Hewitt, Tomic Last Aussies Standing

So often the last man standing at an Australian Open, Lleyton Hewitt remains upright in the tournament’s third round in defiance of many tipsters.

Hewitt joined Bernard Tomic as the only remaining Australians in the singles draw with a second-round victory on Thursday night after 15th seed Andy Roddick retired with a hamstring injury.

Hewitt held a two sets to one advantage at the time.

Tomic’s credentials as the spear-carrier for Australian tennis will be put to the test on Friday night when he takes on 13th seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov on centre court.

But Hewitt, whose 16th Australian Open is one of very few in which he has not been under pressure to deliver, has reached the third round despite coming off 12 months marred by injury and lacking game time.

The 30-year-old next faces Canadian Milos Raonic on Saturday.

Roddick won the first set on Rod Laver Arena but the match changed complexion when the American stumbled awkwardly during the second – tweaking a hamstring tendon.

Hewitt clambered back into the match taking the second and third sets before Roddick succumbed to the inevitable after two hours and 10 minutes.

“In the last four years I’ve had five surgeries and last year I played just two Grand Slams and two Davis Cup ties,” Hewitt said.

“I came in here with nothing to lose, I’ll play with my heart on my sleeve and see where it gets me.”

Tomic says he’s ready for one of the biggest matches on his career against Dolgopolov – a player who has beaten him three times in the past 12 months on hard courts.

“He seems to play good tennis and bad tennis for a set. So it’s very difficult,” Tomic said.

“You have to just hold your game against him and hope for the best.

“He is a very good player and a lot of people struggle with him.”

Others in third round action on Friday include Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters.

Hewitt, Tomic Last Aussies Standing

Melbourne Airport 2011 Stats

Melbourne Airport achieved strong international passenger growth in 2011 as its domestic numbers fell, impacted by volcanic ash, Qantas strikes and Tiger’s suspension.

The year saw total international passengers passing through the airport rise 11% compared with 2010 to 6.6 million.

Strong growth was seen among visitors from New Zealand, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan.

Meanwhile domestic numbers dipped 2% compared with 2010 to 21.3 million passengers.

“Domestically, 2011 was a particularly tough year, with the well publicised weather and airline events that disrupted services,” chief executive Chris Woodruff said.

But the strong international numbers resulted in positive growth overall of 1% as 27.9 million passengers passed through the airport.

The Tomic Train Rolls on Further - Fuelled by Self-Belief

WHERE Sam Stosur struggles, Bernard Tomic thrives. Stosur, famously, owns a US Open title, while Tomic's best-known possession is a $150,000 orange BMW familiar to the Gold Coast police, but the innate self-belief that Tomic seems to have in abundance is what Stosur sometimes lacks. Here, especially.

As a first-round singles loser, Stosur has been left to compete for the mixed doubles consolation prize, while Tomic last night repeated his third-round singles effort of a year ago to remain in the main game.

The teenager toppled American Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 at Rod Laver Arena and tomorrow will play flashy Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Is he looking forward to it? ''Absolutely not,'' Tomic admitted candidly. ''I think he doesn't like my game, I don't like his. He is a very good player, and a lot of people struggle with him, but I've got to do smart things when I play him and I think the last few times I played him I didn't do the right thing after winning the first set.''

Against Querrey, Tomic displayed his usual array of spins, paces and placements; the problem is that Dolgopolov plays a similarly quirky, unconventional game, and the 13th seed who last night saved a match point before outlasting German Tobias Kamke 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 8-6 was by some margin Tomic's least preferred third-round foe.

Coached by eccentric South Australian Jack Reader, Dolgopolov has won all three of the pair's previous meetings, most recently in Shanghai in October when, in Reader's words, a beaten Tomic ''didn't see any reason to keep trying'' late in the three-set match.

But that was a smaller stage; this is a big one, and size can sometimes matter where Tomic is concerned. Certainly, he is growing all the time - no longer in centimetres but in stature. He has already succeeded Lleyton Hewitt as the national No. 1, and has now equalled his best Australian Open result.

