Nadal weathers blast from pocket-rocket Jew Schwartzman

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Top seed Rafael Nadal was rattled by a feisty challenge from Jewish Argentine Diego Schwartzman, but held firm to fend off his diminutive foe 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 and reach his 10th Australian Open quarterfinal on Sunday.

In an often breathtaking clash laden with sumptuous shot-making, the Spaniard was rocked by the hard-hitting Schwartzman who broke him three times to claim the second set at Rod Laver Arena.

But the 16-time Grand Slam champion responded with typical grit, bolstering his defense to blanket the 24th seed’s firepower and counter-punching brilliantly to book a match with Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

After three cakewalks in the previous rounds, the three-hour 51-minute work-out was timely, said Nadal, who came into the tournament with some queries over a knee injury.

“You can’t expect easy matches when you’re playing in big tournaments,” the world No. 1 told reporters after saving all his seven break points in the final set.

The victory ensured Nadal, who lost a five-set classic to long-time rival Roger Federer in the final last year, will retain his world No. 1 ranking.

It also put the Mallorcan equal second with Stefan Edberg on the number of quarterfinal appearances in the Australian major in the professional era. Federer, naturally, leads with 14.

The jet-heeled Schwartzman joined the Grand Slam quarterfinal club at the US Open, a milestone moment during an impressive rise up the rankings in 2017.

Nadal had seen off his first three opponents without dropping a set, but it was soon clear at Rod Laver Arena that Schwartzman was cut from a different cloth.

The 1.70m (5-ft 7-in) Argentine virtually needed a step-ladder to reach the bounce of Nadal’s top-spin bombs, but he was all over the Spaniard’s serve from the get-go.

He grudgingly surrendered his own first, though, allowing Nadal to wrap up the first set in 45 minutes.

From there the match went JEWISH 24TH-SEED Diego Schwartzman (left) from Argentina meets No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the net after their scintillating fourth-round duel yesterday at the Australian Open, which Nadal rallied to win in four tough sets.

But Nadal resumed with renewed vigor to break Schwartzman to love and after roaring back from 5-2 down, he claimed the third set with an ace.

The momentum was now all with Nadal. He broke again quickly, leaving Schwartzman to curse loudly.

The 25-year-old kept swinging for the fences to the finish and saved a second match point by ripping a backhand winner down the line.

Nadal simply bided his time before pouncing on the third, a second serve dismissed with a sizzling return winner to keep his bid for a 17th Grand Slam title firmly on track.

In other action, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov kept his cool in the Rod Laver Arena maelstrom to knock home favorite Nick Kyrgios out in a fourth-round thriller.

Third seed Dimitrov absorbed 76 winners and struck 64 of his own to edge a scintillating duel 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4).

Kyrgios fought until the end, breaking back when Dimitrov served for the match at 5-3 in the fourth set, but Dimitrov booked a quarterfinal spot in the night’s third tie-break when he fired a sublime forehand winner.

Defeat for Kyrgios means Australia’s long wait for a men’s champion at its home slam will extend to a 43rd year.

Dimitrov will play British player Kyle Edmund for a place in his second successive semifinal in Melbourne.

Also, former US Open champion Marin Cilic also made the quarterfinals by grounding down Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(0), 7-6(3).

For the women, second seed Caroline Wozniacki said she is playing with “nothing to lose” after galloping into the quarterfinals for the first time in six years on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Dane crunched 25 winners in a 63-minute masterclass as she thrashed Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-0 to move a step closer to a long-awaited first grand slam title.

Wozniacki dropped a mere six points in the second set against the 19th-ranked Rybarikova and said her free-hitting approach was the result of almost losing in the second round.

The former world No. 1 saved two match points against Croatia’s Jane Fett in the second round, recovering from 5-1 down in the decider to reel off six consecutive games. She has not looked back since. “I feel good. I think being almost out of the tournament, you have nothing to lose after that,” she told reporters. “You just go out there and you enjoy yourself. I played really well from being down 5-1.

Angelique Kerber saved a match point during her run to the title in 2016 and the way Wozniacki has responded from a similar crisis marks her out as favorite to emulate that.

Not that she is getting carried away, especially with tricky Spanaird Carla Suarez Navarro standing in her way next.

“We’ve played four matches, is that right, so far? There’s still three to go. There’s still a long way,” she said.