2009 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top six teams (based on conference results) from the conference earn invites to the tournament. Florida Gulf Coast, Kennesaw State, North Florida, and South Carolina Upstate were ineligible for the tournament due to NCAA rules after reclassifying to Division I.


2009 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Tournament Most Valuable Player
Alex Martinez was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Martinez was an infielder for Jacksonville.


2009 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2009 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 4–7, 2009 at Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.


2009 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The seven eligible men's basketball teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference receive a berth in the conference tournament. After the 20 game conference season, teams are seeded by conference record. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The #1 seed, if not tournament champions, will receive an automatic bid to the NIT.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season was a below-average Atlantic hurricane season that produced eleven tropical cyclones, nine named storms, three hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. It officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30,  dates that conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones develop in the Atlantic basin. The season's first tropical cyclone, Tropical Depression One, developed on May 28, while the final storm, Hurricane Ida, dissipated on November 10. The most intense hurricane, Bill, was a powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane that affected areas from the Leeward Islands to Newfoundland.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season
The season featured the lowest number of tropical cyclones since the 1997 season, and only one system, Claudette, made landfall in the United States. Forming from the interaction of a tropical wave and an upper-level low, Claudette made landfall on the Florida Panhandle with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (70 km/h) before quickly dissipating over Alabama. The storm killed two people and caused $228,000 (2009 USD) in damage.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season
Pre -season forecasts issued by Colorado State University (CSU) called for fourteen named storms and seven hurricanes, of which three were expected to attain major hurricane status. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) later issued its initial forecast, which predicted nine to fourteen named storms, four to seven hurricanes, and one to three major hurricanes. After several revisions in the projected number of named storms, both agencies lowered their forecasts by the middle of the season.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season
Several storms made landfall or directly affected land outside of the United States. Tropical Storm Ana brought substantial rainfall totals to many of the Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico, which led to minor street flooding. Hurricane Bill delivered gusty winds and rain to the island of Newfoundland, while Tropical Storm Danny affected the U.S. state of North Carolina, and Erika affected the Lesser Antilles as a poorly organized tropical system. Hurricane Fred affected the Cape Verde Islands as a developing tropical cyclone and Tropical Storm Grace briefly impacted the Azores, becoming the farthest northeast forming storm on record. The season's final storm, Ida, affected portions of Central America before bringing significant rainfall to the Southeast United States as an extratropical cyclone.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts
Forecasts of hurricane activity are issued before each hurricane season by noted hurricane experts Philip J. Klotzbach, William M. Gray, and their associates at Colorado State University; and separately by NOAA forecasters.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts
Klotzbach's team (formerly led by Gray) defined the average number of storms per season (1950 to 2000) as 9.6 tropical storms, 5.9 hurricanes, 2.3 major hurricanes (storms reaching at least Category 3 strength in the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale) and an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) Index of 96.1. ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed, so storms that last a long time, as well as particularly strong hurricanes, have high ACE numbers.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts
ACE is only calculated for full advisories on tropical systems at or exceeding 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity. NOAA defines a season as above-normal, near-normal or below-normal by a combination of the number of named storms, the number reaching hurricane strength, the number reaching major hurricane strength and ACE Index.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts, Pre-season forecasts
On December 10, 2008, Klotzbach's team issued its first extended-range forecast for the 2009 season, predicting above-average activity (14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, 3 of Category 3 or higher and ACE Index of 125). On April 7, 2009, Klotzbach's team issued an updated forecast for the 2009 season, predicting near-average activity (12 named storms, 6 hurricanes, 2 of Category 3 or higher and ACE Index of 100), citing the possible cause as the high probability of a weak El Niño forming during the season. On May 21, 2009, NOAA issued their forecast for the season, predicting near or slightly above average activity, (9 to 14 named storms, 4 to 7 hurricanes, and 1 to 3 of Category 3 or higher).


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts, Midseason outlooks
On June 2, 2009, Klotzbach's team issued another updated forecast for the 2009 season, predicting slightly below average activity (11 named storms, 5 hurricanes, 2 of Category 3 or higher and ACE Index of 85). Also on June 2, 2009, the Florida State University Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (FSU COAPS) issued its first ever Atlantic hurricane season forecast. The FSU COAPS forecast predicted 8 named storms, including 4 hurricanes, and an ACE Index of 65.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts, Midseason outlooks
On June 18, 2009, the UK Met Office (UKMO) issued a forecast of 6 tropical storms in the July to November period with a 70% chance that the number would be in the range 3 to 9. They also predicted an ACE Index of 60 with a 70% chance that the index would be in the range 40 to 80. On August 4, 2009, Klotzbach's team updated their forecast for the 2009 season, again predicting slightly below average activity (10 named storms, 4 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes). On August 6, 2009, the NOAA also updated their forecast for the 2009 season, predicting below average activity (7–11 named storms, 3–6 hurricanes, and 1–2 major hurricanes).


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
During the 2009 season, nine of the eleven tropical cyclones affected land, of which five actually made landfall. The United States experienced one of its quietest years, with no hurricanes making landfall in the country. Throughout the basin, six people were killed in tropical cyclone-related incidents and total losses reached roughly $77 million. Most of the damage resulted from Hurricane Bill, which caused severe beach erosion throughout the east coast of the United States. In the United States, tropical cyclones killed six people and caused roughly $46 million in damage.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
In the Lesser Antilles, Tropical Storms Ana and Erika brought moderate rainfall to several islands but resulted in little damage. Elsewhere in the Atlantic, the Azores Islands, Atlantic Canada, Bermuda, Cape Verde Islands and Wales were affected by tropical cyclones or their remnants. In Canada, Hurricane Bill produced widespread moderate rainfall in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, leaving roughly $10 million in losses. The hurricane also produced tropical storm-force winds in Bermuda. Hurricane Fred briefly impacted the southern Cape Verde Islands as it bypassed the islands early in its existence. The Azores and Wales were also affected by Tropical Storm Grace; however, both areas recorded only minor effects.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
Overall, the season's activity was reflected with a low cumulative ACE Index of 53, the lowest since the 1997 season. Due to the low number of storms in the 2009 season, many of which were short-lived, the overall ACE value was ranked as below-average, totaling under 66. Hurricane Bill was responsible for the ACE value for August being 30% above average.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Depression One
During late-May, a frontal boundary stalled near The Bahamas and slowly degenerated. On May 25, 2009, an area of low pressure developed along the tail-end of a decaying cold front near the northern Bahamas. Tracking northward, this low gradually developed as it moved within 85 mi (135 km) of North Carolina's Outer Banks. By May 28, deep convection developed across a small area over the low-pressure system, leading to the National Hurricane Center classifying the system as Tropical Depression One.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Depression One
It was the northernmost forming May tropical cyclone in Atlantic history, though subtropical cyclones formed equally far north in 1972 and 2007. It also marked the third consecutive year with pre-season tropical or subtropical cyclones in the basin. The depression moved over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream for the following 24 hours, allowing it to maintain its convection, before moving into a hostile environment characterized by strong wind shear and cooler waters. Late on May 29, the system degenerated into a remnant low. Several hours later, on May 30, about 345 mi (555 km) south-southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Tropical Depression One was absorbed by a warm front.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Depression One
As a tropical cyclone, the depression had no impact on land. However, the precursor to the system brought scattered rainfall and increased winds to parts of the North Carolina coastline, but no damage. Rainfall in Hatteras amounted to 0.1 in (2.5 mm) on May 27; sustained wind reached 15 mph (24 km/h) and gusts were measured up to 23 mph (37 km/h). The lowest sea level pressure recorded in relation to the system was 1009 mbar (hPa; 29.80 inHg). Increased winds along coastal areas of the state was possible in relation to the outer edges of the depression.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Ana
Ana formed out of an area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave on August 11, Ana briefly attained tropical storm intensity on August 12 before weakening back to a depression. The following day, the system degenerated into a non-convective remnant low as it tracked westward. On August 14, the depression regenerated roughly 1,075 mi (1,735 km) east of the Leeward Islands. Around 06:00UTC on August 15, the storm re-attained tropical storm status, at which time it was named Ana.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Ana
After reaching a peak intensity with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 1003 mbar (hPa; 29.62 inHg), the storm began to weaken again due to increasing wind shear and the unusually fast movement of Ana. In post-storm analysis, it was discovered that Ana had degenerated into a tropical wave once more on August 16, before reaching any landmasses.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Ana
Numerous tropical storm watches were issued for the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic between August 15 and 17. Several islands took minor precautions for the storm, including St. Croix which evacuated 40 residents from flood-prone areas ahead of the storm. In the Dominican Republic, officials took preparations by setting up relief agencies and setting up shelters. Impact from Ana was minimal, mainly consisting of light to moderate rainfall. In Puerto Rico, up to 2.76 in (70 mm), causing street flooding and forcing the evacuation of three schools. High winds associated with the storm also downed trees and power lines, leaving roughly 6,000 residents without power.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Bill
As Ana regenerated into a tropical depression, a new tropical depression developed early on August 15 southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. Light wind shear and warm waters allowed the depression to steadily intensify, becoming Tropical Storm Bill later that day. By August 17, Bill attained hurricane-status about midway between the Cape Verde Islands and the Lesser Antilles. Eventually the hurricane attained its peak intensity as a Category 4 storm roughly 345 mi (555 km) east-northeast of the Leeward Islands.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Bill
The storm attained maximum winds of 130 mph (210 km/h), the highest of any storm during the season, before weakening slightly as it turned north. The large storm passed roughly 175 mi (280 km) west of Bermuda as a Category 2 hurricane. Further weakening took place as Bill brushed the southern coast of Nova Scotia the following day. Shortly before making landfall in Newfoundland, Bill weakened to a tropical storm and accelerated. The storm eventually transitioned into an extratropical cyclone after moving over the north Atlantic before being absorbed by a larger non-tropical low on August 24.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Bill
Two people were killed by the storm's large swells—one in Maine and another in Florida. The hurricane came close enough to warrant tropical cyclone watches and warnings in both the US and Canada. Bill was one of three tropical storms active on August 16. Large, life-threatening swells produced by the storm impacted north-facing coastlines of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola as Hurricane Bill approached Bermuda. Along the coasts of North Carolina, waves averaging 10 ft (3.0 m) in height impacted beaches. On Long Island, beach damage was severe; in some areas the damage was worse than Hurricane Gloria in 1985. In New York, severe beach erosion caused by the storm resulted in over $35.5 million in losses.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Claudette
Just one day after the formation of Hurricane Bill, the season's third named storm developed on August 16. Forming out of a tropical wave and an upper-level low-pressure system, Claudette quickly intensified into a tropical storm offshore south of Tallahassee, Florida. By the afternoon, the storm had attained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and steadily tracked towards the Florida Panhandle. Early on August 17, the center of Claudette made landfall on Santa Rosa Island. Several hours after landfall, the storm weakened to a tropical depression and the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center took over primary responsibility of the storm. The system quickly dissipated and was last noted over Alabama on August 18.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Claudette
The National Hurricane Center issued tropical storm warnings for the Florida coastline and residents in some counties were advised to evacuate storm-surge-prone areas. Tropical Storm Claudette, produced moderate rainfall across portions of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama between August 16 and 18. Two people were killed offshore amidst rough seas from the storm. An EF-0 tornado spawned by the storm in Cape Coral damaged 11 homes, leaving $103,000 in damages. Additional damages to coastal property and beaches amounted to $125,000 as a result of Claudette.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Danny
Around the same time the remnants of Hurricane Bill dissipated over the northern Atlantic, a new tropical storm developed near the Bahamas on August 26. The system, immediately declared Tropical Storm Danny on its first advisory, erratically moved in a general northwestward direction. Danny attained peak winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) before succumbing to high wind shear. After turning northward, the storm weakened and was eventually absorbed by another low-pressure system off the east coast of the United States early on August 29. High waves from Danny killed a boy in the Outer Banks.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Erika
On September 1, the season's fifth named storm, Tropical Storm Erika, formed east of the Lesser Antilles. Upon forming, the storm had attained its peak intensity with winds of 50 mph (80 km/h). Persistent wind shear prevented the system from intensifying and resulted in the storm's convection being completely displaced from the center of circulation by the time it passed over Guadeloupe on September 2. After entering the Caribbean Sea, Erika briefly regained strength before fully succumbing to strong shear. The system eventually dissipated on September 4, to the south of Puerto Rico. Damages were minor, though one island received several inches of rain.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Fred
Several days after Erika dissipated, a new tropical depression formed southeast of the Cape Verde Islands on September 7. This depression rapidly intensified within an environment of low wind shear and high sea surface temperatures. Receiving the name Fred on September 8, the storm quickly developed an eye feature and was upgraded to a hurricane roughly 24 hours after being named. Within a 12‑hour span, the storm's winds increased by 40 mph (65 km/h) to its peak of 120 mph (195 km/h).


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Fred
Upon reaching this intensity, Fred became the strongest storm on record south of 30°N and east of 35°W in the Atlantic basin. Not long after the intensification ceased, it began to weaken as dry air became entrained within the system. By September 11, the storm nearly stalled northwest of the Cape Verde Islands and weakened to a tropical storm. The following day, Fred degenerated into a remnant low before taking a westward track across the Atlantic. The remnants of Fred persisted for nearly a week, nearly regenerating into a tropical depression several times. The low eventually dissipated on September 19, to the south of Bermuda.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Depression Eight
In late September, a new, well-defined tropical wave moved off the west coast of Africa into the Atlantic Ocean. By September 25, the system had developed sufficient deep convection for the NHC to classify it as Tropical Depression Eight. At this time, the depression attained its peak intensity with winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1008 mbar (hPa). Shortly thereafter, wind shear and decreasing sea surface temperatures caused the depression to weaken. The system degenerated into a remnant low on September 26 before degenerating into a trough of low pressure.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Grace
Originating from an extratropical cyclone east of Newfoundland on September 27, the precursor to Tropical Storm Grace tracked southeastward towards the Azores, gaining subtropical characteristics. After executing a counterclockwise loop between October 1 and 3, deep convection wrapped around a small circulation center that had developed within the larger cyclone. On October 4, this smaller low developed into a tropical storm while situated near the Azores Islands, becoming the northeasternmost forming Atlantic tropical cyclone on record.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Grace
The storm quickly turned northeastward and intensified, developing an eye-like feature as it attained peak winds of 65 mph (105 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 986 mbar (hPa; 29.12 inHg). It weakened over increasingly colder waters and began merging with an approaching frontal boundary. Early on October 6, Grace transitioned into an extratropical cyclone before dissipating later that day near Wales.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Grace
Although Grace passed through the Azores Islands, the storm had little known effects there. In Europe, the system and its remnants brought rain to several countries, including Portugal, the United Kingdom and Belgium. No fatalities were linked to Grace and overall damage was minimal.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Henri
A tropical wave left the coast of Africa on October 1, moving westward with intermittent showers and thunderstorms. On October 5, the system became better organized, and a low-pressure area formed. Although the thunderstorms were displaced east of the center of circulation and the probability for development was never high, the disturbance became a tropical depression around 0000 UTC on October 6 about 775 mi (1,245 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. Operationally, the storm was not designated a tropical cyclone until later on October 6, when it was immediately declared a tropical storm.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Henri
Affected by strong wind shear, Henri remained disorganized with its center located on the western edge of the convection. Moving northwestward, Henri intensified slightly to peak winds of 50 mph (80 km/h) on October 7 after the convection increased. Shortly thereafter, the wind shear grew stronger, and on October 8 the storm weakened to a tropical depression. The structure became further disorganized with several low-level vortices. Just twelve hours after weakening into a depression, Henri degenerated into a remnant area of low pressure. The remnants continued northwestward before turning to the west-southwest due to a ridge. On October 11, the storm's circulation dissipated near Hispaniola, having never impacted land.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Ida
The final storm of the 2009 season formed over the southern Caribbean Sea on November 4. The slow moving system quickly developed into Tropical Storm Ida within a favorable environment as it neared the coastline of Nicaragua. Several hours before moving over land, Ida attained hurricane-status, with winds reaching 80 mph (130 km/h). Hours after moving inland, Ida weakened to a tropical storm and further to a tropical depression as it turned northward. On November 7, the depression re-entered the Caribbean Sea and quickly intensified.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Ida
Early on November 8, the system re-attained hurricane intensity as it rapidly intensified over warm waters. Ida attained its peak intensity as a Category 2 hurricane early the next day with winds of 105 mph (170 km/h) as it moved over the Yucatán Channel. Not long after reaching this intensity, Ida quickly weakened to a tropical storm as it entered the Gulf of Mexico. Despite strong wind shear, the storm briefly re-attained hurricane status for a third time near the southeastern Louisiana coastline before quickly weakening to a tropical storm.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Ida
Shortly before moving inland over the southern United States, Ida transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. The remnants of Ida persisted until November 11, at which time the low dissipated. Remnant energy from Ida provided energy for another system which became a powerful nor'easter, causing significant damage in the Mid-Atlantic States. The resulting storm came to be known as Nor'Ida.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Hurricane Ida
In the southern Caribbean, Hurricane Ida caused roughly $2.1 million in damage in Nicaragua after destroying numerous homes and leaving an estimated 40,000 people homeless. Ida also produced significant rainfall across portions of western Cuba, with some areas recording up to 12.5 in (320 mm) of rain during the storm's passage. In the United States, the hurricane and the subsequent nor'easter caused substantial damage, mainly in the Mid-Atlantic States. One person was killed by Ida after drowning in rough seas while six others were killed in various incidents related to the nor'easter. Overall, the two systems caused nearly $300 million in damage throughout the country.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Storm names
The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2009. This was the same list used in the 2003 season, with the exceptions of Fred, Ida, and Joaquin, which replaced Fabian, Isabel, and Juan, respectively. The names Fred and Ida were used for the first time this year. There were no names retired this year; thus, the same list was used again in the 2015 season.


2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Season effects
This is a table of all of the storms that formed in the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s) – denoted by bold location names – damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 2009 USD.


2009 Atlético Nacional season
The 2009 Atlético Nacional season was Atlético Nacional's 61st season in the Categoría Primera A. The season highlights include the signing of new international players and the new manager Luis Fernando Suárez, who won a championship with Atl. Nacional in 1999. Adidas replaced marathon as the kit-manufacturer; this will increase the team's worldwide exposure. This season they will only participate in Torneo Apertura 2009, Torneo Finalización 2009 and Copa Colombia.


2009 Atlético Nacional season, Team kit
This year Atlético Nacional changed their kit manufacturer to Adidas as their one-year contract with marathon expired. Postobón will still be their shirt sponsor making this year their tenth year sponsoring them.


2009 Atlético Nacional season, Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2009 Atlético Nacional season, Current squad, Reserve & Youth Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2009 Atlético Nacional season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.


