Powerhouse Rafael Nadal shot down Tommy Haas to make the second week of the Australian Open yesterday, while rusty triple champion Serena Williams booked a fourth-round clash with Victoria Azarenka.
Fourth seeds Andy Murray and Elena Dementieva joined them in the round of 16, with the Scot crushing Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 and the Russian beating local favorite Samantha Stosur 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.
In an epic four-hour thriller, Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez ground down France’s Richard Gasquet 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (12/10), 6-2, 12-10 for the right to meet Nadal next.
PHOTO: EPA
Also making the grade were three Frenchmen — Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils.
Nadal showed why he is world No. 1 by demolishing Germany’s Haas and said he was playing some of his best tennis ever.
“I played one of my best matches in Australia out there,” he said afterwards. “I can sleep with a lot of satisfaction.”
PHOTO: EPA
Williams, the tournament favorite, crushed China’s Peng Shuai 6-1, 6-4 to set up an intriguing showdown with Azarenka after the Belarusian ended any hope Amelie Mauresmo had of repeating her 2006 heroics here.
Stung by a listless “D-minus” performance in the second round and sister Venus’ shock exit at the same stage, Williams stamped her authority on the match early and never let go.
“It was definitely a lot better than my second round. But, you know, I’m still trying to work on some things and hoping they’ll come together,” Serena Williams said.
PHOTO: EPA
“I’m feeling a little rusty, for whatever reason. I’m hoping my next round I’ll be a little better,” she said.
Peng’s departure leaves Zheng Jie as China’s only player left.
The Wimbledon semi-finalist, the 22nd seed, beat Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2 to continue her best-ever Australian Open showing with a fourth round tie pending against former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The woman who ousted Venus Williams, Spain’s unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro, continued her surprise march, beating countrywoman Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1, 6-4.
Next up for her is another Spaniard, Anabel Medina Garrigues, who sent Italian 12th seed Flavia Pennetta packing 6-4, 6-1.
Suarez Navarro said she wasn’t thinking too far ahead.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she said of her quarter-final chances.
While the focus has been on the big name stars on the men’s side, the French contingent is looking dangerous.
Twelfth-seed Monfils came into the Open overshadowed by higher-profile countrymen Tsonga and Simon, but has been making his mark.
Monfils produced another impressive display to dismiss 17th seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 and will face off for a quarter-final spot with Simon, who beat Croatia’s Mario Ancic in straight sets.
“It will be a hard match against Gael, who is a very, very good player,” Monfils said.
“When he focuses he plays well and when only 16 people are left in the draw, every match is going to be hard,” Monfils added.
Tsonga, a surprise finalist last year, recovered from a third-set lapse to grind down Israeli qualifier Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.
But the hard-hitting showdown between Gonzalez and Gasquet was the match of the day, spanning four hours and nine minutes with the Chilean staging a remarkable comeback after going two sets down.
In other action, Spanish 14th seed Fernando Verdasco was an easy 6-4, 6-0, 6-0 winner over Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic and will next face Murray.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
RSS