Melbourne: Second-seeded Vera Zvonareva kept alive her bid for a third consecutive Grand Slam final, beating Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-6 (9) on Saturday to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Zvonareva served for the match twice but was extended to the tiebreaker. Safarova led 4-2 and 5-3 in the tiebreaker before Zvonareva finally sealed it on her fourth match point.
She lost the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals last year. If she goes one better and wins the Australian title, Zvonareva can move into the No. 1 ranking.
No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska also advanced in the women's draw, cruising past Simona Halep 6-1, 6-2.
On the men's side, fourth-seeded Robin Soderling beat Czech qualifier Jan Hernych 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 to extend his 2011 winning streak to eight matches, while 20-year-old Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic had an upset 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win over 10th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia. Raonic, who clocked the fastest serve in the first two rounds at 230 kph (143 mph), fired 32 aces and had only two double faults against Youzhny.
It was his second win over a seeded player in as many matches after beating No. 22 Michael Llodra in the second round.
Soderling started the year by winning the Brisbane International, beating Andy Roddick in the final.
Soderling's match was delayed for about 10 minutes in the third set when a bubble seemed to appear on the court surface at Hisense Arena. A similar bubble delayed the start of a match on the same court the previous night.
Tournament organizers said moisture from recent rains had gathered under the court's Plexicushion layer in the unseasonally cool conditions and evaporated as temperatures rose, causing a pocket of vapor that lifted part of the surface. Stadium staff repaired the problem quickly both times.
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