NOTEBOOK Australian Open

Fashion talk: Jim Courier and Andy Roddick chatted about fashion before a packed center court crowd. Courier, acting as on-court interviewer in the men's featured matches, was momentarily lost for words after asking Roddick a few questions about his 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 third-round win against Croatia's Mario Ancic. "OK, last question for you is, uh ... what do you want to talk about?" said Courier, who won two French and two Australian Open titles and had a 58-week run as world No. 1 in the early 1990s. Roddick, riding high after new coach and another former American champion Jimmy Connors made it to Australia to watch his past two hard-fought matches to reach the fourth round, didn't skip a beat. "I don't know, you're doing such a good job in the booth, your hair looks nice," Roddick told Courier. "You've come a long way since the striped shirt and the shorts that were way too short. I'm glad that someone's finally dressing you." "Thanks for the fashion tips," replied Courier, dressed in pinstriped pants and a deep blue shirt. "Wait 'til you retire ... you can dress this well too."
Israeli winner: Shahar Peer became just the second Israeli to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam Sunday with a career-best win over third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova. The 19-year-old Peer, seeded 16th, slammed 22 winners and served just one double fault to defeat Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2 and set up her first appearance in the finals of a Grand Slam, against Serena Williams. Peer is the first Israeli to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since Amos Mansdorf reached at the 1992 Australian Open, where he lost to eventual champion Jim Courier.
Hard road: Ashley Harkleroad was a set ahead and 4-0 in the second when Daniela Hantuchova threw caution to the wind. "She just started slapping it," said Harkleroad, after eventually losing to the 15th-seeded Slovakian 7-6 (6), 5-7, 3-6. "She was just reeling off shots one after the other, like she didn't really care, and they were all going in."
Associated Press
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