January 22, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 21, 1426

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MELBOURNE, Jan 21: Martina Hingis kept her cool to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday, while scorching heat took its toll on a host of players and forced tournament organisers to invoke their extreme heat policy.

Hingis, the former world number, continued her remarkable return to grand slam tennis by crushing Czech Iveta Benesova 6-4 6-1 under a blazing sun.

Officials closed the retractable roofs on the two main stadiums and postponed matches on the outside courts after Michaella Krajicek retired from her match suffering heat stress.

The Dutch teenager lost the first set 6-2 to third seed Amelie Mauresmo and decided not to continue after calling for assistance.

“I felt like I was going to throw up,” Krajicek told a news conference. “I just couldn’t even see the ball because my eyes were burning very much.

“I don’t like to give up matches, that’s for sure. I never give up...but I couldn’t play any more.”

Argentine sixth seed Guillermo Coria also wilted in the blazing sun, losing 6-2 6-2 3-6 6-4 to France’s Sebastien Grosjean before the extreme heat policy was invoked.

The 25th-seed Grosjean now faces compatriot Paul-Henri Mathieu in the fourth round after the 24 year old beat Peru’s Luis Horna 7-6 7-6 6-1.

There was better news for Belgian Kim Clijsters, who has struggled all week with hip and back injuries. The world number two and U.S. Open champion showed no obvious signs of problems as she romped to a 6-1 6-2 victory over Italian Roberta Vinci.

Clijsters will play Italy’s 15th seed Francesca Schiavone in the fourth round after she thrashed Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-0 6-0 in 42 minutes, leaving the Spaniard with a dreaded “double bagel.”

Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela followed up his stunning win over local favourite Lleyton Hewitt with a 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory over Kristof Vliegen to set up a fourth round clash with Nicolas Kiefer.

The German beat Spanish baseliner Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-2 5-7 6-2.

Slovakia’s Dominik Hrbaty lived up to his reputation as the ironman of tennis, winning his third straight five-set match 1-6 6-4 6-3 2-6 6-4 over Russia’s Igor Andreev, while in-form German Tommy Haas beat local wildcard Peter Luczak 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.

Twelfth seed Anastasia Myskina continued the Russian charge through the women’s draw by brushing aside Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson 6-3 6-1.

Myskina became the fifth Russian woman to reach the fourth round, where she will play seventh seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland who beat Japan’s Aiko Nakamura 6-2 6-3.

France’s Mauresmo, runner-up to Hingis in the 1999 Australian Open final, will play Czech Nicole Vaidisova after the 14th seed beat Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-2.

Hingis, granted a wild card entry to encourage her comeback, needed only 66 minutes to dismiss her unseeded opponent on the same Rod Laver Arena where she nearly melted in the 2002 final with Jennifer Capriati.

Injury forced her into an early retirement four years ago but Hingis said she is loving every minute of her return.

“I’m eager to see anything I can. I missed it for three years,” she told a news conference.

“Right now I’m sucking it up.”

Federer tames ‘Beast’

Later, Roger Federer had tennis aficionados drooling as he took apart giant Max Mirnyi to waltz into the fourth round.

The world number one, confronted by the imposing ‘Beast of Belarus’ camped on the net, was irresistible as he won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in 1hr 49 min to cruise into the last 16.

Federer will now have a match on Monday with unseeded German Tommy Haas, who beat the six-times Grand Slam champion in an exhibition match at Kooyong last week.

It continued Federer’s ominous start to the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, not dropping a set in three matches.

“I haven’t lost a set, I’m through to the fourth round, I have no injuries and I’m playing good tennis ... so it’s all good news at the moment,” Federer said after his win.

“I’m really looking forward to playing Tommy,” he added. “He beat me in a heartbreaker the last time we played at the Australian Open in 2002 when he beat me 8-6 in the fifth set, so it’s good we’re playing again.”

The sublime Swiss top seed cruised through the opening set in 25 minutes, breaking Mirnyi in the fourth game.

Mirnyi had two struggles to hold service in the third and fifth games of the second set and the giant Belorussian was taken to 10 deuces before he held for 3-2.

But the pressure told and Mirnyi cracked in the seventh game, serving a double-fault on double break point for Federer to go on and serve out for two sets to love lead.

Federer only committed three unforced errors in the first two sets of 19 games.

Mirnyi had beaten Federer in straight sets in the fourth round of the 2002 US Open but he looked in a different class to the Swiss maestro.

Federer broke Mirnyi’s serve for a third time in the opening game of the final set to take a grip and he fought off the only break point against him in the fourth game.

He got to two match points on Mirnyi’s service in the ninth game which he saved on two Federer volley errors, but the top seed made no mistake on his third match point, rifling home a forehand return winner to clinch a consummate victory.

Federer only made 10 unforced errors in 28 games in an immaculate performance.

Federer, with six major titles, is eight short of the record held by Pete Sampras, but such is his dominance of men’s tennis that he is averaging two Grand Slams a year in his three years at the top.

Results

Women’s singles (third round): Anastasia Myskina (RUS) bt Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 6-3, 6-1; Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) bt Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 6-4, 6-2; Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Iveta Benesova (CZE) 6-4, 6-1; Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) bt Michaella Krajicek (NED) 6-2 ret; Patty Schnyder (SUI) bt Aiko Nakamura (JPN) 6-2, 6-3; Francesca Schiavone (ITA) bt Maria Sanchez Lorenzo (SPA) 6-0, 6-0; Kim Clijsters (BEL) bt Roberta Vinci (ITA) 6-1, 6-2; Samantha Stosur (AUS) bt Sybille Bammer (AUT) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3

Men’s singles (third round): Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) bt Luis Horna (PER) 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (9/7), 6-1; Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) bt Guillermo Coria (ARG) 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4; Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) bt Kristof Vliegen (BEL) 6-1, 6-4, 6-4; Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) bt Igor Andreev (RUS) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4; Tommy Haas (GER) bt Peter Luczak (AUS) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; Nicolas Kiefer (GER) bt Juan Carlos Ferrero (SPA) 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2; Nikolay Davydenko (RUS bt Nathan Healey (AUS) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5; Roger Federer (SUI bt Max Mirnyi (BLR) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.—Agencies