Record victory for Federer as Henin suffers elimination

Defending champion Roger Federer enjoyed a record 57th win at the Australian Open yesterday as former winner Justine Henin was condemned to her worst Grand Slam in five years.

Men’s third seed Novak Djokovic, women’s number one Caroline Wozniacki and Russian Maria Sharapova also reached the last 16 on a hot day at Melbourne Park.

Federer, recovered from his five-set thriller against Gilles Simon, handed out a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 beating to ponytailed Belgian Xavier Malisse, whom he has known since his junior days.

In the process he broke Stefan Edberg’s record for the most Australian Open victories in the Open Era and took an important step towards a fifth title – and the chance to deny Rafael Nadal a sweep of the Grand Slam crowns.

As temperatures rose past 32 degrees Celsius on the tournament’s hottest day, 2004 winner Henin was floored by Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, who held her nerve in a gripping tiebreak to win 6-4, 7-6 (10/8).

The seven-time Grand Slam champion, 28, has been struggling with an elbow injury after ending a brief retirement last year, and has not performed so badly at a major since Wimbledon 2006.

“I decided to play not being 100 per cent. It’s been difficult in the last three days on my elbow and I just did everything that I could to make it okay, but it wasn’t enough,” Henin said.

Earlier Djokovic’s quest to upset Nadal and Federer’s Grand Slam stranglehold received a helping hand when fellow Serb Viktor Troicki retired hurt after going a set down.

After Juan Martin del Potro’s demise late Thursday, third seed Djokovic is the only player left in Melbourne, other than Nadal and Federer, to have won a Grand Slam since 2006. He said he was not sorry to play a short match.

“I think I had enough tennis already in the last couple of weeks. It’s good that you don’t spend that much time on court, maybe save some energy,” Djokovic said.

Meanwhile, Wozniacki took sweet revenge on Slovak pocket rocket Dominika Cibulkova, whose shock victory at last week’s Sydney International raised new questions about the Dane’s credibility as world number one.

Wozniacki was broken three times but cashed in on an even higher error-rate by Cibulkova, the top 100’s shortest player at 1.61m, wrapping it up 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 32 minutes.

French Open champion Fran-cesca Schiavone eased past Monica Niculescu 6-0, 7-6 (7/2) and Anastasija Sevastova beat Vesna Manasieva 6-1, 6-3 to set up a last-16 meeting with Denmark’s Wozniacki.

Sharapova fought back from a set down before subduing Germany’s Julia Goerges 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, while China’s Li Na downed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-1 to revive memories of her run to last year’s semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Andy Roddick came from behind to see off Dutchman Robin Haase 2-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-2. In an eventful match, Haase rolled an ankle in the second game and hit shots with his back to the net and while leaping in mid-air.

Venus retires

America’s Venus Williams retired hurt with a muscle strain after just one game of her third round match against Germany’s Andrea Petko-vic yesterday.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner screamed in pain and stopped playing while receiving at 0-1 down, after being broken in the first game. She limped to her chair and quickly conceded defeat after seeing a trainer.

The retirement continues a miserable run for the older Williams sister in Melbourne and marks a bleak day for US tennis, as it is the first time in the Open era that no American woman has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam.