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.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS