them," Ivanovic said. "Still, it's a learning experience for me. I fought hard. I just felt a little bit let down with my forehand, made some big mistakes in crucial moments."

The first game of the second set went to deuce five times with Ivanovic saving a pair of break points before finally holding serve.

Sharapova had won 15 straight service points before Ivanovic stroked a forehand winner during the fourth game, but the Russian easily held to square the set at 2-2.

Ivanovic held at love to go ahead 3-2, but Sharapova held at love again and then broke the Serb when Ivanovic hit a return into the net. Sharapova pumped her fist, knowing her maiden Australian Open title was nearing.

Afterward, Sharapova wished her mother a happy birthday.

"With this big fat check, I'm going to send you a bunch of roses," Sharapova said. "So look out for those."

By beating Ivanovic for the third time in five career meetings, Sharapova captured the $1.2 million first-place prize for her 17th career title. Ivanovic, who settled for $600,000, was trying for her sixth lifetime championship.

This was the 17th straight Grand Slam that no woman has won back-to-back titles. The last person to achieve two major title runs in a row was Henin at the 2003 U.S. Open and 2004 Australian Open.

Nadal, upstart Tsonga reach Oz Open semis

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal and unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were a pair of quarterfinal winners Tuesday at the 2008 Australian Open.

Nadal prevailed in a tough first set on Day 9 on his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 decision against 24th-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen. The match lasted 2 hours, 19 minutes, as Nadal landed in his first-ever Aussie Open semifinal by breaking Nieminen's serve six times, compared to only one break in eight break-point chances for the overmatched Finn.

"It's a good moment for me -- being my first semifinals on hardcourt at a Grand Slam," Nadal said.

The three-time French Open champion and two-time Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is now 4-0 lifetime against Nieminen.

Nadal's final four opponent here will be Tsonga, who erased 14th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) to secure a berth in his first- ever Grand Slam semi. Tsonga is the first unseeded French semifinalist here since Nicolas Escude turned the trick 10 years ago.

The talented 22-year-old Tsonga advanced in 2 hours, 17 minutes, as he swatted eight aces and did not allow Youzhny to enjoy even one break-point opportunity at Melbourne Park. The 38th-ranked Frenchman broke his Russian counterpart four times and looks like he could really challenge Nadal in the round of four.

The hot Tsonga stunned his eighth-seeded countryman Richard Gasquet here in the fourth round and took out ninth-seeded Brit Andy Murray in the opening round last week.

On Wednesday, top-seeded Swiss superstar Roger Federer will meet 12th-seeded American James Blake and third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic will take on fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer to wrap up the quarterfinals. Federer is the reigning two-time and three-time overall Aussie Open champ.

The 12-time major titlist Federer is a flawless 7-0 lifetime versus Blake, including a couple of Grand Slam match wins at the U.S. Open. Ferrer is 3-2 all-time against Djokovic, with the players splitting four meetings in 2007.

Henin, Serena fall in Aussie quarters

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Justine Henin and defending champion Serena Williams both lost their quarterfinal matches Tuesday at the Australian Open.

In the marquee match of the day, fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova swatted 30 winners on her way to stunning the 2004 Melbourne titlist Henin 6-4, 6-0. Sharapova was last year's Aussie Open runner-up to the three-time champion Williams.

Sharapova dismissed Henin in 1 hour, 38 minutes. The big Russian needed 61 minutes to capture a tight first set, and then cruised in the second in eye-popping fashion.

The Russian recorded 19 more winners than her Belgian counterpart and broke Henin's serve five times, while losing her powerful serve only once throughout the bout.

"It's just incredible," Sharapova said. "I think it was one of the most consistent matches where I did all the things I wanted to do."

The seven-time major champion Henin was riding a 32-match overall winning streak, as she hadn't lost since the Wimbledon semifinals last July and was fresh off a title in Sydney. The diminutive Belgian beat Sharapova in the final at the season-ending Tour Championships back in November and was 6-2 all-time versus Sharapova heading into Tuesday.

"I knew she was in top form and I knew it was going to be tough, so I was ready to fight and give my best, but it wasn't good enough," Henin said after the disappointing setback at the hands of the two-time Grand Slam champ and former world No. 1 Sharapova.

