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On the verge
India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza shrugged off an indifferent start while outplaying Czech pair Lukas Dlouhy and Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-1 to enter the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open for the second successive year.
India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza shrugged off an indifferent start while outplaying Czech pair Lukas Dlouhy and Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-1 to enter the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open for the second successive year in Melbourne on Friday.
The Indian pair will play France’s Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram of Israel who overcame a stiff resistance from Spain’s seventh-seeded pair Anabel Medina Garrigues and Tommy Robredo 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Bhupathi, who has won six mixed doubles and four men’s doubles titles is on the verge of winning a Grand Slam double for the second time, having entered the men’s doubles final with Mark Knowles of Bahamas. Mahesh and Knowles play the Bryan twins Mark and Bob in Saturday’s final.
Yuki in boys final
India's Yuki Bhambri swept aside France’s Adrien Puget 6-4,6-4 to reach his first Grand Slam final in the boy’s singles on Friday.
The top seed will face Germany’s Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas, who upset second seed Julen Uriguen of Guatemala 6-4, 6-4, in the final. "It was a tough match, I was 1-4 down in the second set. It was pretty hot out there, but I stuck it out to win," Yuki said.
High stakes for Serena
The stakes could not be higher when the most famous little sisters in tennis go head-to-head in Saturday's Australian Open final.
Serena Williams takes on Dinara Safina for a tournament record A$2 million (US$1.34 million) in prize money, with the winner also climbing to number one in the world rankings.
Both are in great form and brimming with confidence, setting the stage for a classic confrontation between one woman who has already scaled the heights of sporting excellence and another looking to create her own piece of history. The odds are heavily stacked in favour of Williams and bookmakers have installed her as the clear favourite.
Williams win doubles
Serena Williams achieved the first part of a 2009 Australian Open grand slam double when she teamed up with older sister Venus to win their third women's doubles title at Melbourne Park on Friday.
