Relieved Rafa survives, Wozniacki steps up a gear
Rafael Nadal battled through a huge test to make his 10th Australian Open quarterfinal on Sunday as Grigor Dimitrov ousted Nick Kyrgios to join him, while Caroline Wozniacki kicked into top gear in the women’s event..
On an overcast and muggy day at Melbourne Park, the Spanish world No 1 was up against his most dangerous opponent yet in pocket-rocket Diego Schwartzman, one of the smallest men on tour.
The Argentinian 24th seed endeared with his astonishingly powerful groundstrokes before Nadal prevailed 6-3 6-7 (4/7) 63 6-3 in almost four hours on Rod Laver Arena.
It kept alive his push for a 17th Grand Slam title and also ensured he will remain No 1 when the new rankings come out after the tournament.
“It was a great battle,” said Nadal, who is chasing his second Melbourne title after beating Roger Federer in the 2009 final.
“Of course, I feel little bit tired, but I was able to keep fighting until the end.”
He will play sixth seed Marin Cilic for a place in the semifinals after the Croat beat Spain’s Pablo Correna Busta 6-7 (2/7) 6-3 7-6 (7/0) 7-6 (7/3).
“I have played great tennis from the first round against tough opponents and now I am really looking to the next match,” he said of the Nadal clash.
Ordinarily Nadal, as the top seed, would have top billing on Rod Laver in the evening, but not with local star Kyrgios in action.
The maturing Australian 22year-old pushed world No 3 Dimitrov close in a hugely entertaining four-setter before succumbing 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/4) 4-6 7-6 (7/4).
“Playing Nick is always tricky,” said the Bulgarian, as he targets bettering the semifinals he made in 2017. “It was one of those matches you had to take any opportunity that you got.”
His reward is a showdown with Briton Kyle Edmund, who reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-7 (4/7) 7-5 6-2 6-3 win over Italy’s Andreas Seppi.
World No 2 Wozniacki turned on the style in her match to take another step towards a maiden Grand Slam title.
The assured Wozniacki, a semifinalist in 2011 who has never quite lived up to the hype in the Majors, annihilated 19thseeded Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3 6-0 in her most impressive performance to date.
“She really mixes up the pace, I just tried to calm down, get my returns in and wait for the opportunities to attack,” she said after crushing the Slovak.
“I think you can tell my self confidence is pretty good at the moment.”
Her easy passage sets up a last-eight clash with gritty Spaniard Suarez Navarro, who battled back from a set and 4-1 down to shatter the hopes of 32nd seed Anett Kontaviet.
The Estonian had been bubbling with confidence after despatching French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the third round, but nerves got the better of her.
The Spaniard, who has made the quarterfinals in Melbourne twice before, most recently in 2016, credited her fightback with a conscious decision to be more aggressive.