Serena on course to break record
WILLIAMS MAY BE BACK AT NO 1
Rafael Nadal struggled into his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2015 at the Australian Open yesterday as Serena Williams accelerated towards a record number of titles and the No 1 ranking.
Nadal, searching for a revival after injuries wrecked last season, was tested by France’s Gael Monfils before winning 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to book a last-eight clash with Milos Raonic.
Nadal, 30, was also pushed to five sets by Alexander Zverev, 19, in round three, but he has survived to reach his first major quarterfinal since the 2015 French Open.
The Spanish world No 9 now has an excellent chance to add to his 14 Grand Slam titles after world No 1 Andy Murray and champion Novak Djokovic were both knocked out.
A day after defending women’s champion and top seed Angelique Kerber also fell by the wayside, Williams beat Barbora Strycova 7-5, 6-4 to set up a last-eight meeting with Johanna Konta.
The American great would gain much from winning in Melbourne, as she would overtake Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles and end Kerber’s short reign as world No 1.
In hot afternoon conditions, she fought off the Czech Republic’s Strycova in two tight sets, following sister Venus into the quarterfinals without dropping a set.
Despite the task facing her, Konta was delighted to be playing Williams for what would be her second straight Open semifinal.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge and I’m looking forward to being on court, out on court with her and competing against her,” said the 25-year-old.
Grigor Dimitrov halted the fairytale run of Denis Istomin, the 117th-ranked Uzbek wildcard who shocked defending champion Novak Djokovic in round two.
Istomin won the first set, but injury problems set in and he went down 2-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-1.
Canadian third seed Raonic, still suffering from the effects of flu, beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to earn his spot against Nadal. – AFP
Men:
Mischa Zverev (Ger) v Roger Federer (Sui x17); Stan Wawrinka (Sui x4) v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra x12); Rafael Nadal (Esp x9) v Milos Raonic (Can x3); David Goffin (Bel x11) v Gregor Dimitrov (Bul x15)
Venus Williams (US x13) v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus x24), Coco Vandeweghe (US) v Garbine Muguruza (Esp x7), Serena Williams (US x2) v Johanna Konta (Gbr x9), Karolina Pliskova (Cze x5) v Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Cro)
Women: