Malaysia Open Final Results

Women's Doubles
2-Yu Yang/Du Jing (CHN) def. Ma Jin/Wang Xiaoli (CHN) 21-16, 21-12

Women's Singles
Wang Xhin (CHN) def. Bae Youn-joo (KOR) 19-21, 21-17, 14-6 retired

Men's Singles
1-Lee Chong Wei (MAS) def. Boonsak Ponsana (THA) 21-13, 21-7

Mixed Doubles
Tao Jiaming/Zhang Yawen (CHN) def. Thomas Laybourn/Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN) 19-21, 21-18, 21-15

Men's Doubles
1-Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong (MAS) def. 6-Guo Zhendong/Xu Chen (CHN) 21-15, 17-21, 21-16

Kien Keat and Boon Heong Play A Marathon

Kuala Lumpur (1/22) -Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong survives a scare in Malaysia Open quarter-final after beating English Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark in three sets, 21-12, 23-25, and 21-11.

Playing in the last match in Stadium Putra, the top seeds needed 55 minutes to reach the last 4. They will face Chinese Zhang Nan and Chai Biao who defeated Naoji Kawamae and Shoji Sato of Japan 21-11, 21-16.

"It was good to win but I am still not at my best. I really hope to be in better form," said Boon Heong.

"On paper, we have advantage. We have beaten them twice but it is not our style to take anyone lightly," said Kien Keat, who had won Malaysia Open 2005-2006 with Chan Chong Ming.

"What is important is for us to play our game. Hopefully, we will get through. "

The other semifinal will be between Guo Zhendong/Xu Chen and fourth seeds Hendra Gunawan/Alvent Yulianto. Previously Hendra and Alvent defeated Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach 21-15, 21-18 while Guo/Xu overcame Kenichi Hayakawa/Kenta Kazuno 21-17, 23-21.

In the women's singles, Japanese Eriko Hirose reaches the semis after stunning second-seeded Wang Lin 21-19, 15-21, and 21-19.

"I had long rallies with Wang Lin today and tried to keep pace so I could force errors out of her," said Hirose who will meet Wang Xin in the semis.

Top seed Wang Yihan and Bae Youn-joo also advance to the semi-final. Youn-joo ousted compatriot Sung Ji-hyun 21-13, 21-19, whereas Wang Yihan defeated fifth seed Jiang Yanjiao 21-13, 21-17.

Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana successfully progresses to the men's singles semi-final after an easy 21-14, 21-9 win over Malaysia's Chong Wei Feng. He will face second seed Peter Gade.

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Two Andys into Third Round

Melbourne - American Andy Roddick and Feliciano Lopez played first men's singles match in the Rod Laver Arena. The seventh seed won over the Spaniard 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, and 7-6 (3) to meet Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in the fourth round.

In the Hisense Arena, fifth-seeded Andy Murray will face American John Isner after prevailing over Florent Sera of France with a 7-5, 6-1, and 6-4 victory.

Contrary to Murray's easy win, world number two Rafael Nadal and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro needed four sets to book the 4rd round tickets. Del Potro struggled to beat Florian Meyer 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, and 7-5 while Nadal defeated Phillip Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, and 5-7.

Petrova Stops Clijsters


Kim Clijsters shakes hand with Nadia Petrova

In the women's draw, nineteenth-seeded Nadia Petrova ended Kim Clijsters' hunt in Australian Open. The Russian broke Clijsters five times to a 6-1, 6-0 triumph. Petrova had lost all four of her previous meetings with the Belgian, but she made improvement that she hit 21 winners to meet

Second seed Dinara Safina, Maria Kirilenko, and Alona Bondarenko (31) also progress to the fourth round. Second seed Safina made an easy 6-2, 6-1 win over British Elana Beltacha. Unseeded Kirilenko, who had stunned Maria Sharapova in the first round, continued her win as she defeated Roberta Vinci 7-5 and 7-6 (4). Meanwhile, Bondarenko surprised former world number one Jelena Jankovic of Serbia by downing her 6-2, 6-3.

picture by reuters
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Federer Cruises into Australian Open Third Round

Melbourne - World number one Roger Federer breezes into third round after rolling Victor Hanescu out of Australian Open. The Swiss star won 6-2, 6-3, and 6-2 in an hour and 39 minutes.

Federer hit 52 winners and was not broken his Romanian opponent.

Federer had already raced into a 3-0 lead in the third set when Prince William arrived, to the applause of the near-capacity 14,000 crowd.

Federer could have broken Hanescu's serve to lead 5-0, but he failed to take the point everytime he was given advantage. Hanescu won the fifth game of the third set and he made it 2-5.

However, as Federer served for the match, he claimed the win 6-2.

"I knew the danger of Victor. He is a good player although maybe he is more accustomed to clay. I am just thrilled to be through," Federer said in an interview with Jim Courier after the match.

He also talked about his marrying Mirka, having twin daughters, even changing their diapers.