In addition to her title here four years ago, Henin was the Aussie Open runner-up to France's Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.

Earlier Tuesday, third-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic shocked a seventh- seeded Williams 6-3, 6-4, as the American piled up 36 unforced errors on her way to defeat at Melbourne Park.

"My shots just weren't right," Williams said. "I didn't move the way I traditionally want to move, and I wasn't feeling 100 percent."

Jankovic moved on in 1 hour, 39 minutes with the help of a whopping seven service breaks and five double faults by Williams, who broke Jankovic on four occasions to no avail.

"I'm not going to sit here and make excuses," Williams added. "I lost because Jelena played better than me and I made too many errors. I think regardless, the match was on my racket, and I gave it away."

The 22-year-old Jankovic is now 3-2 lifetime against Williams, who was unseeded and ranked 81st in the world when she titled here last year for her eighth career Grand Slam championship.

Jankovic barely escaped the opening round here last week, as she was pushed to a 22-game third-set victory over rising Austrian Tamira Paszek.

The engaging Jankovic should have her hands full with Sharapova here in the semifinals. The Russian is 3-1 lifetime against the Serb, but Jankovic won their last meeting, in a final in Birmingham, in the middle of last season.

Williams also bowed out of the doubles draw here on Day 9, as a seventh-seeded Chinese tandem of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng came from behind to oust an all- Williams pairing of Serena and Venus, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The quarterfinals will conclude here on Wednesday, when fourth-seeded French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic of Serbia tangles with an eighth-seeded Venus Williams, the reigning Wimbledon champ, and ninth-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova takes on 29th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

Venus is a perfect 4-0 lifetime against Ivanovic, including wins at last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open events. Hantuchova is 1-0 versus Radwanska, with the victory coming last year in Zurich.

Nadal eases into Aussie quarters; Davydenko out

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal easily moved into the Australian Open quarterfinals on Sunday when Paul-Henri Mathieu retired in the second set of their fourth-round match, but Nikolay Davydenko was among the upset victims as the first week of the year's first major concluded.

The second-seeded Nadal had built a 6-4, 3-0 lead when Mathieu called it quits for what appeared to be a calf problem. The 23rd-seeded Frenchman twice received treatment in the first set, then decided he couldn't continue after dropping serve twice in the second.

Nadal will next meet Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals. Nieminen knocked off Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (11-9), 6-3. Kohlschreiber had eliminated sixth-seeded American Andy Roddick in his last match and was coming off a title in Auckland last week.

Nieminen, seeded 24th, saved a combined 11 set points between the second and third sets before advancing.

"Set points down, I saw myself winning," said Nieminen. "I was thinking really positive."

Davydenko, the fourth seed, was sent home by fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The 14th-seeded Youzhny won a tough first set and cruised the rest of the way in a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Youzhny has just one appearance past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event, reaching the semis at the 2006 U.S. Open.

Up next for Youzhny will be Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who upended eighth- seeded countryman Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Gasquet is the second top-10 ranked player Tsonga has beaten at this event, as he began the tournament with an upset victory over world No. 9 Andy Murray.

"It's good for me, because it's lot of confidence to beat a player like that," Tsonga said of beating Gasquet. "He's very good. And for me, it was a test, you know. When you beat somebody like this, you know you can beat a lot of guys."

Due to the rain on Saturday, a couple of third-round matches were pushed back to Sunday.

Fifth-seeded David Ferrer continued his strong run with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 win over American Vince Spadea. Ferrer's fourth-round opponent will be fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, as the 22nd seed upended 10th-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

"It's going to be a special match. We know each other," said Ferrero. "We live in the same place. So we practice a lot of times together. We are so good friends."

Ferrer and Ferrero will play on Monday, as the fourth round concludes with four matches. The other three will include a trio of players who needed five sets to win in the third round.

Among those is top-seeded Roger Federer, who will take on 13th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. The Swiss superstar escaped with a 10-8 fifth set victory over Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic on Saturday.

American James Blake also went the distance on Saturday, rallying from two sets down and a 1-4 deficit in the third set to beat France's Sebastien Grosjean. The 12th-seeded Blake will take on Croatia's Marin Cilic on Monday.