Querrey, ranked 95th but was as high as 23rd just a year ago before losing three months to elbow surgery, had spent just 87 minutes on court in his first-round match against French wild card Kenny de Scheppers, compared with the four hours, 11 minutes Tomic needed to give Fernando Verdasco a two-set start, play dead before a comeback in the third, and then roll on to a famous five-set victory.

But if conditioning was not an issue in the far cooler evening conditions, then at times Querrey's renowned serve proved to be. Blink. That was the first set. Gone in just 24 minutes, Tomic broken in the fifth game and unable to get a look back in on the American's towering serve.

Among a minimal Querrey error count there were seven aces among 14 winners to three in the first nine games.

But Tomic has been a winner for as long as anyone can remember, the fact that he is just 19 notwithstanding, and by the start of the second set he was starting to settle in.

Querrey's first serve percentage began to drop away, and Tomic took advantage of a few more looks at the second, as well as a climbing mistake count, to draw level on his fifth set point. By then, the match was still just an hour old.

Tomic is remarkably tennis-mature for his age, and, already with an impressive record in tie-breaks, he last night improved to 19-7 to take an important two-sets-to-one advantage. Ahead for the first time, he stayed there.

''It was a tough match,'' Tomic said. ''He's a world-class player, and to come back after that first round and recover the right way, I think I did a good job. After that first set, I was thinking, 'Please don't make it another two-sets-to-love [down], I don't want to play five sets.'''

Tomic said he would prefer to meet Dolgopolov at night than in the faster daytime conditions. In the same round 12 months ago, he met top seed Rafael Nadal. ''One year older,' he said. ''It's the same feeling, and same round. [But] no Nadal, so better chance than last year.''

The Tomic Train Rolls on Further - Fuelled by Self-Belief

Hewitt to Meet Roddick in Melbourne

Lleyton Hewitt will play Andy Roddick in a battle of the former world number ones in round two of the Australian Open. Hewitt raised the Melbourne Park crowd's spirits with a four-set win over Cedrik-Marcel Stebe on Tuesday night, showing his renowned fighting qualities to stave off a determined fightback from the German.

Hewitt, now 30 and in need of a wild card to play in the tournament this year, prevailed 7-5 6-4 3-6 7-5 to set up his meeting with Roddick, who had earlier eased past Robin Haase.

The Aussie fans had been left stunned by defeat for their leading women's hope Sam Stosur earlier in the day and at one point it looked as if Hewitt, the 2005 runner-up in Melbourne, might go the same way.

After establishing a two-set lead, Hewitt relinquished control and Stebe stormed back into the contest. He took the third set and then opened a 5-1 lead in the fourth. However, from that point it all went wrong for the 21-year-old as Hewitt, roared on by a packed Rod Laver Arena, reeled off six straight games.

Roddick dismissed Haase in straight sets, winning 6-3 6-4 6-1. The American is a four-time semi-finalist in Melbourne but never a finalist.

Seeded 15 this year, he looked comfortable enough and was pleased with his display, saying: "The serve was real good. I only missed a couple of returns. You know, it felt as clean as it does for a first round in a Slam."

Looking ahead to playing Hewitt, he predicted the match could turn into an epic.

Roddick said: "I think when we play, numbers go out the door as far as the number next to our name as far as ranking (is concerned).

"I don't pay much attention to it when it comes to Lleyton. He knows how to win tennis matches.

"He's a fighter. I have as much respect for him as I do for anybody in the game, how he goes about his business, how he competes, how professional he is.

"I've won the most recent meetings, but I think out of the six that I've won, four or five have gone the distance to the last set. We always have a bit of a war. I probably don't see it being any different."

Earlier, defending champion Novak Djokovic opened his challenge with a commanding 6-2 6-0 6-0 victory over Paolo Lorenzi . The Italian tested Djokovic as best he could, but the world number one was he secured his place in the second round in a comfortable 90 minutes.

There was the odd lapse in concentration, notably in the third game of the opening set when a double fault and a low volley into the net gifted Lorenzi the first break of the match.

However, Djokovic tightened his game to break Lorenzi three times on his way to claiming the first set and won 17 games in a row to seal victory.

A lengthy and powerful duel in the opening game of the second set left the crowd anticipating a baseline battle for dominance, and while Djokovic was stretched, it was never too far as he swept through the set 6-0, winning it with a perfect forehand down the line.