2009 Atlético Nacional season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
*  = 1 suspension withdrawn ** = 2 suspensions withdrawn


2009 Atlético Nacional season, Statistics, Starting 11 Copa Mustang 2008-II
Last updated: 2009-03-19Source: Squad stats and Start formations. Only competitive matches. Using the most used start formation. Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).


2009 Atlético Nacional season, Pre-season, Friendly matches
This game was played by the alternate roster of Atlético Nacional since it was played the same day of the match of Copa Cafam. As for Envigado they also played with their alternative team.


2009 Atlético Nacional season, Copa Mustang 2009-I
2009-I Copa Mustang will be the beginning of the new Colombian football tournament for Atlético Nacional and for all other teams in the Colombian League. The first two games for Atlético Nacional will be played behind closed doors, due to the disturbances made by the fans in the last season's last game against La Equidad. The organization will also have to pay about $5,000 dollars fine. After Atlético Nacional struggling by losing the first six games of the season, finally won their first match against Millonarios by one goal to nothing. On April 22, 2009 manager Luis Fernando Suárez resign from the team after losing against Deportivo Cali by a goal, later on April 23 José Santa would take over the position.


2009 Auburn Tigers football team
The 2009 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by first year head coach Gene Chizik. Despite playing the 12th toughest schedule in the nation, the Tigers finished the season 8–5 (3–5 in SEC play) and won the Outback Bowl 38–35 in overtime against Northwestern.


2009 Auburn Tigers football team
While Auburn was unranked at the end of the season in both major polls, several BCS participating computer rating systems such as Sagarin (#22), Massey (#22), Peter Wolfe (#25), Howell (#24), David Wilson (#21), Team Rankings (#18) and the FACT Foundation (#21) included the Tigers in their final top 25 rankings.


2009 Auburn Tigers football team
The offense finished the season ranked 2nd in the SEC and 16th in the nation (with just under 432 yards per game), while the defense struggled with depth issues and finished 68th and 2nd worst in the SEC. The pass efficiency defense however was 3rd best in the SEC and ranked 22nd in the nation.


2009 Auburn Tigers football team, Coaching change
On December 3, 2008, Auburn University announced that 10-year head coach Tommy Tuberville would not return for an eleventh season. The coaching search ended less than two weeks later when Auburn announced Iowa State's second-year head coach and former Auburn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik as the Tigers' next head coach. Auburn had interviewed at least eight coaches, including Buffalo's Turner Gill and TCU's Gary Patterson.


2009 Auburn Tigers football team, Schedule
Auburn's schedule consisted of eight Southeastern Conference opponents (four home, four away) and four non-conference opponents. Auburn opened the season against Louisiana Tech. It was the twelfth matchup between the schools and the first meeting since 2004. The Tigers also hosted Mid-American Conference opponent Ball State for the third time. Also, Football Championship Subdivision foe Furman visited for the first time since 1956. Auburn began conference play in the second week, hosting Mississippi State. The following week, the Tigers hosted West Virginia, the second game in a home-and-home series between the two teams. The Tigers had previously faced all twelve regular season opponents, with Auburn holding the all-time series lead going into the season against all but Alabama (33–39–1), LSU (19–23–1), and West Virginia (0–1).


2009 Auckland Open (darts)
2009 Auckland Open was a darts tournament that took place in Auckland, New Zealand on 19 September 2009.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season
The 2009 Auckland Rugby League season was the 2009 season of senior rugby league in Auckland. The Auckland Rugby League ran the various competitions. The season commenced on 14 March with the start of the Phelan Shield and ended on 5 September with the Fox Memorial Grand Final. This was the 100th season of the competition, which began with the 1910 season.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season
The season followed the same format as 2008, with a qualification series in the first half of the year giving sixteen teams the opportunity to enter the Fox Memorial competition.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season
Beginning 7 June two games a week were broadcast in both English and Māori on Māori Television and Te Reo respectively.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Fox Memorial Qualification Series
The Lion Red Fox Memorial Qualification Series involved sixteen teams divided into two pools, with the top eight teams entering the Fox Memorial competition. It started on 21 March and concluded on 2 May. The bottom eight teams instead entered the Sharman Cup.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Phelan Shield
The Mandron Masonry Phelan Shield began on 14 March and features eleven teams. The regular season concluded on 5 September with a grand final. The New Lynn Stags were the defending champions. Minor premiers the Manukau Magpies defeated the Waiheke Rams in the final to win the Shield.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Sharman Cup
The bottom eight teams in the Fox Memorial Qualification Series took part in the SAS Sharman Cup. The Richmond Bulldogs were the defending champions. The grand final was held on 5 September and saw minor premiers the Howick Hornets defeat the Glenora Bears 19–12 to win the Cup. Hibiscus Coast were relegated to the Phelan Shield with the Manukau Magpies being promoted.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Fox Memorial
The top eight teams in the Fox Memorial Qualification Series took part in the Lion Red Fox Memorial. The Mt Albert Lions were the defending champions and managed to defend their title, defeating the Papakura Sea Eagles 32–10 in the final.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Fox Memorial
As minor premiers the Otahuhu Leopards were awarded the Rukutai Shield.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Awards
The Auckland Rugby League's 2009 Awards were announced on 24 October.


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Awards
Lion Red Fox Memorial Player of the Year: Phillip Kahui (Mt Albert)


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Awards
George Rainey Medal Fox Memorial Team of the Year:Fullback: James Blackwell (Otahuhu)Winger: Phillip Kahui (Mt Albert)Centre: Toshio Laiseni (Papakura)Standoff: Zensei Inu (Te Atatu)Halfback: Aaron Woodhouse (Manurewa)Prop: Dylan Davis (Marist)Hooker: Zac Tippins (Te Atatu)2nd Row: Sala Faalogo (Mt Albert)Lock: Tui Samoa (East Coast Bays)


2009 Auckland Rugby League season, Awards
Mandron Masonry Phelan Shield Player of the Year:Itaifale Tolefoa (Navy/North Shore Dolphins)SAS Sharman Cup Player of the Year:Aaron Booth (Glenora Bears)Māori Television Rookie of the Year:Stephen Shennan (Te Atatu Roosters)Premiership Coach of the Year: Brent Gemmell (Mt Albert)


2009 Audi Cup
The first edition of the Audi Cup was a two-day association football tournament that featured four teams, and was staged in late July 2009 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The competition was organised and promoted by car manufacturer Audi AG to celebrate their 100th year of trading, and hosted by 2007–08 Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich defeated Manchester United in the final in a penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw. Boca Juniors defeated Milan in the third place match.


2009 Audi Cup, Competition format
The competition took the format of the latter stages of a regular knock-out competition. The winners of each of the two matches on the first day compete against each other for the Audi Cup, whilst the two losing sides play in a third-place match. The draw for the 2009 Audi Cup semi-finals was made on the Audi stand at the Geneva Motor Show, on 3 March 2009. The draw was conducted by Audi representative Tom Kristensen, in the presence of an official representative from each participating team. Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Carlos Bianchi (Boca Juniors) and Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich) were present on behalf of their clubs. The trophy was contested over two days, each day seeing two matches played back-to-back.


2009 Austin Aztex season, Schedule & Results
Exhibition MatchesThe Austin Aztex began their inaugural season as a professional team by playing 4 MLS teams in preseason exhibition matches. The first three games were held in Austin at Nelson Field while the fourth MLS match was in Rio Tinto Stadium on the MLS opening weekend. A fifth exhibition match was scheduled against the CONCACAF semi-finalist Puerto Rico Islanders in between their home and away series against Cruz Azul.


2009 Austin Aztex season, Stats
GP - games played,  Min - Minutes played,  G - Goals scored,  A - Assists,  S - Shots,  F - FoulsGAA - Goals Against Average, GA - Goals Against, W - Wins, L - Losses, T - Ties, CS - Clean Sheets


2009 Austin mayoral election
The 2009 Austin mayoral election was held on May 9, 2009. Incumbent Mayor Will Wynn was term-limited. No candidate received a majority of the vote, which would have precipitated a runoff election, but second-place finisher Brewster McCracken withdrew from the race  making Lee Leffingwell the winner by default.


2009 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours 2009 are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2009 by the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce.


2009 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, the first announced to coincide with Australia Day (26 January), with the other being the Queen's Birthday Honours, which are announced on the second Monday in June.


2009 Australia national rugby union team tour
The 2009 Australia national rugby union Tour  was a series of seven matches played by the Australia national rugby union team in November 2009. The "Wallabies " didn't obtain their goal (the Grand Slam) drawing the match with Ireland, and losing surprisingly to Scotland. The tour was preceded by a match against All Blacks for the Bledisloe Cup


2009 Australia national rugby union team tour, Matches, New Zealand
Assistant referees:Craig Joubert (South Africa)Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)Television Match Official:Akihisa Aso (Japan)


2009 Australia national rugby union team tour, Squad
The 35-man touring party was announced on 8 October 2009.


2009 Australia national rugby union team tour, Squad
On 28 October, Tyrone Smith was called up to replace the injured Rob Horne.


2009 Australia national rugby union team tour, Squad
After Berrick Barnes was ruled out with an injury sustained in training Brumbies, fly-half Matt Toomua was called up to cover for him.


2009 Australia national rugby union team tour, Squad
Note: Caps and date of ages are to opening tour match on 31 October 2009.


2009 Australia national rugby union team tour, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2009 Australia national rugby union team tour, Squad, Coaching staff
Head Coach -  Robbie DeansAssistant Coach -  Jim WilliamsSkills Coach -  Richard GrahamHigh Performance Director -  David Nucifora


2009 Australia national soccer team season
This page summarises the Australia national soccer team fixtures and results in 2009.


