Tears as Casey tames Mauresmo

FORMER world number one Amelie Mauresmo was dumped out of the Australian Open by unheralded Australian Casey Dellacqua in a three-set stunner in Melbourne yesterday.

Dellacqua used the backing of a capacity Rod Laver Arena to down the 2006 champion 3-6 6-4 6-4 in just over two hours, booking herself a place in the fourth-round.

Mauresmo struggled on her serve and endured 10 double faults, including six in the second set and three in the decider.

“I definitely thought I had some in the second and third sets, but wasn’t able to take those,” Mauresmo said.

“That’s the area of the game I should have done better and been more aggressive in these moments. That’s where I’m a little bit frustrated and disappointed.”

An emotional Dellacqua wiped away tears as the 18,000-strong crowd cheered her off the court.

“It means so much,” she said after a win which ensures she will end the tournament as her nation’s top-ranked female player.

“Since I was a young girl, you just dream of playing matches like that.

While Dellacqua was riding high, Jelena Jankovic had turned to ice baths in a bid to recover for their next-round match.

The Serbian’s quest for her maiden Grand Slam title has been a frustrating and fatiguing one to date.

Yesterday, she overcame yet another epic encounter and even a warning for receiving coaching from the stands to advance to the fourth round.

The top half of the women’s draw is heading for a series of thrilling matches next week as third seed Jankovic, top seed Justine Henin, champion Serena Williams and last year’s beaten finalist Maria Sharapova all reached the fourth round.

And they were joined there by 11th and 12th seeds, Russian Elena Dementieva and Czech Nicole Vaidisova.

The odd player out in the top half of the draw is certainly Taiwan qualifier Su-Wei Hsieh, who set up a dream fourth-round meeting with Henin after a 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 win over France’s Aravane Rezai.

The 22-year-old is playing in her first Australian Open.

Jankovic again felt the pinch as she eventually downed France’s number 30 seed Virginie Razzano 6-2 4-6 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.

The two-hour battle — played in the hottest time of what was the warmest day of the Open so far — followed on from Jankovic’s epic first-round win over Austria’s Tamira Paszek, which she clinched 12-10 in the third set.

Jankovic admitted afterwards her fitness levels “were not that great”.

“I wish I could have finished that match in two sets,” she said.

“I got very tired and you probably could have seen that during the match with my attitude because my head was down and I was just kind of dragging myself around the court.”

Jankovic also had to deal with a warning from the umpire for receiving coaching from her mother in the stands — a charge she emphatically denied post-match.

“I think that was wrong because my mum is just supporting over there in my box,” she added. “She just said ‘Come on’ in Serbian and I don’t know what else she said.

Meanwhile, Henin took her winning streak — which began following Wimbledon last year — to 31 after beating Italian number 25 seed Francesca Schiavone 7-5 6-4.