MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Umpire Kerrilyn Cramer dropped a furry yellow tennis ball on a spot on the second show court at the Australian Open - and it didn't bounce.
Cramer lifted her arms in a shrug to the crowd and walked off the court.
Maria Sharapova said she had noticed something weird on the spot as she warmed up Friday for her third-round match against Julia Goerges. At first, she thought the cushioning in her left shoe was behaving oddly or that some extra padding had somehow been added to the court.
All of a sudden I looked down and there was a pretty big bubble there,'' Sharapova said.I mentioned it to the umpire and she said she would make the call.''
Tournament officials rushed in, surrounding the spot in the service box just in front of the umpire's chair, kneeling to inspect it and swiping their hands across the bulge. After much discussion, they called in a technician with a cordless power drill to put a couple of holes in the rubberized surface. Problem solved, the match went on.
``This afternoon during the warmup for the last match on Hisense Arena a slight rise in the court surface was noticed,'' tournament referee Wayne McKewen said in a statement later.
``The warmup was halted for several minutes while the area was repaired. I, along with other tournament officials, then assessed playing conditions and deemed the court fit for play.''
The problem, he said, was that moisture from recent rains had gathered under the court's Plexicushion layer had evaporated as temperatures rose Friday and caused a pocket of vapor that lifted part of the surface.
Sharapova, the 2008 Australian Open champion, left the court as officials studied the mysterious problem area, while Goerges sat waiting in a court-side chair.
Cramer's court test prompted laughter in the stands, and cheers for the burly drill-wielding worker.
The Russian former No. 1 said the problem did not disrupt her game - she beat the unseeded Goerges 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 - but said later that the scene was not funny.
Maybe it was comical to you, it wasn't really comical to us. We warmed up and had to sit and wait for a while,'' she said.They took care of it pretty fast.''
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EMBARRASMENT OF RICHES: Roger Federer, one of the world's richest athletes, says he's embarrassed by the amount of money he gets earns.
The Swiss champion has officially collected $61,060,358 in prize money since turning professional in 1998 - more than any other player in the game - and that amount is almost certainly dwarfed by endorsements, sponsorships and other payments. Fortune magazine estimated Federer earned almost $62 million in the 12 months to October 2010.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion considered by many to be the best to ever play the game was asked by a journalist Friday if he was ever embarrassed by all the money that he makes.
Yeah, sure,'' Federer replied.I never expected myself to earn so much money.''
He paid tribute to earlier greats who toured the world on a shoestring, getting paid minuscule amounts by today's standards and building the sport's popularity worldwide through painstaking promotion.
This is where I always thank the older generation for all their hard work where prize money wasn't so high yet,'' said Federer, who advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open in a bid to win his fifth championship at Melbourne Park.But they were doing it basically for the love of the game because that's what it was.''
Like many top athletes, Federer donates money to charity and uses his celebrity to get others to contribute, too. The Roger Federer Foundation sponsors programs to educate almost 10,000 children in Africa, and the charity match that raised almost $2 million for victims of Australia's current flood crisis is just one of many he has played in.
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,'' he said.I try to do my best. It's not for (my) image's sake or because I have a bad conscience or anything. It's got to come from your heart. That's what it is with me anyway.''
Asked what he actually did with his money, Federer was more circumspect.
What do you expect a Swiss guy would say? We put it in the banks,'' he joked.Yes, that's what we do. And we sit on top of it. Then we'll see later on what we do with it.''
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FORTUNE'S FOLLIES: Venus Williams' injury withdrawal from the Australian Open put Germany's Andrea Petkovic into the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the second time in a row, a career-best result brought about both times when her opponent pulled out.
Petkovic, ranked 32, advanced to the fourth round of the U.S. Open last year in a walkover when China's Peng Shuai withdrew after hurting her arm. Williams pulled out in the second game of her third-round match against Petkovic with a painful injury to a hip muscle.
I hope I'm not jinxing the other girls,'' Petkovic said.I really feel terrible that everybody has to retire against me in the third round. I hope next time I will make the fourth round with playing the third round.''
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DOUBLES HISTORY: The Bryan brothers say that breaking the long-standing record for the most men's doubles titles last year was a weight off their minds.
The 32-year-old American twins have been the top-ranked doubles pair for the past six years and have nine Grand Slam titles in a decade on the ATP tour. But it was only last August that they surpassed the 61 tour-level titles that Australians Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge collected until Woodforde retired in 2000, and finished the year with 67.
``It feels like a weight has been lifted now that we have the record - a little bit of history,'' said Mike Bryan.
His brother added: ``Yeah, something to put on our resume.''
The defending champions are having few problems so far in their bid for a fifth Australian Open doubles title.
They defeated the unseeded pair of Carlos Berlocq of Argentina and Pere Riba of Spain 7-6 (8), 6-3 Friday to advance to the third round. They beat American pair Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round.
They were challenged in the first set Friday, failing to capitalize on two break points at 3-3 before going on to the tiebreaker and dominating the second.
Among the major tournaments, the Bryans have a particularly good record at Melbourne Park, winning titles in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. They have three U.S. Open titles, including in 2010, and one each at Wimbledon and the French Open.