Australian Open
Roddick toughs it out against Safin MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Andy Roddick had to be sure Jimmy Connors didn’t fly all this way for nothing.
Connors was uncertain if he’d join Roddick for the Australian Open after his mother and longtime coach, Gloria, died this month.
Connors decided to make the long trip – his first to Melbourne since losing in 1975 – for Roddick’s third-round match against 2005 champion Marat Safin.
“We’ve been thinking a lot about Jimmy in the last couple of weeks, so for him to be here in the flesh, we’re really happy,” Roddick said. “For him to go through what he’s been going through, to hop a flight and show up this morning and stay up, he’s still in the locker room chugging along.”
Sixth-seeded Roddick, with Connors in the stands, opened confidently, then had to recover from a lackluster second set and a temperamental Safin for a 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory. He will meet big-serving Mario Ancic, seeded ninth, in the fourth round.
“I got all my bad tennis out in one set. I just tried to tough him out,” Roddick said. “Anything less than that and I would probably be going home.”
Safin is seeded 26th because he missed much of last season with a knee injury that prevented him from trying to defend the Australian title.
He needed a medical timeout after skinning his fingers lunging for a passing shot in the third set. At one stage, he refused to play because he thought the court was too wet.
He argued calls with the chair umpire and was critical of tournament referee Wayne McKewen, saying the official wore a suit and leather shoes and smoked cigars, and did not know enough about player safety to order him to continue. He was cautioned for an obscenity, but it hardly stemmed his complaints, which continued after the match.
Roger Federer moved a step closer to a 10th Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over last year’s U.S. Open semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny. The top-ranked Swiss will be chasing a 33rd consecutive win when he plays 14th-seeded Novak Djokovic, who beat Thailand’s Danai Udomchoke 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.
“If I go there with the white flag on the court, what am I doing here?” said Djokovic, a 19-year-old Serb.
Veteran Wayne Arthurs, playing for the last time at his national championship, had no choice but to surrender at 3-0 in the first set against Mardy Fish. A painkilling injection made him lose feeling in his leg.
One former junior world No. 1 ousted another in an all-French match, with 18th-seeded Richard Gasquet beating Gael Monfils 6-0, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, then planting a kiss on his friend’s cheek. Monfils had ousted last year’s losing finalist, Marcos Baghdatis, in the second round.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams, plagued by a bad knee last year and unseeded after winning this event in 2005, rallied after No. 5 Nadia Petrova served for the match at 6-1, 5-3.
Williams, ranked No. 95, showed plenty of grit in a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory that was her first over a top-10 player since she won the last of her seven majors in Australia two years ago.
“Has it been that long? That’s a terrible stat,” said Williams, who will face No. 11 Jelena Jankovic on Sunday.
Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo beat Eva Birnerova and next plays Lucie Safarova, who played only a set before Anastasiya Yakimova retired with a back problem.
No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova beat fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko, and No. 7 Elena Dementieva, No. 10 Nicole Vaidisova and No. 16 Shahar Peer also advanced.
Top-seeded Maria Sharapova will open center-court play Saturday against Tathiana Garbin, followed by three-time Australian champion Martina Hingis against Aiko Nakamura.
No. 2 Rafael Nadal follows them, playing Stanislas Wawrinka, and James Blake meets Robby Ginepri in a twilight match between Americans.
Connors lost the 1975 final to John Newcombe, when the Open was held before Christmas, and was played on grass at Kooyong. He had won the title the previous season.
“The last time he was here … it was way before I was born,” said 24-year-old Roddick, who said he didn’t pressure Connors to travel. “I was more concerned with how he was doing emotionally. I think he enjoyed talking tennis at the end of the day.”
It gave Connors something else to focus on.
“You could tell he was starting to get the itch a little bit. Before the second round, it was, ‘We’ll see how you do.’ And that was the first kind of inkling I got. Once I got through, he said, ‘I’ve got to come see that one on Friday night.’ So I was real excited about that.”
Connors’ experience has made a difference for Roddick, lifting him from a midseason slump last year to the U.S. Open final.
“I like his energy,” Roddick said. “He came in and we retooled my backhand a little bit. … We kind of almost had to go 180 degrees with the way I played.
“When you have someone like Jimmy Connors behind you …. someone who has that kind of knowledge on how to play, it’s a good thing.”
Safin said he could see improvements with Roddick’s game.
“He’s trying to go to the net,” the Russian said. “I think Jimmy, he’s doing pretty good with him.”
Roddick can take some credit for bringing Connors back to the game.
“I think it is good for the sport,” he said. “And I think almost more importantly than that, in a way it’s giving tennis back to him, I think, which is good.”