Quarterfinals Completed Under the Lights at Melbourne Park; Australia Assured of a Finalist

Quarterfinals Completed Under the Lights at Melbourne Park; Australia Assured of a Finalist ~~~
© Colette Lewis 2006
Melbourne--

The temperature may have dropped with the late afternoon showers, but it didn't cool off Australian wild cards Nick Lindahl and Ryan Bellamy who will play Saturday for a spot in the boys final.

Lindahl dispatched Austen Childs of New Zealand 7-6 (4), 6-2, while Bellamy gave the boot to 13th seed Luka Belic of Croatia under the bright lights of Show Court 3.

"This is my last year for ITFs, and I decided this year, I'm going to make my mark for Tennis Australia and get in that Top Ten ranking," said the excited seventeen-year-old currently ranked at 156.

Admitting that even he didn't expect a performance this good, Bellamy is enjoying his run. "I was glad I got through a set in the first round. This is a total surprise, but it just makes me hungry to go even further."

When looking ahead to the semifinals against fellow New South Wales native Lindahl, a longtime junior rival, Bellamy made a few bold predictions.

"I can tell you it's going to be a long match," Bellamy said, "and games are going to deuces all the time--we're going to be out there for rallies and rallies."

Unseeded Alexandre Sidorenko of France will also be facing a friend and rival when he meets Pavel Chekhov of Russia in the other boys semifinal. Chekhov, who upset top seed Thiemo de Bakker Wednesday, is the lone seed remaining in the draw, at 16. He outlasted unseeded Jaak Poldma of Estonia 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-1, while Sidorenko took out 15th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. At the Grade 1 Nottinghill tournament last week, Chekhov claimed a tough three-setter over Sidorenko, a result that Sidorenko does not begrudge him.

"He's a big friend of mine," said Sidorenko, who received a special exemption into the main draw. "I hope he plays well, and I don't need revenge just because he beat me."

On the girls side, number one seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark credited the rain and a change in strategy for her 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Tamira Paszek of Austria, the 12th seed.

"She was playing well, and I think I was lucky that it started to rain," said the fifteen-year-old Orange Bowl champion. "I got time to think about my game and what to do better."

"I saw she was really playing great when she gets the ball between the shoulder and the hip, so I said I have to change the game or I'll lose the match."

So instead of giving Paszek pace, Wozniacki began changing the speed and spin during the rallies.

"How will she hit the ball over her head, or below her knees? I was just trying to change the rhythm to see what it would bring and it worked."

Wozniacki will face fourth seed Ayumi Morita of Japan in one girls semifinal. Morita downed sixth seed Amina Rakhim of Kazakhstan 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a match that was completed indoors.

In the other match finishing indoors, eighth Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia continued her streak, now at 16 straight wins, by taking out third seed Dominika Cibulkova of the Slovak Republic 6-4, 6-3. Pavlyuchenkova meets second seed Raluca Olaru of Romania in Saturday's semifinal. Olaru overcame a determined challenge from fifth seed Sharon Fichman of Canada and recorded a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory.

The doubles semifinal matches were postponed and rescheduled for Saturday. The doubles finals are also scheduled to be played Saturday.

Click here for official draws from the Australian Open website.

For additional photos of the U.S. boys playing in Australia, see ustaboys.com throughout the tournament.