Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal joined Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Jarkko Nieminen and Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after spending only 50 minutes on court yesterday.
Nadal was given an armchair ride into the last eight when his French opponent Paul-Henri Mathieu withdrew with a left calf injury.
The triple French Open champion was leading 6-4, 3-0 at the time of the pull-out and said he was playing the best tennis of his four matches at the tournament so far.
He will now face Finnish 24th seed Nieminen in the quarter-finals.
Nadal had been in control of his evening center court match and had wrapped up the opening set after a service break in the third game.
"I was enjoying the match," Nadal said. "I was playing my best tennis since arriving in Australia. I'm happy to be in the quarter-final, but not like this way."
The Spaniard, who has advanced to the quarter-finals without dropping a set, is bidding to match his best Australian Open result which he set last year when he reached the last eight for the first time.
Tsonga cut down his second top ranked opponent of the tournament with a 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 win over eighth seed Richard Gasquet in their all-French tie.
The 38th-ranked Tsonga, who sent ninth seeded Scotsman Andy Murray packing on the opening day, now faces 14th seed Youzhny, who won an all-Russian clash with fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko.
Youzhny, the No. 2 ranked Russian behind Davydenko at 14, marched on with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-1 win.
Nieminen, the winner of the leadup Adelaide ATP tournament, finished too strong for German Philipp Kohlschreiber, who dumped Andy Roddick out in the previous round.
Nieminen worked his way through to a 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 victory.
In two third round matches carried over from Saturday, Juan Carlos Ferrero ended Argentine David Nalbandian's tournament with a surprisingly comfortable 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win in one hour 44 minutes.
Fifth seed David Ferrer took three minutes longer to oust American Vincent Spadea, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
Australia's Lleyton Hewitt and Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis didn't begin their third round match on center court until just before midnight on Saturday and it finally ended at 4.33am yesterday, the latest finish in Grand Slam history.
Hewitt prevailed 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 in a four hours 45 minutes epic.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely