Friday’s Notes from the Australian Open

DOUBLES DRAMA

"Vamos!" shouted the Indian doubles player. His Spanish-speaking opponents were clearly not amused.

Tennis etiquette was put aside during a heated doubles match between Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi of India and Spain's Feliciano Lopez, who played with Juan Monaco of Argentina.

The No. 3-seeded Indian pair won the second-round match 7-6 (2), 6-4. Match officials stepped in to calm the players afterward, when the two teams approached the net, arguing and angrily gesticulating. The losing team then snubbed the Indians by not shaking both their hands.

Lopez later told reporters that Paes was "trying to provoke us all the time."

"At one point, we were a little bit tired of the style he was using on the court, and that's all that happened," Lopez said.

Lopez did not specify which point, but the Indians say he intentionally hit a serve aimed at Paes, who jumped out of the way to avoid being hit.

"There was one serve fired at Leander," Bhupathi said. "We're all professionals, I don't think he would have missed (the service box) by that much."

In their post-match news conference, the Indian team was openly amused. Bhupathi blamed the tension on their opponents' "not being in a happy place" because they were losing. And because it was a hot summer day.

"It's hot out there, we're trying to beat each other. A few unnecessary things were said," Bhupathi added, smiling. "The crowd loved it. We got into it."

"They probably were not happy that we used the word 'Vamos,"' Bhupathi conceded. "Small things like that added up. Kept adding to their frustration that we were playing good tennis."

"Vamos!" - the Spanish expression for "Let's Go!" - is commonly used by Spanish-speaking players and their fans.

"It's just one of the words I like to use," Paes said, adding incredulously that Spanish speaking players have taken offense to it in the past. "Nobody has a patent on it."

Paes added that they do not intend to censor themselves in the next round, where they face Spaniards Tommy Robredo and Marcel Granollers, the No. 13-seeded team.

Tournament officials did not immediately comment.

THE BUBBLE'S BACK

Pesky bubbles keep percolating at Hisense Arena.

For the second day in a row, a bubble-like pucker rose from the flat blue surface of Melbourne Park's second show court.

Saturday's bubble, inconveniently, emerged during No. 4-seeded Robin Soderling's third-round match against Jan Hernych. It forced a 7-minute delay while a technician treated the problem by drilling holes and pounding it with a mallet to relieve the pressure.

Soderling beat his Czech opponent 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.

A different swelling appeared on Friday, and Maria Sharapova noticed it while warming-up for her third-round match against Julia Goerges. She informed the umpire, the warm-up was halted, tournament officials rushed in and the driller arrived.

After that incident, tournament referee Wayne McEwan said moisture from recent rain had gathered under the court's Plexicushion layer but had evaporated as temperatures rose in recent days and caused a pocket of vapor that lifted part of the surface.

Soderling's match was the first of the day, and no additional bubbles were reported at later matches.

Craig Tilley, the tournament director, made only a brief comment Saturday: "The court's fine."

RING, RING - IT'S BJORN AGAIN

Sometimes Robin Soderling's phone rings and the voice on the other end is none other than Swedish tennis great Bjorn Borg.

"We meet sometimes, and sometimes he calls me, sends me texts. It's nice," the Swede said of the support he gets. Borg won 11 Grand Slam singles trophies in the 1970s and early 80s.

The No. 4-ranked Soderling has come close a few times to winning his first major but obstacles keep getting in the way, namely No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Roger Federer.

The Swede has lost the last two French Open finals - once to Nadal and once to Federer. He reached the quarterfinals at 2010 Wimbledon, losing to Nadal, and at the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Open, losing to Federer both times.

But he has beaten both players on other occasions and doesn't feel intimidated by their domination at Grand Slams.

"They're No. 1 and No. 2 in the world. I think in every tournament they play, they will be the favorites," Soderling said. "I think there's many guys who can actually compete against them and have a chance to win."

The 26-year-old Soderling advanced Saturday to the Australian Open fourth round for the first time in his career. He served 10 aces against Jan Hernych and hit 33 winners, dominating his 241st-ranked Czech opponent who managed eight winners.

Soderling hasn't dropped a set and is on an eight-match winning streak with his three at Melbourne Park after winning the tuneup tournament at Brisbane.

He faces Alexandr Dolgopolov, who won a five-set, third-round match against 2008 runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, and could meet Nadal in the semifinals.

PLAYED FOR DREAM; MUM ON MONEY

With 62 million dollars and counting - and that's only official prize money - Roger Federer is regularly breaking new ground on the economic side of tennis.

But like any well-off and discreet Swiss, the biggest all-time earner in the sport is giving little away about his obviously robust financial health.

"We put it in the banks, that's what we do. And we sit on top of it. Then we'll see later on what we do with it," said the four-time Australian Open champion as he deflected a cheeky post-match query from a European blogger. "Yeah, I'm not going to tell you, no,sorry."

While it's hard to deny that Federer has made more from the game than could rightfully be imagined, the 16-time Grand Slam champion is also trying constantly to give something back.

In the last month he's played in three charity matches, including a pair in Europe with Rafael Nadal and the flood relief expo which proceeded the start of the major. He is also active in his personal charity foundation.

"I never expected myself to earn so much money," Federer admitted. "This is where I always thank the older generation for all their hard work where prize money wasn't so high yet.

"But they were doing it basically for the love of the game because that's what it was. I like the history of the game, and this is why also I respect all the legends so much.

"I didn't start playing tennis to make a living out of it. It was just more living a dream, trying, because you knew, OK, you could make a bit of money. Maybe that could help you travel, and then you go from there.

"I hope that in 20 years, 50 years it's going to be even more incredible, the game of tennis. I know how lucky I have become. That's why for me it's absolutely normal to give back with my foundation, and wherever I can help. I try to do my best."

With Sapa-DPA and Sapa-AP