Surfer boy Evgeny Korolev & motorcycle chick Caroline Wozniacki ready for round 2

Evgeny 'Baby Marat' Korolev and Caroline Wozniacki made it through the first round yesterday at the Australian Open.

And earlier today, they took a short break from the tournament; hunky Evgeny did some photo shooting with his surfboard while Caroline took a Harley ride.

Caroline said that she would love to get her own motorcycle one day. Look at how excited she is!

Tomorrow Evgeny will have a tough draw against Roger Federer and Caroline will play against Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual.

(Images by Fiona Hamilton/AFP/Getty Images))

Australian Open: The fans win on Day 2!

What a boring second day at the Australian Open!!!

Firstly, Andy Murray was handed a win after Andrei Pavel retired due to back injury. Surprisingly Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recovered from his backache and had an easy win over Juan Monaco.

There were no upset earlier today except for Agnieszka Radwanska who lost to Kateryna Bondarenko.

Other seeded players who won it easily are Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Simon, Serena and Venus Williams as well as Jurgen Melzer who beat Asian favourite Kei Nishikori.

Even Fernando Gonzalez win over homeboy Lleyton Hewitt was an expected one.

For the full results, click here.

Before I leave for dinner, I would like to say that the winners today are not the players but it's THE FANS!

Don't you just love how colourful the Australian Open is! :D


(Images via Yahoo! Sports; Forty Deuce, AO official website)

Bryan Brothers jam out at Prince EXO3 Player Party

Twins Bob and Mike Bryan put up a great performance at the Prince EXO3 Player Party at the Southern Star Observation Wheel on the eve of the Australian Open.

Bob showed good form on the keyboard, while Mike gave the drums a good pounding.

Mike Bryan plays the drums.

Bob Bryan on the keyboard.

Guess what, Frenchman Gael Monfils also ended up on stage, taking over from Bob on the keyboard!

Vince Spadea and Gael Monfils

The Prince team organised the party for its players to take a spin on the Observation Wheel.

However Daniela Hantuchova missed the party at the very last minute.

Apparently she suffers from a form of motion sickness and did not want to risk a spin in the wheel on the eve of the Open.

(Via news.com.au)

Rendy Lu, Ai Sugiyama & Sania Mirza keep Asian hopes alive

Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama and India's Sania Mirza carried Asian hopes into the Australian Open second round on Monday.

However it was curtains down for comeback queen Kimiko Date Krumm.

In the men's singles, Taiwan's Rendy Lu Yen-Hsun also made it through to the second round with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci.

Rendy gets support from his fans at court 18.

With the strong crowd behind her, Sugiyama who is playing her 60th Grand Slam, battled past Canada's Stephanie Dubois 6-0, 7-6 (7/5) to continue her solid start to the season after making the semis in Sydney last week.

Some disturbing scenes from Sugiyama's court.

Thankfully Sugiyama doesn't dress like her supporters.

Ranked 26 here, the 33-year-old said she was encouraged by the start she has had to her 17th season on tour.

"I'm definitely very happy with the start I've had to the year," she said.

"My training has been good and I'm starting to play well.

"I started good today and won the first seven games in a row but then she got her rhythm and started hitting it deeper, and I struggled a bit."

Joining Sugiyama in round two is Sania who has suffered with injuries after a breakthrough 2005 when she reached the US Open fourth round.

Bad girl Sania sticks out her tongue.

Sania's signature move on court.

The 22-year-old went through a surgery on her right wrist in April ruining her 2008 season. She made brief comebacks before bowing out of the Beijing Olympics in tears.

Now she is back, hitting the ball harder than ever and hungry for success.

"It was a great way to begin after such a long break," Sania said after beating Poland's Marta Domachowska 6-1, 6-4.

"I've not played a match in almost six months now ... I'm just happy to have come through."

Aside from Sugiyama, Mirza and Lu, hopes for regional success lie with China's Zheng Jie and Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn.

Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan and Hsieh Su-Wei are also in the draw but have been drawn to face each other in the first round on Tuesday.

And of course there are also high expectations for Japan's Kei Nishikori who is scheduled to face Jurgen Melzer in the first round.

(Via channelnewsasia.com; Images via Yahoo! Sports, Rendy Lu's photos by Zahirah)