Making them work

Venus, Seles survive third-round scares Down Under

Venus Williams is shooting for her first Australian Open title. AP

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Venus Williams took a while to get going and was excited to still be standing going into the fourth round of the Australian Open. Martina Hingis wasted no time disposing of her third-round rival and was upset to concede a game.

The No. 2-ranked Williams dropped the first set Friday before winning eight straight games to set up a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 win over No. 32 Daniel Hantuchova.

"I wasn't really afraid," said Williams, who struggled with the knee injury in her second-round win over Kristina Brandi. "You always go into a match a little nervous after having a scare. But I found that I could do a lot more than I did the other day, so it was exciting."

"I'm not used to being behind, but I can cope with it," added Williams, who extended her winning streak to 23 matches.

Hingis, seeded third, had two set points at 5-0 in the first before Barbara Rittner held serve. But Hingis won the next seven games to clinch a 6-1, 6-0 result in 46 minutes.

In the day's last match, Tim Henman overcame Greg Rusedski in an all-British clash and survived as the highest-ranked men's player.

The sixth-seeded Henman advanced to a fourth-round match against Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman on a 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win.

Already, 22 of the 32 seeded men have been ousted or injured. Rusedski, No. 12 Guillermo Canas, No. 21 Younes El Aynaoui bowed out Friday.

Henman, who reached last year's Wimbledon semifinal but has never advanced beyond the fourth round at any other major, combined a powerful forehand and pinpoint lob to counter Rusedski's booming service game.

Hingis, coming back last week after three months on the sidelines following ankle surgery, defended her adidas International title in Sydney. She's going for her sixth consecutive Australian Open final.

"They almost counted me out, but I'm still in the game," she said. "I'm still holding strong."

The ankle is giving her no problems at all.

"I feel very good running around court," said Hingis, who won three Australian titles from 1997-99. "I played very well, very focused."

Williams is treating her injury with rest and a lot of ice and the two-time U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion said her slow start was a symptom of her cure for recurring tendinitis in her left knee.

"I had a lot of rest and a lot of ice -- and more ice after that," she said. "And after that, I had a little bit more ice ... ice is my best friend."

Venus' sister, Serena Williams, withdrew before the tournament with an ankle injury and Lindsay Davenport, who finished 2001 at No. 1, didn't travel Down Under due to a knee injury.

Hantuchova drilled forehands into the corners and punctuated some powerful ground strokes with subtle drop shots to work Williams around the court.

The 18-year-old Slovakian used those methods to win the first set but the tactics backfired when Williams got her serve working and produced a succession of winners on return.

After her slow start, Williams sprinted to the net and turned Hantuchova's drop shots against her.

"She hit a few drop shots that I didn't run for at first, but then there were a few toward the end that I did very well on," Williams said.

After failing to win a game in the second, Hantuchova broke back twice to level at 4-4 in the third set. But Williams went ahead 5-4 and, serving for the match, she fired a second-service ace, a double-fisted backhand down the line and then clinched it when her rival netted a forehand return.

Williams, who lost in the semifinals here last year to Hingis, remained on course for a quarterfinal showdown with No. 8 Monica Seles, a four-time Australian Open titlist.

Seles also overcame a slow start against Francesca Schiavone before avenging her shock Hopman Cup loss to the Italian with a 6-4, 6-4 win on center court.

"I started off pretty weak," said Seles. "I was anxious to play her. She runs down every ball and I was making a lot of mistakes in the first set ... I was happy I won."

In other women's matches, Adriana Serra Zanetti beat 11th-seeded Silvia Farina Elia 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; 13th-seeded Magdalena Maleeva beat No. 18 Lisa Raymond 7-5, 6-1; and Martina Sucha defeated Asa Svensson 6-0, 6-4; and No. 15 Amanda Coetzer beat No. 17 Barbara Schett, 6-3, 6-3.

On the men's side, wildcard Taylor Dent used his powerful first serve to full effect in the first set but was worn down by a relentless Adrian Voinea.

The Romanian overcame Dent and a hostile crowd for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win.

The 20-year-old Dent was born in California but his father, Phil Dent, was a former top Aussie and runner-up in the 1974 Australian Open. So he's become a target for both Australian and U.S. Davis Cup teams.

Dent, who has been bothered by back injuries since the U.S. Open, went to the net 154 times, but said he was amazed by Voinea's resilience

"I don't think he out-thought me. I came in with a simple gameplan to make him hit winners for five sets," he said. But, "if he plays like that consistently, I can't believe he's 90 in the world -- he was hitting the lines all over the place."

Chilean qualifier Fernando Gonzalez got two match points and then barreled a forehand down the line to close out on a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over Alex Kim, the American qualifier who ousted No. 4 Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the second round.

"I definitely don't feel great -- he just came out smoking," Kim said of Gonzalez. "But it's been a great experience -- that win against Kafelnikov was a good confidence boost. I know now that I can beat about anyone on tour."

In other matches, Stefan Koubek, who has had to rally from two sets down in both earlier rounds, had a more comfortable 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-3 over Kristian Pless of Denmark.

Bjorkman, the top-ranked doubles player and a multiple doubles titlist at Melbourne Park, upset Canas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and Jiri Novak beat Spaniard Francisco Clavet 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Canas was the 20th seeded player to slump out of the men's draw.

Dominik Hrbaty wasted three match points in the third set before clinching a fourth round berth on a 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (6), 7-5 win over Frenchman Jerome Golmard.

 

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