Federer, Williams Sisters, Djokovic reach Australian Open 4th round

Saturday, January 23, 2010
MELBOURNE: World number one Roger Federer, Williams Sisters and Novak Djokovic qualified for the fourth round at the Australian Open tennis tournament here on Saturday.

Serena Williams of America completed a 6-0, 6-3 demolition of Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain and her sister Venus beat Australian Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).

Federer, the Swiss great, made short work of Spanish 31st Albert Montanes 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 as the fourth round of the opening Grand Slam of the season was finalised.

Also staying on track was men's third seed Novak Djokovic, sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko, ninth seed Fernando Verdasco and local hope Lleyton Hewitt.

Joining Williams Sisters in the women's draw were fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki, seventh seed Victoria Azarenka, ninth seeded Vera Zvonareva and 13th seeded Samantha Stosur.

Federer, with 15 Grand Slam titles, now faces a round of 16 clash against Hewitt, who was in good touch against Marcos Baghdatis before the Cypriot retired with a shoulder injury while trailing 6-0, 4-2.

Serena will next take on the imposing Stosur while Venus set up a fourth round clash with Italian 17th seed Francesca Schiavone

Stosur, the Australian 13th seed, outclassed Italy's Alberta Brianti 6-4, 6-1 and is gunning for another crack at Williams, who she beat when they last met in Stanford in July.

Also pushing through were Azarenka, who destroyed Italy's Tathiana Garbin 6-0, 6-2, and Zvonareva, a 6-1, 7-5 winner over Argentine Gisela Dulko.

They will play each other for a place in the quarters.

Chinese hope Li Na also stayed in the tournament with a three-set win over off-court friend Daniela Hantuchova and will next battle Denmark's Wozniacki, who shattered the dreams of Israel's Shahar Peer in straight sets.

Like Federer, Serbian third seed Djokovic, the 2008 champion, was also in imposing form as he crushed Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.

He will next play unseeded Pole Lukasz Kubot, who was handed a free ride when Russian 20th seed Mikhail Youzhny withdrew with a wrist injury.

Russian sixth seed Davydenko stayed on the boil with a 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 hammering of Argentina's Juan Monaco and now faces a tough match against ninth seeded Fernando Verdasco.

The Spaniard booked his place in the last 16 when Austrian Stefan Koubek retired with a virus after losing the first set of their match.

Tenth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also stayed on track with a four set win over Germany's Tommy Haas and will face Spaniard Nicolas Almagro next.

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.

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