When Federer defeated Nikolay Davyadenko in a close match, he ensured a seventh consecutived grandslam semi final. Only Ivan Lendl with 10 has managed more. Nicolas Kiefer won his marathon encounter versus Sebastian Grosjean.

Martina Hingis bowed out to Kim Clijsters Clijsters faces Mauresmo next. The Aussie Open has seen some good matches so far. Hopefully the final stages sees some more exciting stuff.

Any of Kim Clijsters and Amelie Mauresmo can take the top spot from Davenport.

To quote from tennisfans:

Here’s how it goes: Clijsters can take the top spot if she reaches the final or if Lindsay loses before then (all those ranking points to defend, I guess). If Davenport makes the title match, Kim must at least make the quarters. Davenport, can retain the top ranking by reaching the final and having Clijsters lose in the fourth round or earlier. She will also stay No. 1 if she wins the title and Clijsters doesn’t make the final. However, Mauresmo has the most difficult scenario. She must win the title and Clijsters must not advance to the semifinals, regardless of what Davenport does.

Its Pironkova this time. The Williams just can’t handle the ovas. Only difference this time is that Tszvetana Pironkova is from Bulgaria.

And she epitomises the young daring sportsperson:

I have known about Venus for a long time but when I go on court I am a professional so I should not think she was kind of my idol before. After one day I have another match so I don’t think I should celebrate.

Roddick has spoken up against the gruelling tennis schedule. The Australian Open will lack the glamour with top players - Agassi, Hewitt (who withdrew yesterday) and now Safin withdrawing due to injuries.

But will some one listen?

Away from the dirty mess surrounding Indian cricket at the moment, a visit to the Sunfeast Open in the evening provided me some much needed reminder as to why I love sport so much.

I managed to catch the last game of the Shikha Uberoi-Myskina quarter final. Uberoi did well to win 4 games in the first set. It is a tier 3 WTA tournament but Uberoi has the potential to reach top 100 at least. Two Indian women playing in grand slams regularly will be nice.

The Likhotseva match was much closer. The oponent broke back in the second set only to lose it 7-5 in the end. Myskina is looking much stronger and is likely to win the tournament.

Tomorrow Sania Mirza and Pascual pair up in the women’s semis to face Likhotseva-Myskina pairing. Also their is another Indian doubles pair in the other womens semi final doubles. Plus the two singles featuring Myskina and Likhotseva. They are favourites to reach the finals but who can say in sport.

I am going to watch all the action over the weekend.

I watched the full match and was quite impressed by what I saw. I have always been a fan of the Mirza forehand but the back hand was not too bad either in the match. Mirza always hits a lot of winners but I did not expect her to hit so many versus Sharapova. The fact that she could match Shrapova for power, break her, take games into 40/deuce was over whelming as an Indian sport fan.

So how a score line of 6-2/6-1?

The thing called experience. Mirza was horrible on the second serve. She tried to play it safe after a fault and Sharapova would attack the weak second serve. Also, the unforced errors, though much lesser than the previous games, were a bit more that feasible to win games.

This are not huge errors and can be minimised. I definitely think now than Mirza is a top 10 player in the making. Mirza is going to play in the Sunfeast Open in Calcutta from September 19th. I will go ona weekday and on the finals Sunday for the tournament, which promises to be a treat for tennis fans.

We all know it is highly unlikely Mirza will defeat Sharapova today. Sharapova is 18, like Mirza but as far as achievments and accomplishments are concerned, there is a world of difference. Sharapova finished the year in the top 50 in 2003 (rank 32) when she was 15 and a half! Mirza ended 2003 ranked 399.

That is just the beginning of the story. Sharapova has been world number 1, she is a phenomenal player and overpowers her opponents. She has already won a Wimbledon and it would surprise many if she does not go on to win many more grand slam titles. In short, Sharapova is a tennis superstar and has the potential of becoming a legend.

Sania Mirza is a path breaker in her own right. No Indian female tennis player has been competitive at any serious professional level before. They have been stranded in the challengers. This is not related to talent in the country but the lack of infrastructure and financial restraints tennis players in the country face. The fact that there had been no past female tennis player to look upto in the country made it even more difficult for a female tennis star to come up from the country.

In 2005, Mirza, some one who has a superb win-loss record all through her career from the junior level onwards, has a 25-15. Sharapova has a 43-7. Do fans expect Mirza to beat Sharapova? Nah.
But because it is a first in Indian female tennis that a player has reached this far in a grand slam every one will be keyed up.

I have been followed tennis for 13 years from the age of 9 like it has been with most sports and have never seen any Indian reach ahead of round 2 in singles in the grand slams. Leander Paes was talented but too agressive which meant too many unforced errors. I have only heard the tales of the Krishnans and the Amritrajs. Finally there is a tennis player whom we Indian fans can call their own.

By defeating Bartoli in the 3rd round of the US Open, Mirza becomes the first Indian woman to reach the 4th round of the US Open. Just to give an idea of the accomplishment, no Indian woman had appeared in the main draw of a Grand Slam before Mirza in the Australian Open, 2005.

In the US Open, Mirza has made further strides, much faster than many people anticipated. Versus Maria Sharapova in round 4, there is no pressure on the 18 year old. Can Mirza create an upset and defeat Sharapova? She did defeat the defending US Open champion Kuznetsova a few months ago. Very unlikely that Mirza will win versus Sharapova.

One thing is for sure, Indian tennis fans are very happy!

After facing trouble in her 2nd round matchup, news is coming in that Sania Mirza has opted out of the doubles but will play in the 3rd round in singles despite not being fully fit. This is a big concern as she cannot be expected to perform to potential carrying an injury.

I cannot find any news regarding the same on google news or any where else but a TV station was carrying the same.

Here is hoping the doubles lay off will help Mirza recover to put a good performance in Round 3.

Mirza has become the first Indian to reach round 3 of the US Open. Here forehands were exquiite as usual and the strategy of going for winners in windy conditions paid off. One of the trademarks of Mirza is the cool calculated approach she displays on court.

In round 3 she faces Marion Bartiolo. Can she reach the pre quarters now? Whatever happens, Mirza has already done India proud.