Melbourne miscellany

Caroline Wozniacki had a go at playing cricket.

The Heineken Beer Garden is featuring a brass band whose members are dressed in kangaroo costumes.

Todd Woodbridge will never again send a text message to Rennae Stubbs.

I really need for Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport to stop saying "disinterested" when they mean "uninterested."

Sam Stosur's blue-framed Oakleys make the best possible finishing touch to that nice Lacoste dress.

Speaking of fashion, Dannli Minogue dressed Victoria Azarenka in her new Project D line.

Alicia Molik is taking a break to get married, but will be playing at Indian Wells. (Note to the Montreal Gazette: Molik's marital status is not going to affect her volleys.)

Dokic to play Molik in wild card playoff semifinal

Jelena Dokic has reached the semifinals of Australia's wild card playoffs for the Australian Open, and her semifinal opponent will be Alicia Molik. Both Dokic and Molik are former WTA top 10 player who left the tour, then returned. They have both had a hard time since coming back. Molik is 2-1 against Dokic; the last time they played was in 2003.

Miscellany

Alicia Molik, seeded 2nd in the qualifying draw for the Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella, was defeated 7-6, 6-0 today by Beatriz Garcia Vidagany in the second round of qualifying.

Because it's so important that we know she's a blonde...

"I don't really understand the whole Twitter thing," says Sam Stosur. "Who cares if you're eating a sandwich or getting a haircut?" Amen, sister.

But also from Stosur: "I don't really read that many books...."

Serena Williams says she has not set a date to return to the tour. She has withdrawn from Marbella.

Casey Dellacqua has apparently withdrawn from the Family Circle Cup. Sabine Lisicki has withdrawn from the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach. She is continuing to rehabilitate her ankle.

And finally, here's something from Miami you didn't see on television:

Clijsters and Molik win their first rounds in Brisbane

Top seed Kim Clijsters won her first round in Brisbane today, defeating Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-1. Wild card Alicia Molik also won her first round. Molik defeated Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

There was one upset today: Andrea Petkovic defeated 8th seed Iveta Benesova 6-7, 6-2, 6-1.

Other winners today were Vania King, Melinda Czink and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Molik and Rogowska get Australian Open wild cards

Alicia Molik, who lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian wild card playoffs, has been given one of the tournament's discretionary wild cards. Also getting a wild card is Olivia Rogowska, who lost to Casey Dellacqua in the final of the playoffs.

Eight wild cards are granted to the tournament. In addition to Dellacqua, Molik and Rogowska, one player from Asia, one player from France, and one player from the USA are given wild cards. Former world number 1 Justine Henin was granted the first wild card, and the final one will be awarded next month. Yanina Wickmayer is hoping to get it, but Australian officials say that it is unlikely that she will be the recipient. However, since "rising stars" are eligible, Wickmayer is, at least technically, still in the running.

Molik knocked out of wild card playoffs

Jessica Moore defeated Alicia Molik 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 yesterday in Australia's wild card playoffs for the Australian Open main draw. Moore now advances to the semifinals.

Since her return to professional tennis, Molik has put together a 37-4 win record and has reached the finals of four ITF events, winning three of them. When she first announced her comeback, she said she would play doubles only, but she has since competed well in singles.

Molik can still get a discretionary wild card into the main draw.

Molik wins ITF event

My understanding, when Alicia Molik returned to the tour, was that she was going to be playing doubles only, but that does not appear to be the case. Molik, entered as a wild card, just won a 25k ITF event in Darwin, Australia. She is entered in another ITF event, also in Darwin, this week.

Miscellany

Alicia Molik is planning to return to the Sony Ericsson WTA tour to play doubles only. She retired last year.

Spectators will see a different person in the Jankovic box for a while. Jelena's mother, Snezana, is recovering from stomach surgery, so Jelena's father is traveling with her.

Ana Ivanovic will have to get a new fitness trainer. Scott Byrnes has decided to stay home (Australia) for a while.

Billie Jean King will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom next month.

Tennis Live Radio is finally back.

Alicia Molik retires from professional tennis

We all knew it was coming, but that doesn't make the news any easier to hear. Popular and talented Alicia Molik has announced her retirement from pro tennis, citing the obvious reason--the debilitaing results of serious illness and injury. The 27-year-old Australian, well liked on the tour and cheered by fans all over the world, was expected to become a major Australian singles and doubles star, but--like so many promising athletes--she was betrayed by her body.

In 2004, Molik won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games. In 2005, she and Svetlana Kuznetsova won the doubles title at the Australian Open, and she reached the quarterfinals in singles at that tournament; many will remember her dramatic third set, 9-7, loss to Lindsay Davenport. Molik soon reached a career high ranking of 8 in the world, and became one of the top servers on the tour.

Later that year, however, something bad happened: Molik was diagnosed with vestibular neuronitis. She was out for months--though not as long as she had expected--and when she returned in the spring of 2006, she entered the top 200 toward the end of that year.