Lorenzi never gave in, but found no answers to Djokovic's commanding arsenal or silky drop shots, powerful baseline play and skilfully placed volleys.

"It's great to be back here in Melbourne where I have the nicest memories of my tennis experience," Djokovic said. "This is the grand slam I've won twice, I always play well here."

Djokovic came into the tournament following a holiday and without an official match under his belt in 2012, but there was little evidence of rustiness.

"I wanted to have that period of preparation to really get ready for the Australian Open," he added. "Physically I think I'm stronger, I'm improving things by small margins. It's something that gives me a lot of confidence."

Andy Murray overcame a stuttering start to reach the second round with a four-set win over Ryan Harrison. The world number four was broken three times as he dropped the opening set on Hisense Arena against the highly-rated teenager.

However, Murray regrouped well to secure a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory to keep the flag flying for Britain. And Murray praised Harrison afterwards, saying: "I remember when I was in that position when I was younger and there was no pressure on me. He came out and played some great tennis and I really had to dig in.

"He is one of the up-and-coming guys and I was expecting a tough match and that's what I got. I started to play better towards the end of the match, I had a few nerves at the start."

David Ferrer also cruised through to the second round with a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 6-2 win over Rui Machado. The fifth seed, a veteran of 37 consecutive grand slams and a semi-finalist last year at Melbourne Park, was never troubled by his rival from Portugal.

Ferrer broke Machado seven times in total en route to a straight-sets win.

Ninth seed Janko Tipsarevic was given a fright by Dmitry Tursunov.

The Serb stormed up the rankings in 2011 to finish inside the world's top 10 but it didn't look that way early on.

Tursunov, now 29 and heading towards the end of his career, took the first set and had chances to claim the second only to miss several set points.

Tipsarevic crucially edged the second-set tie-break and went on to record a 5-7 7-6 (14/12) 6-3 6-4 victory.

One of the game's rising stars, Milos Raonic won in straight sets, while Richard Gasquet (17), Kei Nishikori (24) and Alex Bogomolov Jr (32) were among the lower seeds to win.

However, number 29 Radek Stepanek went down in straight sets to Nicolas Mahut.

Australia Day 'Most important' for Nation

AN overwhelming majority of Australians have nominated Australia Day as the most significant day on the national calendar.

Almost nine in 10 people plan to celebrate the national holiday commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 in some way, a survey by the National Australia Day Council shows.

It found 93 per cent of people named Australia Day as a day of importance - more than any other national celebration.

More than five million Australians plan to attend public events on January 26 including breakfasts, concerts, fireworks and celebrations of indigenous culture.

Council chief executive Warren Pearson said today the survey found many people felt celebrating Australia Day fulfilled a need to be part of a national community.

"Whether it be through attending major events, taking part in a local community celebration or simply getting your friends and family together, Australia Day plays a significant role in our sense of belonging, unity and identity," he said in a statement.

Australia Day 'Most important' for Nation

Heat Returns to Victoria and the Tennis

Melbourne's hot night will turn into an even hotter day as tennis fans are being warned to expect sweltering heat.

Courtside at the Australian Open is tipped to hit 35 degrees on Tuesday.

The weather bureau is forecasting the high after the city tossed and turned through an overnight low that stayed above 24 degrees.

Ambulance Victoria paramedic team manager Brett Parker urged tennis fans to be sun smart during the day.

"It's easy to become dehydrated on a hot day," he said in a statement.

"If you can, get into the shade, into the cooler areas inside the buildings at the tennis. Have a bit of a break, maybe grab an ice cream of something."

Meanwhile, a total fire ban and severe fire risk warning is in place for the southwest and Wimmera parts of Victoria, with temperatures expected to reach 38 degrees. The rest of Victoria is rated high or very high.

Premier Ted Baillieu says Victorians need to still be alert for bushfire warnings as the high temperatures returned after two weeks of cooler weather.

"The benign weather that we've had over recent weeks should not in any way allow Victorians to be complacent about what lies ahead," Mr Baillieu said on Monday.

"The weather is drying, the weather is warming, we're approaching the peak season in February and now is the time for all Victorians in high-risk areas and those travelling into high-risk areas to think again, to refresh their plans, to practice their plans."

