MELBOURNE, Australia — Defending champion Serena Williams and top-ranked Justine Henin pushed aside two more overmatched opponents in the Australian Open, advancing to the fourth round with straight-set victories today.
Williams, 26-1 with three titles at Melbourne Park since the start of 2003, beat No. 26 Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-4.
Henin, 15-1 in Melbourne since the start of the 2004 tournament she won, overcame serving troubles to hold off 25th-seeded Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-4.
Henin extended her winning streak to 31, dating to the Wimbledon semifinals. But the Belgian star’s path to the championship is tough, with both of last year’s finalists potentially in her path.
Williams, who was unseeded when she beat top-seeded Maria Sharapova here last year to claim her eighth Grand Slam title, fired 15 aces and had a stretch of seven service games in which she yielded only six points.
Williams also was painting the lines with her groundstrokes, contributing to 29 winners. When she made her 25 unforced errors, it usually was by a matter of inches.
“I feel pretty good about where I am,” she said. “Hopefully, I’ll peak later in the tournament.”
Williams will face No. 12 Nicole Vaidisova, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Japan’s Ai Sugiyama.
Henin will play Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei, who beat Aravane Rezai 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4 in the third round.
No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, who had to save match points in her first-round match, had a lapse in the second set and a code violation for coaching in the second game of the third set of a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over No. 30 Virginie Razzano of France.
Men’s No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko has not dropped a set in three rounds, beating France’s Marc Gicquel 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Marcos Baghdatis downed 2005 champion Marat Safin 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in a momentum-swinging match that started Thursday and stretched into this morning and completed the second round.
Australian Open
A look at the action from Melbourne:
On court today: Andy Roddick vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber; Amelie Mauresmo vs. Casey Dellacqua.
Stat of the day: 121: The number of Grand Slam matches played by Fabrice Santoro in his record 62 majors, with no titles. Roger Federer, who beat Santoro in the second round Thursday, has played 162 matches in 35 Grand Slams, winning 12 majors.
Quote of the day: “The reality was pretty bad for me.” — Santoro, on why he jokingly pointed to the scoreboard on match point against Federer.
TV: 1 p.m. (taped), ESPN2; 7 p.m., ESPN2; 1:30 a.m., ESPN2
The Associated Press