Molik won the 2007 Australian Open wild card playoffs, and she made it to the third round of the tournament, when she was taken out by Patty Schnyder. She then entered the top 100, and made it to the second round of Wimbledon, but was defeated by Serena Williams. However, she and partner Mara Santangelo advanced to the semifinals in doubles, and she and partner Jonas Bjorkman were the finalists in mixed doubles.

This year, Molik went out in the second round of the Australian Open. A leg injury and a bad case of golfer's elbow got the better of her, and her retirement began to look more and more likely. She was thrilled to recieve a wild card to the Olympics, but she lost in the first round. That seemed to be the turning point. "I've had eleven years on the tour," she said, "with a bit of injury time in and out, that's a pretty unbelievable career, I think. I'm a bit of a realist. I felt like I've been ready for a long time. Instinct tells me to move on to something else."

It's a sad day for Australian tennis, and I think I speak for all fans when I say it's a sad day for us. Molik charmed the tennis world with her strong serving, superb doubles play and Aussie charm. She is warm and funny. and a first-rate sportswoman. She will be missed.

Molik gets wild card for Olympics

From On the Baseline comes news that bronze medal holder Alicia Molik has been awarded a wild card into the 2008 Olympics.

Other players receiving wild cards are Maria Koryttseva, Chan Yung-Jan, Ayumi Morita, Nuria Llagostera Vives, and Selima Sfar.

Larcher de Brito watch--today's news is bad

Michelle Larcher de Brito did not make it past the first round of Wimbledon qualifying; she was defeated by Stephanie Foretz.

In better news, Sesil Karatantcheva defeated Elizabeth Thomas of Great Britain.

And in terrible news, Alicia Molik did not get past the first round of qualifying, either. She lost to Tatiana Poutchek.

Molik out for at least 6 weeks

Alicia Molik is on crutches after Fed Cup, with a torn calf muscle. She is expected to be out for at least six weeks, and she is also continuing to suffer with golfer's elbow. Molik had planned to play at Indian Wells, but now she may not be able to do so.

Black and Huber upset in Sydney

Alicia Molik and Sun Tiantian have defeated top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 3-6, 6-3, 1-7 in the Sydney quarterfinals. They will play the winner of the Camerin/Craybas v. Chan/Chuang quarterfinal.

Australians go out in first round of Medibank International

Former top 10 player Alicia Molik went out in the first round in Sydney when she was defeated 7-6, 7-6 by Lucie Safarova. Wild card Nicole Pratt also made a quick exit when she was defeated by Virginie Razzano, 6-2, 6-1.

Meanwhile, once-again Aussie and former top 5 player Jelena Dokic has made it through three rounds of qualifying into the main draw in Hobart.

Shaughnessy downs Mirza at Hopman Cup

Meghann Shaughnessy, substituting for Serena Williams at the Hopman Cup, proved to be a worthy substitute when she defeated Sania Mirza, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. However, Shaughnessy and Mardy Fish lost to Mirza and Rohan Bopanna in their doubles match.

Williams is scheduled to play on Monday. Her opponent will be Lucie Safarova, who has already lost one match, to Alicia Molik.

Wimbledon, Day 3: Serena Williams--2 rounds, 2 problems

In the first round, it was Lourdes Dominguez Lino who gave Williams problems; today, it was former world number 8, Alicia Molik. Molik had to leave the tour for a long time because of a debilitating inner ear infection. She has been back for a year, but is still not playing at her pre-illness level, lucky for Williams. Williams pulled out a victory, but she has been vulnerable in her first two rounds, which makes me wonder whether she is really the most likely player to win Wimbledon. Final score: 7-6, 6-3

Player of the day: Kateryna Bondarenko, who came dangerously close to taking out number 13 seed Dinara Safina. Ever since her sister, Alona, made a breakthrough last year in Luxembourg, Bondarenko's game has improved considerably. She was the 2004 junior Wimbledon champion, so grass is a comfortable environment for her. Look for both Bondarenkos to rise in the rankings.

Alicia Molik & Mara Santangelo--new French Open champions!

Molik (left) consults with Santangelo

Tonight in Paris, the 17th-seeded team in women's doubles, Alicia Molik and Mara Santangelo, won the French Open by defeating Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama, 7-6, 6-4. In the semifinals, Srebotnik and Sugiyama had taken out number one seeds and defending champions Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur, and Molik and Santangelo had beaten number two seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber. Along the way, Molik and Santangelo had also taken out the hot team of Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung. The number 3 seeds--winner of two Grand Slam titles--Yan Yi and Zheng Jie, went out in the first round.

Alicia Molik was a top-10 singles player until she had to drop out of the tour because of an inner ear infection. She has not since regained her singles status.

For many years, Ai Sugiyama was half of a very successful doubles team that included now-retired Kim Clijsters. Clijsters stopped playing doubles some time ago, however, and Sugiyama paired with Daniela Hantuchova. Her pairing with Srebotnik is new.