2009 Australia national soccer team season, Summary
The start of the year consisted of alternating qualification matches for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. When Australia met Japan in February, they were top of the group with three wins. A draw against Japan, a win against Uzbekistan and then another draw with Qatar was enough for Australia to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with two games to spare.


2009 Australia national soccer team season, Summary
Asian Cup qualifying started poorly with a draw in Indonesia and a home loss to Kuwait although wins later in the year improved Australia's position in the group leading into the final fixtures in 2010.


2009 Australia national soccer team season, Summary
Netherlands were ranked number three in the world at the time of visiting Sydney to play a friendly that finished nil-all.


2009 Australia national soccer team season, Summary
Australia finished the year at 21 in the FIFA rankings; however, the September 2009 ranking saw Australia reach its highest ever position of 14.


2009 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 2009 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title with the championship winner receiving the 2009 CAMS Gold Star award. The 2009 championship was the 53rd Australian Drivers' Championship and the fifth to be contested with open wheel racing cars constructed in accordance with FIA Formula 3 regulations. The season began on 19 March 2009 at the Adelaide Street Circuit and finished on 29 November at Sandown Raceway after eight events across four different states with two rounds per event.


2009 Australian Drivers' Championship
Team BRM driver Joey Foster became the second successive champion from Great Britain, holding off 2007 series champion Tim Macrow by eight points. In the National classes, Tom Tweedie was champion in National A, recording three top-three overall finishes and twelve class wins, while Peter Kalpakiotis was champion in National B as he was the only driver to contest more than one meeting.


2009 Australian Drivers' Championship, Points System
Championship points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top ten classified finishers in the Championship Class in each race. One additional point was awarded to the driver setting the fastest lap time in the class in each qualifying session and in each race at each round. The same system was also used for both the National A Class and the National B Class awards.


2009 Australian Drivers' Championship, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers have competed during the 2009 Australian Formula 3 season.


2009 Australian Drivers' Championship, Race calendar
Originally Event 7 of the series was to have taken place at Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania, and was indeed set to host the series signature race, the Tasmanian Super Prix on 18 October, however with several other series involved in the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships withdrawing from the logistically difficult Tasmanian meeting, the event was cancelled. Subsequently, a new meeting was organised to be held at Queensland Raceway on 21 August on the support card of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.


2009 Australian Film Institute Awards
The 51st Annual Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, honoring the best in film and television acting achievements for 2009 in the cinema of Australia, took place over two nights on 5 December 2009 and on 11 December 2009. During the ceremonies, the Australian Film Institute presented Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI awards) in 40 categories, including feature films, television, animation, and documentary. The ceremony was hosted by Julia Zemiro of SBS's RocKwiz. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface; with nominees thereafter.


2009 Australian Film Institute Awards, AFI Outstanding Achievement Dinner
The following two AFI Awards were presented at the AFI Outstanding Achievement Dinner in August.


2009 Australian Formula Ford Championship
The 2009 Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford open wheel racing cars. The championship was the 40th national series for Formula Fords to be held in Australia and the 17th to carry the Australian Formula Ford Championship name. It began on 26 March 2009 at the Albert Park Street Circuit and finished on 25 October at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit after eight rounds held across four different states and territories. Round 1 was contested over two races and all other rounds over three races.


2009 Australian Formula Ford Championship
South Australian driver Nick Percat dominated the championship, winning 12 of the 23 races. At the Hidden Valley Raceway round, Percat set a new record for the most races wins in the history of national level Formula Ford racing in Australia.


2009 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Points
Championship points were awarded on a 20-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 basis to the top ten classified finishers in each race. An additional point was awarded to the driver gaining pole position for each round.


2009 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2009 Australian Formula Ford Championship.


2009 Australian GT Championship
The 2009 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of closed production based sports cars which are either approved by the FIA for GT3 competition or approved by CAMS as Australian GTs.


2009 Australian GT Championship
The GT Championship division for FIA GT3 specification vehicles was won by former Carrera Cup racer David Wall driving a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S for the family owned Wall Racing team, which included race victories at Albert Park, Phillip Island, Eastern Creek and Mount Panorama for a comfortable victory margin of almost 90 points over another former Carrera Cup racer James Koundouris. Veteran Jim Richards, driving Wall's 2008 Carrera Cup car, finished third in the championship. Neither Koundouris or Richards took race wins in the series.


2009 Australian GT Championship
The other race winners were Craig Baird, whose Mosler dominated the opening round at Adelaide but the team was sold mid-season leaving Baird without a drive; Dean Grant, whose Lamborghini gained a win at Eastern Creek, and Max Twigg, who debuted a 997 GT3 Cup S similar to Wall's at the final round at Sydney Olympic Park to dominate the event.


2009 Australian GT Championship
The GT Challenge division for older cars, (mostly Porsche 996 Carrera Cup cars and one-make specification Ferraris and Maseratis), was won by Jordan Ormsby whose old Porsche GT3-RS dominated the series after Klark Quinn was moved from the Challenge division to the Championship division. Quinn won the first five races for the season prior to that. Michael Loccisano was second driving a 996 Carrera Cup with Keith Wong third driving a Ferrari 360.


2009 Australian GT Championship
The GT Production division for production based sportscars was won by Chevrolet Corvette driver, Paul Freestone. Lotus Exige drivers Mark O'Connor and Tim Poulton completed the top three.


2009 Australian GT Championship, Teams and drivers
The following drivers competed in the 2009 Australian GT Championship.


2009 Australian GT Championship, Season review, Race calendar
The championship was contested over a six-round series. Within each division, each driver could count only his/her best five round results.


2009 Australian GT Championship, Season review, Drivers Championship
Note: Three races held during the Adelaide and Eastern Creek rounds, the others had two races. Albert Park has only two rounds although three were scheduled. The third race was nullified by CAMS because of only one green flag lap.


2009 Australian GT Championship, Australian Tourist Trophy
The 2009 Australian Tourist Trophy was awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to the driver gaining the highest aggregate points total in the Eastern Creek and Phillip Island rounds of the 2009 Australian GT Championship. The title, which was the twentieth Australian Tourist Trophy, was won by David Wall driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S Type 997.


2009 Australian Grand Prix
The 2009 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2009 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season. The 58-lap race was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after starting from pole position. Rubens Barrichello finished second in the other Brawn GP car, with Jarno Trulli third for Toyota.


2009 Australian Grand Prix
Brawn GP became the first constructor since Mercedes-Benz at the 1954 French Grand Prix to qualify on pole position, and then go on to win the race on their Grand Prix debut. The race also became the second race in Formula One history to finish under stabilised safety car conditions—after the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix—following a collision between Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel, who were running second and third, on lap 56. This was Jenson Button's second Grand Prix victory, and his first since the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.


2009 Australian Grand Prix
This also marked the first race since the 1997 European Grand Prix that cars competed using slick tyres.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
The Grand Prix was contested by 20 drivers, in 10 teams of two. The teams, also known as constructors, were Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Brawn-Mercedes, Force India-Mercedes, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Red Bull Racing-Renault, Williams-Toyota and Toro Rosso-Ferrari.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
The race saw the debut of Brawn GP, whose owner Ross Brawn had bought out Honda Racing F1. The Brawn cars were driven by Honda's former drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button. The race also saw the debut of Sébastien Buemi, driving for Toro Rosso. Buemi became the first Swiss driver in Formula One since Jean-Denis Délétraz in 1995. Buemi replaced Sebastian Vettel who had moved to Red Bull Racing replacing the retired David Coulthard.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
Prior to the opening race of the season, McLaren and Renault planned to boycott the season opener due to money not being paid to the teams. However, the boycott was avoided and both teams arrived in Melbourne for the opening round. In a second dispute, several teams protested to the stewards about the legality of the Brawn, Toyota and Williams cars, with arguments that the diffuser on the cars were illegal. The protest was thrown out by stewards. However, the teams that initially protested, had appealed against the decision, with a FIA International Court of Appeal hearing set for after the Malaysian Grand Prix. At the hearing, the diffusers were deemed legal.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
The race itself saw a later start time, Having started at 15:30 AEDT (04:30 UTC) in 2008, the race was moved to 17:00 AEDT (06:00 UTC) for 2009. However, the executives of the Australian Grand Prix rejected calls from Bernie Ecclestone to move it to a night race, just like the one held in Singapore, as they want to honour their current contract to 2015 of a twilight race.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
"In both sessions sector two was working particularly well. There are only two 'real' corners in the sector, but it's really interesting and it feels good in the car. The FW31 is well balanced all round the track, but seems even more so there than in any other places. After a winter of testing, it's good to get out on a new, fresh track and we seem to be in a better position than we thought."


