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A18 SPORTS
Friday 18 January 2019
Halep edges American in

Australia; Venus next

By HOWARD FENDRICH whose No. 1 ranking is up off the last five games and
AP Tennis Writer for grabs during the Aus- 16 of the final 20 points.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) tralian Open, "next round I That match was followed
— Push Simona Halep to play better." in Rod Laver Arena by No.
the brink, and she summons That third-round matchup 1 Novak Djokovic's 6-3, 7-5,
her best. will be quite intriguing, be- 6-4 victory over Jo-Wilfried
The Australian Open's top- cause it'll be against seven- Tsonga in a rematch of the
seeded woman got all she time Grand Slam champi- 2008 final at Melbourne
could handle from 20-year- on and former No. 1 Venus Park.
old American Sofia Kenin in Williams. And the winner of That one ended in the wee
the second round before that could face Williams' hours of Friday, just after
taking the last four games younger sister, 23-time ma- two-time major champion
to emerge with a 6-3, 6-7 jor champ Serena, in the Garbine Muguruza and
(5), 6-4 victory that took 2½ fourth round. Johanna Konta got going
hours Thursday. Venus won a three-setter at 12:30 a.m. in what is be-
"Well, I have no idea how I that finished a little before lieved to be the latest-start-
won this tonight," said Ha- Halep's did — and in much ing match in tournament
lep, the reigning French more emphatic fashion. history. Muguruza eventu-
Open champion. "It's so Pushed to that deciding ally won 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-5 at
tough to explain what hap- set by getting broken to 3:12 a.m.
pened on court." end the second, Venus ran Other winners in the wom-
A year ago at Melbourne away with the win down en's draw included reign-
Park, Halep was a point the stretch, defeating Alize ing U.S. Open champion Romania's Simona Halep reacts after defeating United States'
from being eliminated in Cornet 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. Naomi Osaka, past U.S. Sofia Kenin in their second round match at the Australian Open
tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan.
two matches but came So what was the difference Open runners-up Karolina 17, 2019.
back each time en route in the lopsided third set? Pliskova and Madison Keys, Associated Press
to reaching the final. In the "She was just putting more No. 27-seeded Camila
first round this year, she was intensity than me. She was Giorgi and No. 28 Hsieh Su- not on this afternoon. The adrenaline takes over,"
down a set and a break be- hitting harder, deeper," Wei. Wawrinka kept coming said Raonic, the runner-up
fore turning things around. Cornet said. "I had a little In men's action, Stan oh-so-close, and Raonic at Wimbledon in 2016. "I
And this time, against a less energy than in the Wawrinka was up a set kept hanging in there and was very fortunate to stay
hard-hitting Kenin, Halep second set and she took and was just two points toughing out the most im- alive in that fourth set."
trailed 4-2 in the third set advantage of it and really away from taking the sec- portant moments along the They were interrupted for
and managed to not cede raised her level." ond against Milos Raonic. way to a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 7-6 about a half-hour while the
another game. The 38-year-old Venus, un- Couldn't do it. (11), 7-6 (5) victory that put roof at Rod Laver Arena
And that was despite get- seeded at a major for the About an hour later, 2014 the 16th-seeded Canadian was shut because of rain at
ting what she described first time in five years, was champion Wawrinka was a into the third round. 4-all in the third set.
as "a little bit injured" in the the runner-up in Australia to single point from grabbing "I missed a few little points," Raonic thought that helped
second set, something that Serena in 2003 and 2017. the third set. Denied again. Wawrinka said, "that could him quite a bit.
seemed clear from the way Serena advanced to the And another hour after have changed the match." "I do a little bit better in-
she wasn't always able to third round by beating 2014 that, Wawrinka was two So true. doors than outdoors," he
run with her usual verve. Wimbledon finalist Eugenie points from seizing the "It feels like 4 hours passed said, "so thank you for rain-
"Hopefully," said Halep, Bouchard 6-2, 6-2, reeling fourth to force a fifth. Nope, by in about 15 minutes. ... ing up there."q

on the par-4 17th before since beating Tiger Woods easily lost one and I ended
holing a 9-footer for birdie in Las Vegas in November up picking one up," he
on the par-4 18th. in a made-for-TV event. said.
"I was aware of it," Mickel- "I knew it wasn't far off, but He then ran in a 5-footer
son said about shooting 59. it didn't feel like I was ready for birdie on the par-4 16th.
"I was giving it all I had and to go," Mickelson said. "I The Desert Classic is the
I had a good chance. On just felt like I needed to be only PGA Tour event to
17, I hit a nice tee shot in a careful. I felt I played a lit- yield two sub-60 rounds.
good spot to kind of hook tle bit more conservative." David Duval had a 59 at
a sand wedge into that Lefty birdied the first two PGA West's PGA West's
back right pin for me. And holes and played the Palmer Course when he
I hit a good shot, I had 18 back-to-back par 5s in 3 won in 1999. Adam Had-
feet though, I should have under with a birdie on No. win shot 59 at La Quinta in
hit that closer, but still had 5 and a 5-foot eagle putt 2017.
Justin Rose of England, watches his tee shot on the second a good chance to make on No. 6. He added a bird- Top-ranked Justin Rose,
hole during the first round of the Desert Classic golf tournament the putt. Made a good ie on the par-4 ninth for a also making his 2019 de-
at La Quinta Country Club on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, in La
Quinta, Calif. birdie on 18. That's not an front-nine 30, and birdied but, had a 68 at La Quin-
Associated Press easy hole for me, that shot the par-4 10th , par-5 11th, ta — one of three courses
the way it sits along the par-5 13th and par-4 14th, used in the event. He's the
DESERT CLASSIC shoot 59 on the cloudy, water." holing a chip from in front first No. 1 player to play
Continued from Previous Page rainy day at La Quinta The round was his first on of the 14th green. the tournament since the
Needing to play the final Country Club, Mickelson tour since early October "That was an interesting world ranking began in
two holes in 2 under to missed a 15-foot birdie try and the first in competition shot because I could have 1986.q