Crowd favorite Lleyton Hewitt will open the Monday night session after finishing his third-round marathon against Marcos Baghdatis just past 4:30 a.m. local time on Sunday morning. Hewitt, the 19th seed, needed four hours and 45 minutes to dispose of the 2006 Australian Open finalist, and will take on third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic on Monday.

Henin reaches quarterfinals at Aussie Open

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Top seed Justine Henin advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Sunday by winning her 32nd straight match, a straight-set victory over Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh.

Additionally, third-seeded Jelena Jankovic, fifth seed Maria Sharapova and defending champion Serena Williams, seeded seventh, also advanced to the quarterfinals.

Henin, the 2004 Australian Open champion and reigning French and U.S. Open titlist, had a relatively easy time, winning 6-2, 6-2. Hsieh, who had never advanced beyond the first round at Melbourne before this year's tournament, fought off match point twice in the second set.

But Henin was dominant -- winning 10 straight games after being down 2-1 in the first set -- and eventually closed out the win. She will face Sharapova, who breezed through her match with 11th seed Elena Dementieva, in the quarterfinals. The match, which Sharapova won 6-2, 6-0, took all of 62 minutes.

Henin is 6-2 all-time against Sharapova and she beat her Russian opponent in three sets in the 2007 Tour Championships final.

"I always know to beat her I have to be at my best. She's a real fighter," Henin said of Sharapova. "She never gives up. Very talented. She's a champion. So I know that against her I will have to be a hundred percent all the time."

Sharapova was the 2007 Aussie Open runner-up to Williams, who had slightly more trouble in defeating 12th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova, 6-3, 6-4. With the first set already in Williams' hands, each player had two games in the second set.

Williams broke Vaidisova in the fifth game to gain momentum, and took the sixth game for a 4-2 lead. Vaidisova, however, won the next two games, including a break of Williams' serve in the eighth game.

But as soon as Vaidisova stormed back, she unraveled. Williams won the ninth game as the Czech player served and double-faulted on break point. She continued to hit errant shots as Williams took the match. Vaidisova, a semifinalist in last year's Australian Open, committed 25 unforced errors in all.

Williams will face the third-seeded Jankovic in the quarterfinals. Jankovic ended the run of Australian Casey Dellacqua with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 triumph. Dellacqua had knocked off seeded players Patty Schnyder and Amelie Mauresmo in her two previous matches.

The four players remaining in the top half of the draw have combined for 17 Grand Slam titles. Only Jankovic, of the four, has yet to capture a major crown.

Williams has eight career Grand Slam titles, including Aussie Open crowns in 2003, 2005 and last year, while Sharapova has won a pair of majors. Henin is a seven-time Grand Slam champ and hasn't lost at all since the semifinals at Wimbledon last year.

"Now it's like another tournament is going to start. It's gonna be another level," Henin said. "Every match is so different. There were things pretty positive in my game. There are things I'll have to improve and really raise my level in the next matches."

Sunday's play also featured four third-round matches following Saturday's rain. Ninth seed Daniela Hantuchova beat Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2, 6-3, and Nadia Petrova, the 14th seed, won the second-set tiebreak, 10-8, to take a 6-1, 7-6 win over Ekaterina Makarova.

Marta Domachowska upset 24th seed Na Li, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark needed three sets to oust Germany's Sabine Lisicki, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Fourth-round play will conclude Monday in the bottom half of the draw.

Venus Williams, seeded eighth, will meet Domachowska; fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic will battle Wozniacki; Hantuchova will square off against Maria Kirilenko; and Petrova will face Agnieszka Radawanska, who eliminated second- seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round.

Youzhny shocks Nadal in Chennai final

Chennai, India (Sports Network) - Russian Mikhail Youzhny stunned top-seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win the Chennai Open final on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Youzhny blitzed Nadal from the outset and was never threatened in an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory.
It was the fourth career singles title for Youzhny, who is ranked 19th in the world. He won once last year at Rotterdam and was also a finalist twice in 2007.
Nadal, who had a banner 2007 campaign with six titles, was attempting to garner his 24th career crown. But, the Spaniard looked lost from the start and was clearly suffering the effects of his grueling four-hour semifinal win over fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Youzhny upended Nadal for the fourth time in 10-career matchups and snapped a three-match skid against Nadal.