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Nico Rosberg, after topping the timesheets in both Friday sessions and his thoughts on how well the Williams FW31 was comparing against his rivals.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the race; the first was held on Friday morning and the second on Friday afternoon. Both sessions lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes with weather conditions dry throughout. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour, and was also dry throughout. The Williams cars of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima set the pace, ending up first and second with only five-hundredths of a second splitting the two. The only other driver that was within half a second of them was Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari, who was marginally behind Nakajima.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Rubens Barrichello set the fourth fastest time in the first official session for the Brawn team, outpacing teammate Jenson Button, who could only muster up the sixth fastest lap. Heikki Kovalainen was the faster of the two McLaren drivers in fifth, with teammate and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton languishing all the way down in 16th, some 2.3 seconds off the pace of the Williams cars. Rounding out the top ten were Felipe Massa's Ferrari, the Toyota of Timo Glock, Adrian Sutil's Force India (thus meaning that four of the six Mercedes–engined cars were in the top ten) and the first of the Renaults driven by Fernando Alonso.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Rosberg was again the pace-setter in the second practice session, with a time some six-tenths of a second faster than what he achieved during the first 90-minute session. This time, Barrichello was second in his Brawn with the Toyota of Jarno Trulli in third. This marked an improvement for Trulli as he was only 12th in the first session. The only Australian in the field, Mark Webber ended up fourth for Red Bull Racing, ahead of Button, Glock and Nakajima.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Webber's teammate Sebastian Vettel was eighth, after a morning session that was interrupted by a hydraulic failure which led him to pull his car off the road between turns six and seven. This ruled him out of the rest of the session, and restricted him to bottom of the timesheets and only four laps completed. Rounding out the top ten were Sutil's Force India, which ended up ninth again, and Massa in tenth. The three teams running the controversial rear diffusers (Brawn, Williams, and Toyota) were consistently the best teams on the track.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Rosberg completed a clean sweep of top spots in practice, by coming fastest in Saturday's practice session. His time edged out Trulli's Toyota by just three thousandths of a second. Button was third, and the only other driver to break into the 1:25 lap times, just under two-tenths of a second behind Rosberg. Massa improved again to end up fourth, and be the only driver from McLaren or Ferrari to finish in the top ten.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Nakajima again impressed in the Williams, finishing fifth, in front of Barrichello, Webber, and Glock, who took the next three fastest times and were split by around six hundredths of a second. The two BMW Sauber drivers—Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld—rounded out the top ten, as they appeared in the top ten on the timesheets for the first time, after a fraught pair of practice sessions on Friday.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
"The last five or six months for both of us have been so tough because of going from not having a drive or any future in racing to putting it on pole here is just amazing, it really is and I have got to give all credit to the team and Ross [Brawn] and Nick [Fry] for making this happen. This is where we deserve to be after the tough times we have had."


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
The qualifying session was split into three parts. The first part of qualifying runs for 20 minutes and eliminates the cars that finished the session 16th or lower. The second part of qualifying lasts for 15 minutes and eliminates cars that finished in positions 11 to 15. The final part of qualifying lasts for 10 minutes and determines the positions from first to tenth, and effectively decides who starts the Grand Prix in pole position.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
After dominating all three practice sessions on Friday, and again on Saturday morning, Rosberg did not fare so well in qualifying, managing a time only good enough for fifth position. The Brawn cars of Button and Barrichello dominated qualifying with the Brazilian finishing first in the first two parts of the session. In the third session, Button managed to beat his teammate's time by three-tenths of a second, and secured the fourth pole position of his career and his first pole since the 2006 Australian Grand Prix, that ended with Button's car blowing its engine on the final straight.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Vettel's Red Bull was third with teammate Webber in tenth at his home race, which would later become eighth after the disqualification of the Toyotas. Kubica improved even further to line up fourth, easily outpacing teammate Heidfeld, who did not make the third session and was running the KERS system, which Kubica was not. After Glock was demoted, Massa was promoted to sixth and was the best KERS runner, ahead of teammate Räikkönen, with Heidfeld and Alonso completing the top ten, after the Toyotas' disqualification.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
After the session, Hamilton was demoted five places as his gearbox had to be changed, which originally dropped him from 15th on the grid, to 20th. Some hours after Hamilton's penalty, the Toyota cars had their times declared void as the rear wing on their cars was deemed to be illegal. This pushed Hamilton up to 18th, with Glock in 19th and Trulli 20th.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
The conditions on raceday were similar to what had been seen on both Friday and Saturday, the air temperature at 25 °C (77 °F); clear skies throughout, with the race beginning at 17:00 AEDT. Button led away and retained his pole position lead into turn one. He was closely followed by Vettel, Rosberg, Massa, Kubica and Räikkönen. Those six led away and were unaffected by the chaos that occurred behind, in turn one. After near-stalling, Barrichello had dropped from second to ninth, and challenged up the inside of Webber's Red Bull as they entered turn one.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
After being hit from behind, Barrichello's left front tyre impacted with the right-hand sidepod of Webber's car which half-spun the Australian into the BMW Sauber of Heidfeld. Once Barrichello had emerged relatively unscathed, Webber impacted on the front left of Kovalainen's McLaren causing irreparable damage to the left front suspension of the Finn's car. At turn three, Massa attempted a move down the inside of Rosberg, forcing the German off course and as a result, falling behind the Brazilian. At the end of the lap, Webber, Sutil and Heidfeld all pitted to repair damage caused in the first corner incident.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Further down the field, reigning champion Hamilton was progressing through the field having started eighteenth. After the first corner incident, he moved up to 13th at the end of the first lap. He passed Bourdais for 12th on lap two, Fisichella for 11th on lap three, and broke into the top ten, after passing Buemi on lap four. Out front, Button was beginning to establish a lead of over four seconds by the time he set the fastest lap on lap six, with a lap of 1:28.787. Vettel was still running second ahead of Massa, Kubica, Räikkönen with Rosberg completing the top six. Hamilton attempted to pass Piquet for ninth, doing so at Turn 13.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
On lap ten, Rosberg attempted a move on Räikkönen into turn one, and succeeded to move up into fifth place on track. In the process, Räikkönen was slowed up by the German's move, allowing Barrichello to close up on the straight that leads into Turn 3. The Brawn car closed up thanks to picking up the slipstream, but even this left him several car lengths behind the Ferrari as they entered the braking zone for the corner. Barrichello's car snaked under brakes, and clipped the back of Räikkönen's car, causing more damage to his car.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Räikkönen was forced wide by the hit, and Barrichello's momentum initiated a passing move into Turn 4, succeeding and moving into sixth place. The Finn pitted at the end of the lap, changing from the option tyre, onto the prime compound and did not change compounds again for the remaining distance.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Massa and Hamilton both pitted on lap eleven, with both drivers changing from the option tyres, moving onto the harder rubber. This allowed for a scrap for third to begin between Kubica, Rosberg and Barrichello to occur, as the latter two had caught up on the Pole. It would only last one lap however, as Kubica pitted on lap twelve, the final driver to change his first stint super-softs. Out front, Button continued to lead by 4.3 seconds from Vettel with Rosberg third, Barrichello fourth and Nakajima fifth. Lap 16 saw both Vettel and Rosberg pit, with Vettel remaining in second and Rosberg fell to 12th. Rosberg was delayed by a slow left front tyre change, which was a major contribution to his nine-place fall in the race.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
On lap 18, whilst running in fourth place, Nakajima ran slightly wide on the exit of Turn 4 and proceeding to put too much power down spinning the car sideways and head on into the wall between Turns 4 and 5. After hitting the wall, his front wing ended up in the middle of the track and directly on the racing line. Button made his pit stop a lap later, and exited pit lane as the safety car was deployed. After the field cycled through, the safety car eventually picked up Button and would remain on the track until the end of lap 24.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
At the restart, Button held position out front, ahead of Vettel, Massa, Kubica – who was still weaving his car to get temperature into his tyres after he had crossed the start/finish line – and Räikkönen. In a battle for sixth, Piquet had lined up a move on sixth-placed Rosberg, causing the German to defend on the inside. However, Piquet lost control of his car under braking – and possibly due to the tyres not being up to the required temperature – and spun off into the turn one gravel and out of the race. Further down the field, Glock lost two places to Hamilton and Alonso, as both drivers attacked hard on the restart.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Positions remained the same until lap 31, when Massa made his second and final pit stop of the race and emerged back into the fray in 14th place. After returning to the race, Massa was told by race engineer Rob Smedley to step up his pace, as according to him Kubica and Räikkönen were a threat due to longer middle stints. Trulli pitted on lap 33, having made his first pit stop on lap 10.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
A lap later, Kubica set the fastest lap, with a 1:27.989, and two laps later, the Pole bettered that by a thousandth of a second – his fastest lap of the race. At this point, Button was still extending his lead over Vettel, leading by over five seconds from the German.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Kubica pitted from third place on lap 39, and rejoined the circuit in seventh, just behind Hamilton, who was still making his way up the field. At the same time, Räikkönen made his second stop and rejoined in ninth. Buemi had quietly made his way up into fourth place, just in front of the Brit, before he made his second and final pit stop on lap 41. Two laps later, Räikkönen made an error whilst exiting Turn 13, and spun off, glancing the wall on the right hand side. He eventually returned to the pits, to make an unscheduled pit stop. Also pitting this lap was Hamilton, then running in third place. It was a close-run thing at pit exit, but Hamilton did enough to hold off Massa and rejoined in tenth position.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Rosberg and Vettel pitted on consecutive laps, trying to limit the amount of time that they would have to spend on the super-soft tyre. Both drivers held station in seventh and second positions respectively. At this time, Massa was slowly exiting the race with suspension damage, limping round before retiring the Ferrari in pit lane. Button pitted for the final time on lap 47, and suffered a very slow stop, with a sticking left rear wheel change, with the pit stop lasting 13.2 seconds. A lap later, Rosberg set the fastest lap of the race – 1:27.706 – and was still closing on Glock. Glock and Barrichello both pitted late on, and the race order on lap 55 was Button, Vettel, Kubica, Barrichello, Trulli, Hamilton, Glock, Alonso, Rosberg and Buemi.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Lap 56 saw Vettel make a slight mistake in Turn 1, and allowed Kubica to make a run down the outside, towards Turn 3. Vettel braked early and Kubica was ahead turning in. However, Vettel turned in and his front wing locked onto the sidepod of Kubica's BMW. Due to this collision, both cars lost their front wings, but they carried on towards Turns 4 and 5. Kubica was ahead, but without downforce he understeered off the circuit into the wall and out of the race.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Meanwhile, Vettel also made an error on the way into the corner, sliding and hitting the wall, causing his left front tyre to bend back on itself. He carried on, as he was still in the points at this time. He could only continue on for just over a lap, as he ground to a halt between Turns 10 and 11. As the debris was not cleared up in time, this led to only the second safety car finish in Formula One.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
As stated by Article 40.14 of the sporting regulations for Formula One, the safety car pulled in and the drivers proceeded over the line without overtaking. Button secured a debut victory for Brawn after leading the race from start to finish. He led home teammate Barrichello as they completed a Brawn one-two. Trulli finished third although there were accusations that he passed Hamilton under the safety car. This would later turn out to be true, and he was penalised twenty-five seconds pushing him down to 12th in the results, thus promoting Hamilton to third.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
This decision was later reversed: Trulli was eventually re-instated to his 3rd finishing position and Hamilton was disqualified for misleading stewards during their investigation. Glock finished fourth, having started from the pit lane, and was followed home by Alonso, Rosberg, Buemi and Bourdais. Buemi's two points made him Switzerland's first points scorer since Marc Surer at the 1985 Italian Grand Prix.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
"We have worked incredibly hard for this victory today and to see the dedication, commitment and sheer hard work come to fruition with Jenson and Rubens bringing home a one-two finish for Brawn GP at the first race of the season is immensely rewarding. After everything that our team has been through over the past four months, this is quite simply a sensational result. It is just the beginning for us and it wasn't a perfect race by any means so we will learn from today and continue to improve. We have to keep developing the car throughout the season if we want to challenge for further wins and the championship."


