Becker Back From The Brink

After dropping the first two sets of his second round match against Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, Benjamin Becker won three straight sets to advance in the Australian Open.

The first two sets left Germany's Benjamin Becker with a mountain to climb on Thursday in Melbourne at the Australian Open, going quickly behind against Lleyton Hewitt 6-2 and 6-1.



Despite his poor start, the 33-year old settled down in the third set and was able to steadily chip away at Hewitt's lead, winning the third set 6-3 and the fourth 6-4. That set up a tie-breaking fifth set, and by that point Becker had firm control of the match as Hewitt's strength flagged. Becker won the deciding set 6-2 and advanced to the third round of the tournament with an incredible comeback.



World number one Novak Djokovic also played on Thursday, easily beating Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, 6-4.



Defending Australian Open champ Stan Wawrinka had a tougher time advancing past Marius Copil of Romania. Wawrinka had to deal with Copil's tough serve in three gruling sets, including one serve that was clocked as the fastest of the year so far (242 kph, 150 mph). In the end Wawrinka survived two tie-breaks and won 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.



Spain's David Ferrer, seeded fourth in the tournament that has seen him in at least the quarterfinals for the past four years, advanced to the third round with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine



Williams sisters through, Azarenka on pace



On the women's side, Serena Williams struggled to find her form in the first set but cruised in the second on her way to a 7-5, 6-0 win against Vera Zvonareva. Venus Williams also advanced to the third round by beating fellow American Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-3.



The injury comeback by Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, gathered steam on Thursday as she swept aside close friend and number eight seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2 in what was expected to be a tight affair.



"I can't wait to just keep working and keep playing, having more matches, more tournaments," Azarenka said after the match. "It's the beginning of the year, so I'm looking forward to it.



For Wozniacki, the loss meant dashed hopes once again at an Australian Open.



"I think it's a curse I've gotten here," Wozniacki said. "I've made semis, then quarters, then fourth round, then third round, this year second round



Azarenka now faces 25-seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova for a chance to compete in the Round of 16.



Germany's Mona Barthel was eliminated by two-time Wimbledon champ and fourth-ranked Petra Kvitova in straight sets 2-6, 4-6.



mz/apc (AFP, Reuters, dpa)