Keys reaches quarterfinals as only U.S. woman left
Nadal, Dimitrov survive rigorous four-set matches.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France early today.
Keys, the 17th seed, is the only American woman left in the draw. The remaining American man, Tennys Sandgren, was to play Dominic Thiem later in the day.
Keys, 22, didn’t play at Melbourne Park last year because of wrist surgery, but she made her first big splash at a Grand Slam event when she reached the Australian semifinals in 2015. She went on to make the Wimbledon quarterfinals that year but didn’t have a better result until she lost to fellow American Sloane Stephens in the U.S. Open final last September.
In the quarterfinals, Keys will play the winner of the match between 2016 Australian champion Angelique Kerber and Hsieh Su-wei.
On the men’s side, top seed Rafael Nadal and third seed Grigor Dimitrov reached the quarterfinals with tough victories Sunday night.
Nadal secured his spot in a 10th Australian Open quarterfinal, beating Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3 in 3 hours and 51 minutes.
Nadal, a 16-time major winner, draped an arm around his Argentine friend and patted him on top of the head at the net afterward. If he needed a fitness test in the first week in his comeback from an injured right knee, he got it.
“It was a good test for me. It was a lot of hours on court. Moments under pressure,” Nadal said.
Nadal will next play 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, the sixth seed. He collected his 100th Grand Slam match win with a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (3) victory over No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta.
Dimitrov outlasted Australian Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) even though Kyrgios managed one more break of serve than Dimitrov, 3-2, and had 36 aces.
Kyrgios said Dimitrov is a threat to win his first Grand Slam title.
“He hasn’t even found his best form yet and he’s still getting through all those matches, which is pretty frightening,” Kyrgios said. “Once he finds his feet and he has more confidence, he’s got a real chance at winning it.”
Dimitrov will next play Britain’s Kyle Edmund, who reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Andreas Seppi. Edmund rallied from a set and a break down, winning with 25 aces.
Saturday’s Games Sunday’s Games
Golden Knights 5, (at) Hurricanes 1: James Neal and Jonathan Marchessault scored to help give expansion Vegas the best record in the NHL. The Golden Knights are 31-114, good for 66 points, one ahead of Tampa Bay. Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for Vegas.
Flyers 2, (at) Capitals 1 (OT): Travis Konecny scored 27 seconds into overtime to lift surging Philadelphia over Washington. Konecny found space in the middle of the offensive zone and his shot deflected off Washington’s T.J. Oshie and past Braden Holtby for his eighth of the season. Michael Raffl also scored for Philadelphia, and Brian Elliott had 27 saves. The Flyers have won three in a row and seven of eight. Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-best 29th goal, and Holtby made 21 stops. Both teams scored in the second period. Working from behind Washington’s net, Valtteri Filppula sent a deft pass to Raffl, whose shot from the left slot bounced off Holtby and into the net at 13:48. The Capitals tied it on Ovechkin’s power-play goal with 15.8 seconds left.
(At) Jets 1, Canucks 0: Connor Hellebuyck had 29 saves to make Patrik Laine’s first-period goal stand up.
Sharks at Ducks: Late
Rangers at Kings: Late