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Ross Brawn, team principal of Brawn GP, reflecting on his team's début.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
The top three finishers on the road appeared on the podium and in the subsequent press conference, where Button reflected on a somewhat easy race, in which he led all 58 laps, although it was not without its problems: "The first few laps of the race were great for me and I could settle into a pace, but then when the safety car came out I struggled massively to get heat into the tyres. The car was hitting the ground and just before the safety car pulled in I flat-spotted the tyre pretty severely.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
I was struggling quite a bit with vibration and with the poor light as well. Being in the front it should be easy, but it was not easy at all." He also reflected on his and his team's achievements, as they became the first driver/team combination since Juan Manuel Fangio and Mercedes at the 1954 French Grand Prix to win the team's debut race, having started from pole position:


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
It is not just for me, but for the whole team. This is a fairy tale ending really to the first race of our career together and I hope that we can continue this way and I know we are going to fight to keep this car competitive and with the limited resources we have to keep it at the front. The whole team has done a good job and this has got to continue as this is where I think we deserve to be and we have worked very hard for this. So thank you very much to the team and bring on Malaysia.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Barrichello picked up his first podium since the 2008 British Grand Prix, and his highest finish since the now-infamous 2005 United States Grand Prix, in which only the six Bridgestone-shod cars started due to safety concerns with Michelin's tyres. He praised the strength of his Brawn car, as he was involved in several incidents during the race. He also reflected upon his fluffed start, which ultimately led to the first of his incidents, at Turn 1. "I hit anti-stall, so the car went into neutral.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
I recovered quite quickly but then I lost a lot of pace compared to people and I was hit from behind from a McLaren and that put me sideways and I hit someone really hard. I thought the car was done from that crash but I survived quite well, but on my first stint my nose was falling apart and I lost the braking stability when I hit Kimi as well. He closed the door and I couldn't avoid him. I had a lot of mixed emotions during the race, but it was fantastic. I started second but could only hope for one better but after the start I am delighted to be here with the second place."


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Trulli was pleased with his third place on the road, but was however, unaware of the penalty that he was due to receive for his late race pass of Hamilton under the safety car. "Well, after yesterday's disappointment this was a great day, especially for my team. I started from the pit and I was lucky enough to get away from the first corner accident. From that time on I was just pushing, pushing, pushing really hard because the car was good."


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
After an investigation, stewards deemed that Sebastian Vettel was in the wrong after his collision with Robert Kubica, which resulted in both of them not finishing the race. Vettel received a fine and a 10-place grid penalty to be applied in the following round in Malaysia. Red Bull Racing, Vettel's team, also received a $50,000 fine for letting him continue with a damaged car, for over a lap.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Also after the race, Trulli's third place was put under investigation. The stewards decided that the Italian regained his position overtaking Hamilton during a safety car period, having run off the track when the safety car was out. Trulli was penalised 25 seconds, moving him down to 12th. Trulli's explanation of the incident was: "When the safety car came out towards the end of the race Lewis Hamilton passed me but soon after he suddenly slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
I thought he had a problem so I overtook him as there was nothing else I could do." In public Hamilton corroborated this, stating that the McLaren team had told him to let Trulli repass. Behind closed doors, however, Hamilton told the stewards that he had received no instruction to allow Trulli past, and had not consciously done so.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Toyota had appealed the penalty firstly to the stewards, but that appeal was rejected, as a team cannot appeal a time penalty—in lieu of the fact that the offence occurred within the last five laps of the race—in accordance with Article 16.3 of the Sporting Regulations for Formula One. Toyota then appealed to the clerk of the course, Tim Schenken, but later retracted this appeal stating that: "Having considered recent judgements of the International Court of Appeal, it is believed any appeal will be rejected."


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
The Trulli/Hamilton case was reopened to examine new evidence, and both drivers were summoned to a stewards' inquiry on 2 April 2009, prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix. McLaren continued to insist it had not given orders to allow Trulli past, even after being played an audio recording of such an instruction over team radio. Hamilton, as well, continued to assert his false statement. The stewards decided that Hamilton and McLaren had misled them, having contradicted the available evidence. Hamilton was disqualified and McLaren stripped of their constructors' points. Trulli was re-instated into third place.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
McLaren's Sporting Director, Dave Ryan, was subsequently suspended by the team the day after Hamilton's disqualification was announced. McLaren were summoned to appear before the FIA on 29 April 2009 to answer charges of breaching the International Sporting Code. At this meeting, McLaren were given a suspended three-race ban, which would only be applied if a similar offence occurred within the next twelve months. It was revealed that Dave Ryan had been sacked by McLaren.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
As this was the first race of the season, Button led the Drivers' Championship with 10 points, followed by Barrichello on 8 and Trulli on 6. Meanwhile, in the Constructors' Championship, Brawn picked up a maximum 18 points thanks to the 1–2 for Button and Barrichello. This gave them a seven-point lead over Toyota, with Renault on four points, thanks to Alonso's fifth place.


2009 Australian Grand Prix, Classification
Cars that used the KERS system are marked with "‡"


2009 Australian Individual Speedway Championship
The 2009 Individual Speedway Australian Championship was the 2009 version of the Individual Speedway Australian Championship organised by Motorcycling Australia. The three final rounds took place between 3 January and 10 January. The championship was won by Leigh Adams, who beat the defending champion Chris Holder into second place. Rory Schlein finished third.


2009 Australian Individual Speedway Championship
By winning the 2009 Australian Solo Championship, Leigh Adams won his record 10th Australian title which he had first won in 1992. Adams was undefeated through the three rounds held at the Newcastle Showgrounds, Olympic Park Speedway, and Gillman Speedway.


2009 Australian Individual Speedway Championship, Finals, Newcastle
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2009 Australian Individual Speedway Championship, Finals, Mildura
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2009 Australian Individual Speedway Championship, Finals, Gillman
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2009 Australian Manufacturers' Championship
The 2009 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for car manufacturers. It was the 24th manufacturers title to be awarded by CAMS and the 15th to be contested under the Australian Manufacturers' Championship name. The championship was open to Group 3E Series Production Cars. Mitsubishi ended the season as champions, beating other manufacturers Toyota and Subaru.


2009 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Calendar
The title was contested over a five-round series run concurrently with the 2009 Australian Production Car Championship.


2009 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Calendar
Rounds 1 to 4 were each composed of three "20-minute" races with one driver per car. Round 5 was composed of two "one hour" races with either one or two drivers per car.


2009 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Points system
Only manufacturers registered for the championship were eligible to score championship points. Each registered manufacturer could nominate up to two cars, irrespective of class, which were the only cars eligible to score points for that manufacturer at that round of the championship.


2009 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Points system
For races with standing starts, championship points were awarded on class finishing positions and for races with handicap starts on outright finishing positions. For rounds contested over two races, points were awarded on a 45-36-30-27-24-21-18-15-12-9-6-3 basis in each race and for rounds contested over three races on a 30-24-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2 basis in each race. All eligible finishers outside of the top twelve in each race were awarded one point each.


2009 Australian Mini Challenge
The 2009 Australian Mini Challenge delivered by Pizza Capers was the second running of the one make championship. It began on 26 March at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit and ended on 2 December at the new Homebush Street Circuit. A winner of two rounds during the season, Paul Stokell won the championship ahead of Chris Alajajian, who remained in title contention despite not winning any of the series' eight rounds.


2009 Australian Mini Challenge, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers contested the 2009 Australian Mini Challenge.


