MELBOURNE: Spain star Rafael Nadal has qualified for the men’s singles quarterfinals of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis series. In the fourth round, Nadal (35, 69), who clashed with France’s Adrian Mannarino (33, 69th) yesterday, won the first set 7-6 (16-14) in a tough fight to take the lead. He played aggressively in the next 2 sets with the same enthusiasm, winning 7-6 (16-14), 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets and advancing to the quarterfinals. The match lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes.
In the other 4th round, Denis Shapovlov (22nd, 14th ranked) of Canada defeated Alexander Sverre (24th, 3rd ranked) 24-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. Matteo Fertini (Italy) and Gale Monfils (France) also advanced to the quarterfinals. India’s Sania Mirza and Rajiv Ram advanced to the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles division 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 after beating Australia’s Ellen Perez and Madvy Middlecoop (Netherlands) in straight sets.
Soccer shock: In the women’s singles 4th round, Greece’s Maria Zachary (26, 8th ranked) lost 6-7 (0-7), 3-6 in straight sets to Jessica Bekula of the United States. Another American, Madison Keys, advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Paula Badosa of Spain 6-3, 6-1 in straight sets. Czech Republic’s Barbora Krezczykova advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) 6-2, 6-2 and No. 1 seed Ashley Party 6-4, 6-3.