Day 9 at the 2008 Australian Open!

January 22nd, 2008

Melbourne, Australia

Day 9 of the 2008 Australian Open was definitely a shocker for the fans as two of the heavy favorites for the title bowed out with nothing but a whimper. And two others will move on to meet each other in a Slam for the first time in their careers.

It was Jelena Jankovic who struck the first blow of the day when she ousted defending champion, Serena Williams handily with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Williams never looked comfortable and seemed irritated, annoyed and wanting to be away from Melbourne Park. Serena had a blister on her foot, and it was no help as Jankovic kept making Williams play more and more shots.

For Williams this is the 4th consecutive Grand Slam in a row that she has lost in the Quarter-Finals. For Jankovic it is the first time she reaches the Semi-Finals in Melbourne, and her third career Grand Slam Semi-Final, also reaching ones at the US Open in 2006 and at Roland Garros 2007. Jankovic won't have an easy time in the Semi-Final and is the underdog.

Maria Sharapova showed the tennis world that she means business and that she won't go down lightly during this Grand Slam. Sharapova was facing off against Justine Henin who was on a 32 match win streak and who hadn't lost since the Semi-Finals of Wimbledon last July. It didn't matter as Sharapova played a near flawless match to dispatch the world number 1.

Sharapova used her power and some soft hands at the net to keep Henin back and away from playing her full game. It was very similar to how Serena Williams defeated Justine Henin last year in the Finals down under. Sharapova moves to yet another Grand Slam Semi-Final with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Henin.

Day 10 of the Australian Open will feature the other 2 Quarter-Finals matches with Daniela Hantuchova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska and Ana Ivanovic vs. Venus Williams. The crowd can only hope for more competitive matches.

Rod Laver Arena Results:

Jelena Jankovic d. Serena Williams - 6-3, 6-4

Maria Sharapova d. Justine Henin - 6-4, 6-0

Top 10 Seeds:

1. Justine Henin - Lost Quarter-Finals (Sharapova)

2. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Lost 3rd Round (Radwanska)

3. Jelena Jankovic - Semi-Finals

4. Ana Ivanovic - Quarter-Finals

5. Maria Sharapova - Semi-Finals

6. Anna Chakvetadze - Lost 3rd Round (Kirilenko)

7. Serena Williams - Lost Quarter-Finals (Jankovic)

8. Venus Williams - Quarter-Finals

9. Daniela Hantuchova - Quarter-Finals

10. Marion Bartoli - Lost 1st Round (Arvidsson)