2009 Australian Mini Challenge, Calendar
The 2009 Australian Mini Challenge delivered by Pizza Capers was contested over eight rounds, starting at Albert Park in March and finishing at Homebush in December


2009 Australian Open
The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The tournament is remembered for containing many notable matches of the 2009 year, including the Nadal v Verdasco semi final and the Nadal v Federer final. It was the first hard court Grand Slam in which Nadal made the final or won.


2009 Australian Open
Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova were the defending champions. Djokovic was forced to retire in his quarter-final match against Andy Roddick due to heat stress, ending his title defence, whilst Sharapova chose not to defend her title due to long lasting shoulder surgery; the withdrawal subsequently dropped her out of the WTA's Top 10 for the first time since July 2004.


2009 Australian Open
Second seeded Serena Williams regained the women's singles title and recorded her fourth Australian Open title and tenth Grand Slam title overall after defeating third seed Dinara Safina in straight sets. Serena, partnering with her sister Venus, also won the women's doubles tournament.


2009 Australian Open
First seeded Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in five sets to win the men's singles title. This was Nadal's first hard court grand slam title, having previously only won on clay at Roland Garros four times and grass at Wimbledon once. He also became the first Spaniard to ever win the Australian Open. This tournament featured 23 five-set men's singles matches, the most since 1988. In men's doubles, another sibling pair took the title as Bob and Mike Bryan defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles.


