Roddick, Sharapova breeze into fourth round of Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Andy Roddick fired 17 aces in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over French qualifier Julien Benneteau on Friday, hustling through the third round as temperatures started rising at the Australian Open. The 23-year-old American, seeded second, won 17 of the first 18 points against Benneteau, firing five aces in his first two service games as he raced to a 5-0 lead.
“I’m just trying to be aggressive,” Roddick said, “and if that shows out really, then it shows out.”
He clinched the first set in 19 minutes when Benneteau’s backhand landed long. When the ball came back from Roddick, Benneteau angrily belted it into the crowd.
Benneteau held serve to open the second set but Roddick went on a five-game roll, serving three consecutive aces in the sixth game before making it 5-1 with a forehand winner.
He won it on another error from the Frenchman, who wore ice packs over his neck in the breaks between games and sets to cope with the heat as the temperature reached 91 degrees.
Roddick had 28 winners and only 16 unforced errors, against 13 winners and 31 errors for Benneteau.
Roddick’s next opponent is Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, who beat Denis Gremelmayr 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
Maria Sharapova also didn’t waste time in the heat, routing Jelena Kostanic 6-0, 6-1 and advancing to a possible fourth-round showdown with Serena Williams.
Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, lost to Williams in the semifinals here last year after twice serving for the match and squandering three match points.
Williams, the defending champion, was playing No. 17 Daniela Hantuchova in the third round later Friday, with the winner advancing to play fourth-seeded Sharapova.
“It’ll be great,” Sharapova said of a possible matchup with Williams. “Of course I was disappointed last year. But … I’ll get my revenge.”
Sharapova, who lost to the eventual champion in all four majors in 2005, came into the season’s first Grand Slam event after two months on the sidelines with a sore shoulder.
The problem was diagnosed as a dislocated rib and the 18-year-old Russian star was told she would not damage it any more by playing.
She said she needs hard, hot matches to get her into condition for the second week.
“It was the first day that it’s been really hot like this,” she said. “It’s good to get through these kind of matches and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
In other matches, top-ranked Lindsay Davenport faced Maria Kirilenko and reigning French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne was playing Virginie Razzano.
On the men’s side, No. 4 David Nalbandian, the Masters Cup champion, was to play Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.
The draw keeps opening up for top-ranked Roger Federer.
Third-seeded Lleyton Hewitt was upset 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-2 by Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela on Thursday night.
That leaves only No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 6 Guillermo Coria as survivors among the top 10 in Federer’s half of the draw.
Federer has lost only 12 games in six sets across two rounds.
His Swiss compatriot, former women’s No. 1 Martina Hingis, continued her impressive comeback with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Finland’s Emma Laine on Thursday. Hingis left the tour three years ago because of foot, heel and ankle injuries.
Losses by No. 5 Mary Pierce and No. 21 Ava Ivanovic mean that Hingis has no seeded players in her part of the draw until the quarterfinals, when she could face second-seeded Kim Clijsters.
Clijsters won but sounded pessimistic about finishing the tournament due to hip and back soreness. She overcame 48 unforced errors to beat Yuan Meng 6-4, 6-2.
Also advancing on the women’s side were No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 7 Patty Schnyder and No. 12 Anastasia Myskina.