Court 20 an ice field — Medvedev

But the Ukrainian said the pace of the various courts was uneven and “99.9 percent of the players are complaining,” although most weren’t prepared to voice their dissatisfaction.

“Center court is different to Court One. Court 20 is different to Court Five. Court 20 is a joke -it’s like playing on icefields,” he said.

Medvedev said during a practice session he managed “no more than four shots in a rally. These courts are faster than indoors. The balls don’t fluff up and after three games they are like ping pong balls.

“The whole perspective of the Australian Open has changed. With the courts, you can only play quality tennis for the first three games with these balls, then it’s arollercoaster.”

Manpower for Serena: With elder sister and regular hit-up partner Venus sidelined with tendinitis, the third-seeded Serena Williams has resorted to the next best thing to help her practice a man.

The US Open champion is using a male hitting partner in the absence of Venus and the big-hitting 17-year-old says it’s taking some readjusting.

“I have this guy who I’m hitting with who is really good and is actually too good,” she said. “I was really upset when I was hitting this morning because no matter what I did, he just kept hitting winners off me.”

NOTHING ELSE TO DO: After slumping to his worst performance in 10 years at the Australian Open, former World No. 1 Jim Courier said he knew he was underprepared but opted to play because he didn’t have much else to do. Courier, who won here in 1992 and `1993, was ousted in the first round by Nicolas Escude of France 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-5.

“In my head I knew that I had no chance to win the title. But After seven weeks rest I feltI had to do something. Tennis is what I know how to do."