2009 Australian Open
This tournament was notable for being the warmest tournament weather-wise; the average daily maximum temperature throughout the tournament was 34.7 degrees Celsius, nine degrees above normal. The coolest Australian Open was in 1986, when the maximum temperature averaged just 22.5 degrees Celsius, 3.5 degrees below normal.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (19 January)
Day one's play began with 7th seeded Andy Roddick easing through to the 2nd round in Rod Laver Arena in straight sets. Later defending champion and 3rd seeded Novak Djokovic also made it to the second round, as well as seeded players Juan Martín del Potro, Marat Safin, Tomáš Berdych, Mardy Fish, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Robin Söderling, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Tommy Robredo, Stanislas Wawrinka, Marin Čilić, while 11th seeded David Ferrer was made to work hard before prevailing in five sets over Denis Gremelmayr.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (19 January)
2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis also progressed in straight sets, while Australia's defending boy's champion Bernard Tomic won a four set encounter on his debut. Later in the evening, 10th seeded David Nalbandian dropped a set but eventually defeated Frenchman Marc Gicquel, while three-time champion 2nd seed Roger Federer won the first set easily, but was made to work hard in the next two sets, before defeating Italian Andreas Seppi on his fifth match point.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (19 January)
27th seed Feliciano López was the only seed to fall, losing to 2008 US Open quarterfinalist, Luxembourg's Gilles Müller in a five set thriller that ended 16–14 in the fifth. The match was originally thought to be the longest in the history of the Australian Open, spanning over 5 hours and 34 minutes. However, it was later discovered that a timing error had added over an hour to the match, that in reality lasted 4 hours and 24 minutes. The semifinal match between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco did become the longest, however, at 5 hours and 14 minutes.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (19 January)
In the women's singles, last year's finalist and 5th seeded Ana Ivanovic began her campaign with a hard earned straight sets victory, while compatriot and top seed Jelena Janković was an easy winner over Yvonne Meusburger. Other players following the Serbian duo into the second round include 3rd seed Dinara Safina, 7th seed Vera Zvonareva, Caroline Wozniacki, Alizé Cornet, Nadia Petrova, Marion Bartoli, Anna Chakvetadze, Alisa Kleybanova and Ai Sugiyama.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (19 January)
25th seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi halted the progress of former world number four Kimiko Date-Krumm, playing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in 13 years, in three tight sets, while last year's semifinalist Daniela Hantuchová defeated local hope Casey Dellacqua in straight sets. Another former world number four, unseeded Australian Jelena Dokić also moved into the second round for the first time in ten years with a hard-fought victory over Tamira Paszek. Meanwhile, 23rd seed Ágnes Szávay's poor form in Grand Slams continued as she crashed out to Galina Voskoboeva, 24th seed Sybille Bammer lost to Lucie Šafářová, while Sara Errani defeated 27th seed Maria Kirilenko.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 2 (20 January)
With temperatures soaring in Melbourne, Andy Murray had life made easy in his first round match when opponent Andrei Pavel was forced to concede with a back injury early in the second set, having lost the first. Other top-ten seeds such as last year's finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and James Blake also progressed comfortably, along with Gaël Monfils, Fernando Verdasco, Richard Gasquet, Jürgen Melzer, Ivo Karlović and Radek Štěpánek, while Igor Andreev and Nicolás Almagro both won through in five sets.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 2 (20 January)
In a five-set thriller that lasted three hours and seven minutes, former finalist and 13th seed Fernando González overcame home-crowd favorite Lleyton Hewitt. Later on, top-seed Rafael Nadal posted a 6–0, 6–2, 6–2 win against Christophe Rochus that tied with Andy Roddick's first-round score, establishing himself and Roddick as the most dominant male performers of the first round. Two more seeds fell in the first round, with Russian 29th seed Dmitry Tursunov losing to Flavio Cipolla, while another former finalist, 30th seed Rainer Schüttler was defeated by Israel's Dudi Sela.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 2 (20 January)
In the women's draw, Polish 9th seed Agnieszka Radwańska became the first top ten seed on either side to lose, as she was upset in three sets by Kateryna Bondarenko. 4th seed Elena Dementieva, on a ten-match winning streak this season, pulled through in three tough sets while the Williams sisters, 6th seeded Venus and second seed Serena, comfortably won their first-round matches, as did former women's champion Amélie Mauresmo, along with Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Patty Schnyder, Flavia Pennetta, Alona Bondarenko and Zheng Jie, while teenagers Victoria Azarenka and Dominika Cibulková recorded crushing victories over their respective opponents. 30th seeded Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak suffered defeat at the hands of Sabine Lisicki, while Francesca Schiavone lost to Peng Shuai and Tamarine Tanasugarn was defeated by María José Martínez Sánchez.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (21 January)
Day three saw the second round matches getting underway in Melbourne Park. Defending champion and 3rd seed Novak Djokovic progressed with a straight sets victory over Jérémy Chardy, while second seed Roger Federer breezed past 118th-ranked Russian Evgeny Korolev 6–2, 6–3, 6–1 at Rod Laver Arena, which sets up a third-round match with Marat Safin, who recovered from a slow start to beat Guillermo García-López 7–5, 6–2, 6–2.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (21 January)
Andy Roddick also needed four sets to get past Xavier Malisse, while Juan Martín del Potro eased into the third round, along with Marin Čilić, David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka, Mardy Fish, Tomáš Berdych and Tommy Robredo. In the biggest upset in the men's tournament up to this point, unseeded Yen-hsun Lu defeated 10th-seeded David Nalbandian in five sets. 16th-seeded Robin Söderling was also upset by unseeded former finalist Marcos Baghdatis in four, while lucky loser Amer Delić prevailed in five sets against 28th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu and French veteran Fabrice Santoro came from behind to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber. In the feature night match at Rod Laver Arena, sixteen-year-old Bernard Tomic took the first set against Gilles Müller but eventually lost 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–2 to the more experienced Luxembourgian.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (21 January)
In the women's draw, it was a perfect day for the seeds, with the exception of 17th-seeded Anna Chakvetadze, who lost a sensational 3-set encounter to Jelena Dokić, the latter continuing with her comeback and set up a third round clash with Danish teenager, 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki after some questionable decisions by Fred Mather. Top seed Jelena Janković encountered resistance against Kirsten Flipkens but eventually won 6–4, 7–5, while Ana Ivanovic had an easier time against qualifier Alberta Brianti.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (21 January)
Third seed Dinara Safina also needed to come back from one set down to beat Ekaterina Makarova, while Vera Zvonareva crushed Edina Gallovits 6–0, 6–0, and Nadia Petrova defeat Sania Mirza in straight sets. Also through to the third round are Alizé Cornet, Daniela Hantuchová, Marion Bartoli, Ai Sugiyama, Kaia Kanepi and Alisa Kleybanova.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (21 January)
The doubles matches also began, with most of the seeds in action passing their first tests, including Bob and Mike Bryan, Jeff Coetzee/Wesley Moodie, Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski, Bruno Soares/Kevin Ullyett, Max Mirnyi/Andy Ram, Travis Parrott/Filip Polášek, František Čermák/Michal Mertiňák and Christopher Kas/Rogier Wassen, as well as Yan Zi/Zheng Jie, Samantha Stosur/Rennae Stubbs, Maria Kirilenko/Flavia Pennetta, Casey Dellacqua/Francesca Schiavone, Hsieh Su-wei/Peng Shuai and Tatiana Poutchek/Anastasia Rodionova in the women's side.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (21 January)
In the three sister pairings in action, 10th seeds Venus and Serena Williams swept aside Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova, unseeded Agnieszka and Urszula Radwańska defeat Jill Craybas and Tamarine Tanasugarn, but 4th seeds and defending champions Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko became the highest seeds to fall in the women doubles competition so far, losing in straight sets to Gisela Dulko/Roberta Vinci.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (22 January)
Day four saw the conclusion of all second round matches in the singles competition. In the men's draw, top seed Rafael Nadal continued on his quest for a first Australian Open crown without too much trouble from Roko Karanušić, winning through in straight sets 6–2, 6–3, 6–2. Likewise, an in-form 4th seed Andy Murray eased into the 3rd round by defeating Marcel Granollers 6–4, 6–2, 6–2.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (22 January)
Other top ten seeds that moved on included 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 6th seed Gilles Simon, both dropping a first set tiebreak but went on to win the next three sets, and 9th seed James Blake, who cruised past Sébastien de Chaunac. Gaël Monfils, Fernando González, Fernando Verdasco, Richard Gasquet, Nicolás Almagro, Radek Štěpánek, Jürgen Melzer and Igor Andreev all won through, while Ivo Karlović was the only seed to fall in the men's draw, losing to compatriot Mario Ančić after surrendering a two sets to one lead.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (22 January)
Unseeded Spaniard Carla Suárez Navarro scored the biggest upset to date in women's singles, defeating one of the pre-tournament favourites, 6th seeded Venus Williams 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, after coming back from 5–2 down and saving one match point while serving at 5–4 down in the third set.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (22 January)
Venus' younger sister, second seeded Serena Williams had to work hard to dispatch Argentina's Gisela Dulko, saving six set points, while Dulko served for the second set at 5–3 in a game that featured 12 deuces, then fought through six more deuces to lead 6–5 and eventually won 6–3, 7–5. 4th seed Elena Dementieva extended her winning streak in the new season to 12 matches with a win over Iveta Benešová, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, Amélie Mauresmo, Victoria Azarenka, Dominika Cibulková, Zheng Jie, Flavia Pennetta, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Alona Bondarenko all moved on to the third round, while Swiss 14th seed Patty Schnyder fell to Virginie Razzano. Unseeded local hope Samantha Stosur also won.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (22 January)
Majority of the first round matches in the doubles competition also ended. Top seeds Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjić led a charge of seeded pairs to the second round, including Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles, Leander Paes/Lukáš Dlouhý, Marcelo Melo/André Sá and Martin Damm/Robert Lindstedt, while in the women's competition co-world number ones Cara Black and Liezel Huber eased into the second round, along with seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual, Květa Peschke/Lisa Raymond, Daniela Hantuchová/Ai Sugiyama, Victoria Azarenka/Vera Zvonareva, Nuria Llagostera Vives/María José Martínez Sánchez and Sorana Cîrstea/Monica Niculescu, meaning no seeds fell in the women's doubles that day.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (23 January)
Day five of the tournament saw the commencement of third round matches in the singles event, where seed started playing against each other. In men's singles, defending champion Novak Djokovic was made to work hard against his Bosnian-born American opponent, lucky loser Amer Delić, but eventually saw off his opponent in four tough sets.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (23 January)
8th seeded Juan Martín del Potro was heavily tested by unseeded Gilles Müller as well, but prevailed in four sets as well, while 7th seed Andy Roddick continued on a collision course with Djokovic with an easier passage against Fabrice Santoro, winning in straight sets and firing 22 aces along his way to just four by the Frenchman.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (23 January)
Marin Čilić continued his fine form by defeating last year's quarterfinalist, 11th seed David Ferrer, while Tommy Robredo ended the journey of Yen-hsun Lu with an easy victory, and Tomáš Berdych created a minor upset by defeating 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka in four. Later at night, Roger Federer clashed with Marat Safin in a repeat of the 2004 finals and 2005 semifinals in an exciting matchup in Rod Laver Arena. The second seed was on form and sent out a strong signal to his rivals with a convincing 6–3, 6–2, 7–6(5) victory. 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis also sent 23rd seed Mardy Fish packing with a straight sets victory and set up a fourth round clash with Djokovic.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (23 January)
In the women's draw, following Venus William's exit the day before, Ana Ivanovic replaced her as the highest seed to fall so far, losing 5–7, 7–6(5), 2–6 to 29th seed Alisa Kleybanova. Ivanovic, finalist last year broke Kleybanova in 10th game of the second set when the latter was serving for the match, and brought the match to the decider by winning a tiebreak, but ultimately conceded the match to her younger Russian opponent as Kleybanova ran away with a 6–2 victory in the third.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (23 January)
Earlier in the night session, Jelena Dokić continued her fairytale comeback to Grand Slam tennis by upsetting 11th seeded Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki, despite losing the first set she bounced back strongly to take the next two 6–1, 6–2, and will meet Kleybanova next. Elsewhere, earlier in the day, it was business as usual for the top 16 seeds. Top seed Jelena Janković was once again tested but overcame the heat and Ai Sugiyama in straight sets, and will face Marion Bartoli next, the Frenchwoman coming back from one set down to beat Lucie Šafářová.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (23 January)
Dinara Safina also displayed her form and cruise past Kaia Kanepi with the loss of just four games, playing 15th seed Alizé Cornet next, after Cornet recovered from one set down to knock out last year's semifinalist Daniela Hantuchová. 10th seed Nadia Petrova was the first to advance after winning one set against Galina Voskoboeva, after which the latter retired with an injury, and set up a last 16 clash with Vera Zvonareva, who eased past Sara Errani.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (23 January)
In men's doubles action, the upset of the day was created by unseeded Łukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach, when they knocked out the top seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in straight sets, in a day of upsets for the men's doubles which saw a total of five seeds being knocked out of the competition, including defending champion Andy Ram, partnering Max Mirnyi this year, crashing out to Spanish Davis Cup winning pair of Feliciano López and Fernando Verdasco.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (23 January)
Seeds moved on in the women's doubles, with the exception of Tatiana Poutchek and Anastasia Rodionova, who lost to Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Patty Schnyder. Mixed doubles competition also began, but none of the seeds in action made it to the second round, with Alona Bondarenko/André Sá losing a match tie-break to Alizé Cornet/Marcelo Melo, Květa Peschke/Pavel Vízner losing to last year's finalists Sania Mirza/Mahesh Bhupathi, and Kateryna Bondarenko/Jordan Kerr defeated by Jarmila Gajdošová/Samuel Groth.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 6 (24 January)
The top seeds in the upper half of the men's draw did not have much trouble in progressing into the last 16. Rafael Nadal made it to the next round with a solid 6–4, 6–2, 6–2 victory over former World No. 2 Tommy Haas, producing over 50 winners and just eight unforced errors.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 6 (24 January)
13th seed Fernando González is up next for the Spaniard, after the latter came back from the dead against 24th seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet in a 249-minute thriller, in which both players exhibit barrages of winners, and a gripping third set tiebreak in which both had opportunities to take the set, or the match for Gasquet, and eventually it was González who prevailed 12–10 in the decider. Andy Murray comfortably won his match against Jürgen Melzer as well, 7–5, 6–0, 6–3, and set up a tie with 14th seed Fernando Verdasco.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 6 (24 January)
The Spaniard was clearly on form as he completed a 6–4, 6–0, 6–0 thrashing of Radek Štěpánek, the same player who beat him in the Brisbane International final just two weeks before. Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils set up an all-French fourth round encounter after powering past their opponents, unseeded Croat Mario Ančić and 17th seed Nicolás Almagro. In contrast, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga need to overcome a third set lapse before defeating Dudi Sela in four and will play James Blake in the last 16, who dropped one set against Igor Andreev as well.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 6 (24 January)
Serena Williams was the first among the women seeds to progress to the last 16 in Day Six, firing 10 aces on her way to a 6–1, 6–4 win over Chinese Peng Shuai. Belarusian teenager Victoria Azarenka awaits her in the next round, the 13th seed sending the only other former champion in the draw, 20th seed Amélie Mauresmo packing in a closely fought contest.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 6 (24 January)
Elena Dementieva continued on her excellent form this season, this time edging local hope Samantha Stosur in two tight sets, 7–6(6), 6–4, to set up a tie with another teenage star, 18th seed Dominika Cibulková, who defeat Virginie Razzano in straight sets to progress to the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time. Svetlana Kuznetsova is also through to the next round, overcoming 68 unforced errors from her racket to beat Alona Bondarenko. Alona's sister Kateryna also lost, crushed 6–2, 6–2 by Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie, who will now play Kuznetsova. Elsewhere, Anabel Medina Garrigues posted a minor upset by powering past 12th seed Flavia Pennetta, and will now play unseeded Carla Suárez Navarro, Venus Williams' victor who cruised past compatriot María José Martínez Sánchez.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 6 (24 January)
Seeds continued to tumble in the second round of the men's doubles, including 5th seeds Wesley Moodie and Jeff Coetzee, who lost to local wildcards Joseph Sirianni and Andrew Coelho, František Čermák/Michal Mertiňák losing to another local pairing in Paul Hanley/Jordan Kerr, and Martin Damm/Robert Lindstedt, who were upset by Mardy Fish/John Isner, while former champions Bob and Mike Bryan are safely through. Women's top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber went through to the next round as well, along with Victoria Azarenka/Vera Zvonareva, Daniela Hantuchová/Ai Sugiyama, Květa Peschke/Lisa Raymond while Sorana Cîrstea/Monica Niculescu fell to Nathalie Dechy/Mara Santangelo.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 6 (24 January)
The seeds also went 1–1 in the first round of mixed doubles competition, with second seeds Yan Zi/Mark Knowles defeating Nadia Petrova/Max Mirnyi while third seeds Lisa Raymond/Marcin Matkowski losing to Iveta Benešová/Lukáš Dlouhý.


2009 Australian Open, Day-by-day summaries, Day 7 (25 January)
4th round matches begin with 8th seed Juan Martín del Potro advancing into his first Australian Open quarterfinals after recovering from a one set deficit to beat 19th seeded Marin Čilić. Both players were tipped to be highly successful in the future, but it was del Potro who stood firm with less error count as he prevailed 5–7, 6–4, 6–4, 6–2 and will play three-time champion, world no. 2 Roger Federer. Federer himself survived the challenge from 20th seeded Tomáš Berdych, who have not beaten him since their first encounter in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.