News

The tennis carousel winds its way Down Under at this time of year as the best players prepare for the first Grand Slam event of 2007 next week.

A dearth of rain has imposed water restrictions in Melbourne, meaning hosing lawns is limited to twice a week, swimming pools can only be topped up using buckets and just a quarter of sporting venues (and specific playing surfaces) are allowed to be watered.

Monday, the small hedge surrounding the statue of the venerable Rod Laver outside the arena bearing his name was green, but all the surrounding grass was parched and straw-coloured.

Water restrictions are not really expected to have an impact on the Australian Open, except parts of the grounds will lose their verdant lushness.

With the hype building toward one of the biggest events in Australian sports, noteworthy news last week was that world No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne has withdrawn for "personal reasons." It has been widely rumoured she is experiencing marital problems with her husband of four years, Pierre-Yves Hardenne.

Her absence will preclude a repetition of last year's final, when she retired with a stomach problem and Amélie Mauresmo defeated her 6-1, 2-0.

It was Mauresmo's first Grand Slam title, a huge breakthrough that was followed by her second when she beat Henin-Hardenne in the Wimbledon final. Asked in Sydney on Sunday about her highlight of 2006, the 27-year-old Frenchwoman said: "The Wimbledon match point. I said after winning in Melbourne last year that it was disappointing not to have a match point. That's why I put Wimbledon just a little bit ahead because I had that last moment of emotion. I realized at Wimbledon that the media needed me to win a Grand Slam with a match point because there was a disconnect between how I felt and how people saw me."

Mauresmo insisted her form at Melbourne Park was superior to what she showed at the All England Club. "Better, way better," she said. "That's why I felt there was zero question about whether I deserved that victory.

"I felt strength in my game and in my head a lot more than at Wimbledon."

Pending news on Venus Williams, all the best players, with the exception of Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport (expecting her first child) and Mary Pierce (recovering from knee surgery), should be present for the Australian Open.

Eight of the top 10, including No. 7 Martina Hingis, who was upset by No. 12 Jelena Jankovic Monday, were in the field at this week's Medibank International in Sydney.

Aside from Henin-Hardenne, the other notable absentee was U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova, whose only preparation was an exhibition event in Hong Kong in which she lost in the final to Kim Clijsters last Saturday.

Men's No. 1 Roger Federer has also elected to play only one exhibition event before the Australian Open. After winning the Qatar Open in both 2005 and 2006, this year he skipped it last week and is limiting himself to this week's eight-man event at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne, where he is guaranteed three matches.

Andre Agassi won the Australian Open in 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2003 and each time used the Kooyong exhibition as his only tune-up. Federer, at 25, may be wise to conserve energy while getting first-rate competition at Kooyong from the likes of Ivan Ljubicic, Andy Murray, David Nalbandian, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin.

For Federer and other English speakers, Australia provides a familiar, friendly and comfortable environment. But there are minor differences with the Australian dialect, and one Canadian reporter was surprised to watch a promotional video in his hotel room last week that included a mention of the establishment's "mating room." That seemed a little risqué until he realized it was just the Australian accent and actually referred to the meeting room — not to some place that might be used to propagate the next generation of home-grown tennis stars.