Grassfires are the primary concern for fire crews this year.

Tomic Ticks all the Boxes with his Gutsy Win

WORLD No.8 Mardy Fish has already hailed Bernard Tomic a superior talent, but Tomic yesterday showed competitive qualities even he was not sure he possessed.

What yesterday propelled the young Australian into the second round of the Australian Open should carry him much further still. This, unquestionably, was a major step.

For the second time in his career, Tomic recovered from a two-sets-to-love grand slam deficit against a higher-ranked opponent, but in far more testing circumstances on a scalding Rod Laver Arena. He beat 22nd seed Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in more than four hours. It drew a standing ovation and was greeted, inside the locker room, with approving nods.

''He's a great player. He's going to be a great player. He already is,'' Fish said. ''He's gotten so much better since I played him in the fall. He was a good player then, too. He showed out there that he enjoys playing down here. He enjoys this surface. He enjoys playing during the day in the heat, all the conditions and variables that this tournament has. I mean, he's light years ahead of me now, but especially when I was 19, at that time. Very impressive.''

So that's another box ticked, then. Ability, we knew. So, too, a cagey, unorthodox style that can lure his opponents into error. But few could have been certain that his fighting qualities were a match for his instinctive court craft, world-class backhand and love of the big occasion. Now we know something more. Tick, tick, tick.

''You can learn about yourself, and how in the future you can play,'' said Tomic, who will play American Sam Querrey in tomorrow's second round. ''I think there's a lot of guys that get two sets to love down - especially in a grand slam it's the toughest thing to come back like that - and they throw the towel in. Anything's possible if you keep trying … Showed me what I'm capable of doing.''

Indeed, what used to be Lleyton Hewitt's time - the Aussie warrior routine in the afternoon-fightback slot - is now Tomic's. Baton handed. ''A lot of [Hewitt's] matches, same stories, did the impossible: turned around a match in this situation. I think it's a good thing that I can believe in myself at this age. It can only be better for me in the future … When I'm down, I can lift myself and give it a go always.''

Against Russian Igor Andreev at Wimbledon, when he trailed by two sets and a break, Tomic was able to recharge with an overnight break before resuming for the final two sets. This was tougher, better, more satisfying, and the first time in four years that Tomic earned direct main draw entry was also the fourth consecutive time the wildcard graduate had won his opening round. ''Today wasn't fun, it was torture,'' he quipped later. ''I really don't know how I won, so I'm going to recover. I'm the happiest person alive now.''

Indeed, he could have won the first set, and should have won the second; wounded by two awful forehand misses: one on break point in a lengthy ninth game of the first set, and another when holding a set point at 30-40 in the 12th game of the second. That one, which could have levelled the match, was a sitter, but instead plonked into the net. And by early in the third set, he was twice forced to save potentially decisive break-point chances, fortunate that Verdasco was suffering in the sweltering conditions, he later revealed, and unable to put foot on throat.

Tomic's rally came after what commentator Todd Woodbridge called a ''semi-tank'' early in the third, and what the world No.38 admitted was a display of foxing. ''I eased off and seemed I didn't care, and I think that's what [drew] him in a little bit tonight. He thought he was going to win that third set, and when the right time came, I broke him. After that, he started … not hitting his shots.''

While his pre-match decision to question Verdasco's recent form and divulge his exploit-the-backhand game plan did not backfire, Tomic admitted his request for a day match had not been smart. ''Silly me,'' he smiled, while acknowledging the benefits of a ramped-up fitness campaign with post-match treadmill sessions to prepare for such best-of-five situations. ''Did not know that the heat was going to be like this.''

Yet he cannot help but be conscious of the national investment. Australia is sweating on the success of Wimbledon's youngest quarter-finalist in 25 years and, although not yet the finished product, there are constant additions being made to the preliminary sketch. ''It's not a good feeling, especially when you're losing,'' he said. ''You see the fans just disappearing one by one. It's a tough feeling. Then you start winning and they come back one by one.''

Those who returned would have liked what they saw. Impossible not to. One to remember.

Tomic Ticks all the Boxes with his Gutsy Win