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Nadal, Murray roll into week 2; Gonzalez sneaks in
2009-01-24
MELBOURNE, Australia - Rafael Nadal knew he had plenty to live up to after Andy Murray's dominating third-round win. Muzi.com News 10086896-1 (muzi.com)He went one better Saturday, when they both advanced to the second week at the Australian Open. Muzi.com News 10086896-2 (muzi.com) Stunned after dropping his first service game of the tournament and falling behind 2-0, the top-ranked Nadal stormed back against Tommy Haas, ripping 53 winners in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win. Muzi.com News 10086896-3 (muzi.com) He kept his unforced errors to a frugal eight -- and to just one in the 43-minute second set. Muzi.com News 10086896-4 (muzi.com) "I played one of my best matches here at the Australian Open," said Nadal, who has improved by one round in each of his five trips to Australia. To continue that sequence, he'll have to make the final. Muzi.com News 10086896-5 (muzi.com) To get there, he'll have to overcome Murray in the semis. No easy assignment. Murray beat the 22-year-old Spaniard at that stage at the U.S. Open. On Saturday, the Scot won 11 straight games during a 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 win over Austrian Jurgen Melzer. Muzi.com News 10086896-6 (muzi.com) And the 21-year-old Murray thought he'd been miserly with his 10 mistakes against No. 31 Melzer. Muzi.com News 10086896-7 (muzi.com) He was broken when serving for the match at 5-1 and wasted two match points in the subsequent game before finishing off with an ace. Muzi.com News 10086896-8 (muzi.com) Right now, fourth-seeded Murray isn't Nadal's major concern. Muzi.com News 10086896-9 (muzi.com) He's got 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez next. The 28-year-old Chilean rallied from two-sets down and saved match point en route to a 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (10), 6-2, 12-10 win over Richard Gasquet of France. Muzi.com News 10086896-10 (muzi.com) Gonzalez was on the court two hours before Nadal, but their matches both finished around midnight. Muzi.com News 10086896-11 (muzi.com) "My body is still alive," Gonzalez said. "I have 48 hours, maybe a little bit less. But I want to enjoy this moment. I think I won a really tough match that I will remember for the rest of my life." Muzi.com News 10086896-12 (muzi.com) Gonzalez lost to Nadal in the Beijing Olympics final, but has the edge in Australia after ousting the Spaniard in the 2007 quarterfinals. Muzi.com News 10086896-13 (muzi.com) After losing a semifinal last year to unheralded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, Nadal is wary of being overconfident. Muzi.com News 10086896-14 (muzi.com) "Perfect matches doesn't exist," he said, a touch dismissively, when asked if his game was beyond improvement as he dismantled Haas, a semifinalist here two years ago. "Always you can improve, no?" Muzi.com News 10086896-15 (muzi.com) That's something Serena Williams has regularly said as she's collected nine Grand Slam titles. Muzi.com News 10086896-16 (muzi.com) Williams wasn't in top form again in a her 6-1, 6-4 win over China's Peng Shuai. Muzi.com News 10086896-17 (muzi.com) She had to overcome two service breaks in the second set to keep alive her pursuit of a 10th Grand Slam title. Muzi.com News 10086896-18 (muzi.com) At least her concentration wasn't challenged like it had been in her doubles win with sister Venus Williams the previous day, when a half-naked streaker ran onto their court. Muzi.com News 10086896-19 (muzi.com) "I noticed he didn't have underwear on. I thought, 'OK, I must be seeing things,'" Williams said, chuckling as she reflected on it Saturday. "Then I just thought, 'My eyes, my innocent eyes!'" Muzi.com News 10086896-20 (muzi.com) Williams next faces No. 13 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who ousted 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo. Muzi.com News 10086896-21 (muzi.com) Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva extended her women's winning streak to 13 matches, winning 15 of the 17 points after falling behind 5-2 in the first set to oust Australia's Samantha Stosur. Muzi.com News 10086896-22 (muzi.com) Fifth-seeded Tsonga joined fellow Frenchmen Gael Monfils and No. 6 Gilles Simon in the fourth round. He next faces No. 9 James Blake, the second American to reach the final 16 after Andy Roddick. Muzi.com News 10086896-23 (muzi.com) No. 7 Roddick has a match against Spaniard Tommy Robredo on Sunday night. Muzi.com News 10086896-24 (muzi.com) Roger Federer's quest for a record-equaling 14th major continues when he plays 20th-seeded Tomas Berdych in an afternoon match on Rod Laver Arena. Muzi.com News 10086896-25 (muzi.com) Serbians Jelena Jankovic, the women's No. 1, and defending men's champion Novak Djokovic have the opening and closing matches on center court. Muzi.com News 10086896-26 (muzi.com) Djokovic will be hoping there's no repeat of the violent clash between Serbian and Bosnian fans that followed his third-round win over Bosnian-born American Amer Delic. Muzi.com News 10086896-27 (muzi.com) A chair-flinging skirmish left a woman injured, three men charged with riotous behavior and 30 people ejected by police. Muzi.com News 10086896-28 (muzi.com) Security was tighter on day six and the mood seemed more subdued until the evening matches featuring Nadal, Murray and Gonzalez. Muzi.com News 10086896-29 (muzi.com) While Nadal is seeking his first major title on hard courts -- he has four straight at the French and last year snapped Federer's five-year reign on grass at Wimbledon -- Murray wants his first on any surface. Muzi.com News 10086896-30 (muzi.com) No British man has won a Grand Slam singles title since 1936, and Murray's under the extra pressure of being favorite with the London bookmakers for the season's first major. Muzi.com News 10086896-31 (muzi.com) His confidence is high after beating Federer three times since losing to the 13-time Grand Slam winner in the last U.S. Open final. Murray beat Nadal to get to the final, and has beaten both of them since. Muzi.com News 10086896-32 (muzi.com) He has needed only four hours and 15 minutes to sweep three matches at Melbourne, although his route was shortened when Andrei Pavel retired after losing the first set of their first-round match. Muzi.com News 10086896-33 (muzi.com) How does he plan to navigate the fourth round, when fatigue and nerves can enter the equation? Muzi.com News 10086896-34 (muzi.com) "You need to just sort of settle yourself down before the start of the second week because there's a lot of tennis to be played," he said Muzi.com News 10086896-35 (muzi.com) Murray also beat Melzer, in five sets, in the third round of the U.S. Open. Muzi.com News 10086896-36 (muzi.com) Murray next plays No. 14 Fernando Verdasco, who helped Spain to the Davis Cup title last year and has dropped just 12 games en route to the fourth round. Muzi.com News 10086896-37 (muzi.com) "I'm sure one match in a Slam, if you want to go deep, maybe you're not playing your best tennis, you have to try and find a way through to win," said Murray, predicting a tougher challenge. "I hope it doesn't happen, but if it does, I need to be prepared to try and win a match when I'm not playing my best tennis." Muzi.com News 10086896-38 (muzi.com) Muzi.com News 10086896-39 (muzi.com)
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