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Down the rabbit hole

Joy, pain, relief or exhaustion? Fernando Verdasco celebrates his victory © Getty Images

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• Match report: Nervous Federer scrapes into third round
  
• News: Roddick reaches third round for ninth time
  
• Profile: Novak Djokovic | Mardy Fish | Andy Roddick | Fernando Verdasco | Venus Williams

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Another marathon moment
Fernando Verdasco, who played his part in the longest match in Australian Open history following his five hour, 14-minute 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(2) 6-7(1) 6-4 defeat to Rafael Nadal in the 2009 semi-final, seems to make a habit of going the distance at Melbourne Park. The No. 9 seed saved three match points before going on to beat Janko Tipsarevic 2-6 4-6 6-4 7-6(0) 6-0. After Monfils' Houdini-style escape on Monday and a similar show by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, tennis fans are being treated to a whole heap of drama.

'I didn't tank'
Spare a thought for Tipsarevic, who squandered three match points before losing the tiebreak to love and failing to win a single game in the final set. "Losing in the fifth set I don't want the people to get the wrong impression, I didn't tank, I didn't lose on purpose, I didn't mentally, you know, have a mental meltdown," he insisted. "It was just that I was feeling completely dead and tired physically."

Fried Fish
Another player who has been feeling a bit tired is No. 16 seed Mardy Fish. After battling his way through a gruelling five-setter in his first-round match, he was sent crashing out by Tommy Robredo, but he revealed he has been suffering with an energy-sapping thyroid problem.

Grudge match
Serbian and Croatian tennis fans have been known to clash at the Australian Open, but all the conflict was on the court in the Hisense Arena, where Novak Djokovic came through a tough four-set encounter against Croatia's Ivan Dodig. After Djokovic edged a hard-fought first set, Dodig levelled the scores after an epic 10-8 second-set tiebreak - his celebration suggested he had just won the Australian Open, not just a set.

Shameless plug
Andy Roddick used his post-match press conference to promote his wife's new movie - Brooklyn Decker appears alongside Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in 'Just Go With It', and he gave reporters a sneak-peak of his wife's Hollywood debut. "She is in a love triangle with Sandler and Aniston. She had to make out with one of them," he said. "We are really excited about that. The film - not making out with Sandler, that is." Surely there's a chance for Roddick's sponsors to jump on the 'Just Go With It' bandwagon.

Venus Williams parades her latest outfit © PA Photos

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Venus in Wonderland
After her short blue satin number on Monday, Venus Williams stepped up the fashion stakes with a banana-yellow lattice-style top and a multi-coloured skirt in what she called her 'Alice in Wonderland' outfit. "It's kind of about a surprise, because when Alice goes down the hole, the rabbit hole, she finds all these things that are so surprising," she explained. We wait with bated breath for her 'Cinderella'-inspired outfit when she returns to the court on Friday.

I'm no quitter
Williams battled through the pain of a leg injury to secure a three-set win over Sandra Zahlavova. The win came after Williams went off court for a medical timeout that left her little-known opponent kicking her heels, and in all probability contemplating the prospect of kicking someone else, for a good 10 minutes. The break saw Williams regroup from the loss of the first set to power into the third round. Fighting skills indeed, but would she have been so committed in a lesser event? "I'm there to stay," Williams said. Or was she? "Had it not been a major, would have definitely been harder to continue."

Kuznetsova gets Air
Two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova faces former world No. 1 Justine Henin in one of the highlights of the third round on Friday. The Russian has slipped down the rankings after a difficult time in 2010, and is seeded No. 23 in Melbourne - the vest number of basketball legend Michael Jordan. "The first thing it makes me think about is Michael 'Air' Jordan," Kuznetsova mused. "The ranking doesn't matter. The game, if you get it, you get it. If it's not, it's not."

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