Rafael Nadal battled through a five-set firestorm to book his
ticket in the Australian Open quarterfinals yesterday as Martina
Hingis and Kim Clijsters set up an enticing clash.
Top seed Maria Sharapova also marched on, outmuscling fellow
Russian Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-4 to set up a match with another
compatriot, 12th seed Anna Chakvetadze, who undid eighth seed Patty
Schnyder 6-4, 6-1.
But fifth seed James Blake, who won in Sydney this month,
suffered his first loss of the season and crashed in straight sets
to Chilean tenth seed Fernando Gonzalez, who now meets the second
seeded Nadal for a spot in the semis.
Germany's 12th seed Tommy Haas tamed eighth seeded Argentine
David Nalbandian in four sets and will face third-seeded Russian
Nikolay Davydenko in the quarters.
Spain's Nadal was pushed to the limit by 15th seed Andy Murray,
trading the first four engrossing sets before the Briton crumbled
in the decider, going down 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in close
to four hours.
"It was a very tough match. He's a great player," said
Nadal.
"It was a very important match for me. I needed to win a tough
match like that against a top player. I tried to fight for every
point."
Hingis, seeded six, needed all her big-match experience to
overhaul 19th seed Li Na 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, coming back to dismantle
the Chinese woman's game and secure a quarterfinal appearance here
for a ninth time.
In an intriging match-up, she will play Clijsters, who beat her
at the same stage last year, ending the Swiss star's Grand Slam
comeback after a three-year injury hiatus.
Intriguing clash
"I know I have to come out one hundred percent and be ready from
the beginning, otherwise I'll be run over," she said of Clijsters,
the fourth seed.
"That's the key. I have a day rest, and practice, sleep well,
give myself the best shot."
Clijsters has been in scintillating form and was clinical
against Slovak pin-up Daniela Hantuchova, powering through 6-1,
7-5, and is looking forward to pitting her wits against one of her
best friends on tour.
"It always a pleasure to play against her, she's such a great
champion," she said.
"We get along really well on and off the court. When we get on
the court we try to play our best tennis but once we get off the
court and back into the locker room we have a joke about everything
and that's the way it should be.
"We're professionals and it's great to see her doing well
again."
Top seed Sharapova displayed lapses of concentration against
Zvonareva and acknowledged she needed to improve against
Chakvetadze, who won the lead-up Hobart International
tournament.
"I thought I played a lot better today than I did in my previous
rounds but I'll definitely have to step it up against her," said
Sharapova, whose victory handed her the number one world
ranking.
She earned the right after defending champion Amelie Mauresmo
tumbled out in the third round and former number one Justine
Henin-Hardenne missed the tournament for personal reasons.
With defending champion Roger Federer safely into the
quarterfinals, Haas, Gonzalez, Davydenko and Nadal joined him
yesterday.
Gonzalez upset Blake 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) while Haas wore down
Nalbandian, a semifinalist last year, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Davydenko, who has been anonymous working his way to the last
eight, qualified for his third straight Australian Open
quarterfinal with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) win over Czech 13th
seed Tomas Berdych.
(China Daily via AFP January 23, 2007)
