• Australian Open, Day Five

The heat is off for Wozniacki

ESPN staff
January 20, 2012
Caroline Wozniacki tries to keep cool © Getty Images
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Beating the heat
Caroline Wozniacki seemed to barely break into a sweat during her 6-2 6-2 victory over Monica Niculescu. But the world No. 1 evidently felt the Melbourne summer heat as she was snapped taking gulps of ice-cold water while sitting a bag of ice on her head.

Woz learns a valuable lesson
Wozniacki didn't have it all her own way against Niculescu however, as the Romanian's quirky style of play - double-handed ground strokes with an unpredictable array of drop shots and slices - caused her Danish opponent occasional problems. Wozniacki, however, made it through - and learned something about her sport in the process.

"There's not too much rhythm [against her]," she noted afterwards. "She slices a lot from both sides and can play aggressive so you have to be on your feet to beat her." Yes, we find being on your feet usually helps when it comes to tennis.

Tsonga turns soccer star
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not play on Friday, having already booked his place in the third round with a win over Ricardo Mello 24 hours earlier. However, the Frenchman kept the crowds at Melbourne Park entertained as he kicked off an impromptu game of football on Court 16 at the conclusion of his training session.

Nadal's softer side
Rafael Nadal made light work of his win on day five, and the second seed even found time to show some compassion toward a fellow creature. Ever the charitable chap, Nadal waited with the patience of a Saint before serving for the second set as a swallow flitted down to the court to pick up a loose scrap of food. The Spaniard was rewarded - perhaps from above - as he held serve to love before going on to win in straight sets.

Fed goes over and above
The likely turning point for Roger Federer in his victory over Ivo Karlovic was the saving of a set point on the Croatian's serve. The point itself was one of the best of the tournament so far, as Federer intelligently played a return to the onrushing Karlovic's feet, before racing to the net himself and lobbing the six-foot ten-inch giant from impossibly close proximity.

Azarenka sends the fans home unhappy
Victoria Azarenka may be hotly tipped to win her first grand slam next week, but she might not be the most popular winner Melbourne has ever seen. The 22-year-old really lost her cool during her straight sets victory over Mona Barthel, arguing with a line judge late in the game before invoking the ire of the crowd at Hisense Arena.

Some sections of the crowd took to mocking her grunts after every shot, while she was booed loudly throughout match point. "Of course I hear it, I'm not deaf," she said afterwards. "I have no problem with that at all actually, I knew it was going to happen. They wanted her to win bad. It's fine with me, doesn't really bother me."

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