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Records and rockets

Novak Djokovic showed neat footwork © Getty Images

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Day Five Gallery

Don't call me dull
World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has a lot of things going for her. She's pretty good with a racket in her hand, is easy on the eye and by all accounts is a pretty nice person. But it would appear the tennis journalists of the world are not overly keen on her press conferences. 'Boring' is a word that has been bandied about. So after beating Dominika Cibulkova, the Dane went on the offensive with the assembled media. Rather than waiting for questions, she took the initiative, by starting the conference herself and saying: "You know, I find it quite, you know, funny because I always get the same questions. So I'm just going to start. I know what you're going to ask me already. So I'm just going to start with the answer." She went on to preempt questions about the match, her No. 1 ranking and not having won a grand slam yet. Her actions appeared to lighten the mood in the press room as when opening the floor to questions, she was asked about her private life.

Reporter: "When are you going to get married and how many kids are you going to have?"
Wozniacki: "First I have to find a guy."
Reporter: "What do you expect in a guy?"
Wozniacki: "Honesty. Understanding what I'm doing. Maybe a sportsperson himself."

ESPN's finest scribes are set to embark on a quest for the world yo-yo championship while taking a lie-detector test and reading the 'what women want' handbook.

Is the iceman melting?
Roger Federer is rarely seen out of his comfort zone. Win or lose, and he doesn't lose very often, he remains in his bubble of inner calm. However, during his second-round win over Gilles Simon we saw the Fed pumping his fist and whooping with delight on a number of occasions. A show of emotion is good to see but against Xavier Malisse on Friday, he went from roaring with delight to muttering under his breath and voicing his displeasure with line judges. His game went to pieces for a short while, but the champion that he is emerged from the other side to ease into round four.

Wozniacki dominated on and off the court on Friday © Getty Images

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But he is a record breaker
Victory over Malisse handed Federer the record of the most wins at Australian Opens, taking him past super Swede Stefan Edberg's previous best of 56. "It's very nice, but he still stays my idol," Federer said.

A rocket from A-Rod
Andy Roddick often gives the tennis fans plenty to talk about and he almost added assault by tennis ball to his CV on Friday. The big-hitting American cut a rather frustrated figure towards the end of the opening set that he lost to Robin Haase. Sometimes the best way to ease the tension is to get angry and this is exactly what Roddick did. Haase advanced to the net and rather than attempting a pass, Roddick attempted to go straight through the middle of his opponent. The midriff is an often acceptable area to hit the ball towards, but A-Rod went a bit higher - roughly two feet higher as a missile of a forehand went within inches of taking Haase's head with it on its way to the back of the court. "That shot? Not enough topspin," Roddick explained after the match. "It happens. Everyone's done it." Hmm.

Dancing King
Novak Djokovic can never be accused of taking himself too seriously and he wowed the crowds in Melbourne with his footwork. Having seen Caroline Wozniacki lash on a pair of cricket pads the previous day, the Serb dusted off his dancing shoes to perform a routine with Dancing With The Stars' Kym Johnson. By all accounts his dancing was better than Wozniacki's back-foot drive, but the wag on the sidelines who exclaimed 'don't give up the day job, Novak' was spot on.

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