Federer next will play Spain's Albert Montanes, who he has beaten in both previous meetings. If he beat Montanes, he will face the winner of Lleyton Hewitt vs. Marcos Baghdatis match.

In the women's second round, top seed Serena Williams defeated Petra Kvitova of Czech in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. The American will take on Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round.

Gisela Dulko of Argentina shocked 20th-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who is a former world number one, with a 6-7 (8), 7-5, and 6-3 triumph. Next unseeded Dulko will face ninth-seeded Vera Zvonareva.

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Federer Passes a First-Round Test

Roger Federer and Serena Williams in an exhibition for raising funds for Haiti quake

Melbourne - Three times Australian Open champion Roger Federer survived a scare against big server Igor Andreev in Rod Laver Arena, coming back from a set down to beat the Russian 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2), and 6-0 in 2 hours and 44 minutes.

The Swiss world number one saved three set points to close out the third set and break Andreev's spirit, before breezing through the fourth in 28 minutes to seal the win.

Federer jumps in a match against Andreev

"I just hoped that I was going to hang in there ... He was a wonderful player and it was tough," said Federer (28) in a court-side interview with Jim Courier.

"It was a fortunate third set for me today, but all in all I'm very happy with my performance."

Federer, who has never been eliminated in the first round in 11 appearances at Melbourne Park, will play Victor Hanescu of Romania who defeated Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

In the women's singles, top seed Serena Williams advances to the second round after an easy 6-2, 6-1 win over Urszula Radwanska. She will meet Petra Kvitova of Czech in the second round.

Today's First Round selected results:

Men's Singles

22-Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) def. Ricardo Hocevar (BRA) 6-1, 6-2, 6-3

21-Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. Robin Haase (NED), 6-0, 6-3, 6-3

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Yong-dae and Jae-sung Claim Korea Open Trophy

Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung

Seoul - Korean Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung grabbed their first title of 2010 after overpowering 2009 world champions of China, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, 21-11, 14- 21, and 21-18 in an hour and 8 minutes.

Playing at home, Yong-dae and Jae-sung satisfied the crowds by giving a long, thrilling match.

In the third set, an error of the Chinese pair put the Koreans up 16-14 in the third. They managed to catch up the points 18-18 but could not take the lead in the deciding game.

Yong-dae and Jae-sung finally won the match 21-18, falling down to the floor in jubilance.

“I think I was even more nervous today playing at home than we were when we played this pair in China last year,” said Jae-sung at the post-match press conference.

“So many people were cheering us on to win and I really wanted to win this one in memory of my mother.”

On the contrary, Yong-dae stated that he was more excited than nervous.

“Our styles are so similar that whenever we play Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun, it is always a fun match to play. We had a great match with them at the Sudirman Cup in Guangzhou, too, but this time, since we were at home, the crowd was so excited and it just made me so excited, too.

“In the past, Jae Sung was having to be ready to run the whole court to cover for me so I thought that if I could concentrate on preparing better on defense and creating chances for him, we could achieve some better results.”

Other Final Results:

Women's Singles
6-Wang Shixian (CHN) def. Sung Ji-hyun (KOR) 21-10, 25-23

Women's Doubles
1-Cheng Shu/Zhao Yunlei (CHN) def. 2-Mizuki Fujii/Reika Kakiiwa (JPN) 21-16, 21-15

Mixed Doubles
3-He Hanbin/Yu Yang (CHN) def. Tao Jiaming/Zhang Yawen (CHN) 21-15, 21-16

Men's Singles
1-Lee Chong Wei (MAS) def. 2-Peter Gade (DEN) 21-12, 21-11

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Lee and Jung to Meet Cai and Fu

Local favorites Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung progress to Korea Open final after vanquishing China's Zhang Nan and Chai Biao in a 5o-minute match, 21-16 and 22-20.

The Chinese led 5-3 and 14-11 in the first set, but top seeds Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung equalized the score to 14-14. After that, they left Zhang Nan and Chai Biao 18-14 and won the first set 21-16.

In the second set, Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung always led the score after 2-2. However, as they reached the match point, their opponents chased them and made the score 20-20.

But Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung could maintain their performance and gained the 22-20 victory.

In the final, Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung will compete against Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China to obtain the first crown of 2010.

Sunday (1/17) Final Fixtures

Men's Singles

1-Lee Chong Wei (MAS) vs 2-Peter Gade (DEN)

Women's Singles

Sung Ji-hyun (KOR) vs. Wang Shixian (CHN)

Women's Doubles

Cheng Shu/Zhao Yunlei (CHN) vs. Mizuki Fujii/Reika Kakiiwa (JPN)

Mixed Doubles

He Hanbin/Yu Yang (CHN) vs. Tao Jiaming/Zhang Yawen (CHN)

Three Korean Pairs in Men's Doubles Quarter-final

Korea successfully place their three men's doubles pairs in the upper half of Korea Open Super Series. They are world number two Lee Yong-dae/Jung Jae-sung, Kim Ki-Jung/Shin Baek-cheol, and Ko Sung-hyun/Yoo Yeon-seong.

Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung prevailed over compatriots, Jin Yong-hoon and Kim Dae-sun, in an easy 21-13 and 21-9 win. The former world number one will face another Koreans, Kim Ki-jun and Shin Baek-cheol in the semi-final. Shin Baek-cheol is Lee Yong-dae's former partner when Jung was in the army.

Shin Baek-cheol and Kim Ki-jun shocked sixth-seeded Guo Zhendong/Xu Chen of China 12-21, 22-20, and 21-19 in the second round.

Meanwhile, Ko Sung-hyun and Yoo Yeon-seong subjugated Japanese Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata 21-15 and 21-13. They will take on Chai Biao and Zhang Nan of China.

Serena Rolls into Sydney Semi-final

Sydney (1/14) - Serena Williams survived a thriller to win a 3-6, 7-5, and 6-4 victory over tough Aravane Rezai in Medibank International. The world number one will face Russian Elena Dementieva in the final.

While Serena played a hard match, defending champion Dementieva dominantly beat Victoria Azarenka in easy straight sets, 6-3 and 6-1.

Rezai led 4-1 in the second set, but the Frenchwoman was nervous when serving for the match at 5-3. She created a double fault at 30-30, giving Serena her first break-point opportunity that became Serena's turning point.

"I was lucky to get through today, for sure," said Serena.

"I was trying to play my game and do the best that I could but I didn't do so well. I hit I don't know how many errors today, but I finally made a couple of shots."

In the men's singles, local favorite Lleyton Hewitt was mastered by 2006 Australian Open finalist, Marcos Baghdatis, 6-4, 2-6, and 3-6. Baghdatis will compete against American Mardy Fish who shattered Peter Luczak's dream of reaching semi-final. The Australian lost 6-7 (5) and 2-6.

In the other semi-final fixture, French Richard Gasquet will take on compatriot Julien Benneteau. Gasquet humbled Potito Starace 6-3, 7-6 (7) while Benneteau fought hard to conquer qualifier Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-7 (5), and 6-0.

picture by reuters

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Seeded Opponents in the Quarter-Final

Local favorites Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung will face Chinese mixed doubles pair Tao Jiaming and Zhang Yawen in the first round of Korea Open Super Series that will start tomorrow.

If the world number one can defeat Tao and Zhang, they will not find hard opponents until they reach the quarter-final. Seventh-seeded Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark will probably challenge Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung.

And perhaps fourth-seeded Songpol Anukritayawan and Kuchala Worawichitchaikul or fifth-seeded Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezka Kostiuczyk will play against Lee and Lee in the semi-final. If Lee and Lee can beat them, they may face the second seeds of Denmark, Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen.

In the men's doubles, top seeds Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung receive a bye in the first round. They will compete against China's six seeds Guo Zhendong/Xu Chen in the quarter-final.

Also in their upper half are fourth-seeded Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen and 2005 world champions Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan.

First Tennis News of 2010

Brisbane International

Top-seeded Andy Roddick clinched men's singles Brisbane International title. He won over defending champion Radek Stepanek of Czech in Brisbane International final in straight sets, 7-6 (2) and 7-6 (7) in two hours and five minutes.

Roddick's serve was his key of the victory as he won 77% of first serves and created seven aces.

"I certainly don't know if I expected to come and win my first tournament after a pretty extended lay-off," said Roddick who had an injury after last year Wimbledon final.

In the women's singles final on Saturday (1/9), Belgian Kim Clijsters prevailed over her countrywomen Justine Henin.

Federer Withdraws from Kooyong

Roger Federer has decided not to participate in next week's Kooyong Classic. It is the second time the world number one has missed Australian Open warm-up in the past seven years. The other time he did not play was in 2008.

In Qatar Open semi-final, the Swiss maestro was subjugated by Nikolay Davydenko who grabbed the title after subduing Rafael Nadal 0-6, 7-6 (8), and 6-4.

Murray Leads Great Britain to 1-2 Defeat

In the Hopman Cup final, Great Britain's Laura Robson shocked Anabel Media Garrigues with a 6-1, 7-6 (6) victory in the opening match. Robson hit 28 winners while Martinez Sanchez created 36 unforced errors.

It was 15-year-old Robson's first singles win during the tournament.

“I was pretty nervous in the end but I just tried to keep going for my shots. It was pretty convenient that the only match I won was in the Final so I’m happy,” the junior Wimbledon champion said.

The second match was Andy Murray against Tommy Robredo of Spain. The world number four, who had not lost a match in the group stages, made the Great Britain's chance to win Hopman Cup, vanish. He was surprisingly defeated by Robredo 1-6, 6-4, and 6-3.

Murray lost again in the mixed doubles match. He and Robson were downed by Robredo and Garrigues 6-7 (6) and 5-7.

Spain's win is the third after the victory Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and her brother Emilio Sanchez in 1990 and then with Robredo in 2002.

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