Sharapova keeps it short and sweet

Melbourne, January 25

Former champions Rafa Nadal and Maria Sharapova charged into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday, as the guardians of the tennis establishment crushed the grand slam dreams of upstart challengers.

Nadal withstood an early serving barrage from South African beanpole Kevin Anderson in a 7-5 6-1 6-4 masterclass at Rod Laver Arena to continue his brilliant comeback from a 2014 season ravaged by injury and illness.

The Spaniard, who ruled himself out of contention before the tournament, now faces Tomas Berdych for a place in the semi-finals, a man he has mastered in their last 18 matches.

The Czech seventh seed, whose record of pain against Nadal dates back to 2007, overpowered local hope Bernard Tomic 6-2 7-6(3) 6-2.

“The chance to be in the quarter-finals after a tough period of time for me is a fantastic result,” 14-times grand slam champion Nadal said courtside. “I probably played my best match of the year.”

Ticketholders at Rod Laver Arena may have felt a bit short-changed by the day session, with Nadal’s two-hour nine-minute romp to victory following Sharapova’s 69-minute demolition of Peng Shuai. U.S. Open semi-finalist Peng, taking the mantle from retired Chinese champion Li Na, stayed with the Russian second seed for seven games, but was blanked in the next eight as Sharapova set up a blockbuster showdown with Canadian sensation Eugenie Bouchard, a 6-1 5-7 6-2 winner over Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu.

Twenty-year-old Bouchard was dubbed ‘the next Sharapova’ as she announced herself in a breakout 2014, and bristles at the comparison which was put to the test at the French Open semi-finals last year. Sharapova came back from a set down to quash Bouchard that day before going on to win the title and expects another stiff test from the Canadian upstart.

Pep talk

Canada’s first grand slam finalist Bouchard was the first into the last eight, but needed to battle through a mid-match meltdown at Rod Laver Arena.

She gave herself a pep talk during a toilet break between the second and third sets, having inexplicably conceded five games in a row and double-faulted to allow unseeded Begu back to level terms. “I gave myself a good long hard look in the mirror and I said, ‘Genie, this is unacceptable’ and I really kind of kicked myself in the butt a little bit,” she said in a courtside interview.

There was no need for any soul searching from feisty Russian counter-puncher Ekaterina Makarova, who booked her third Melbourne Park quarter-final of the past four years with a 6-3 6-2 thrashing of Julia Goerges.

Makarova, who famously dumped favourite Serena Williams out of the 2012 tournament, will bid for a maiden semi-final in Melbourne against the winner of third seed Simona Halep and Yanina Wickmayer, the first match of the evening session. Seventh seed Berdych subjected Tomic to a two-hour thrashing.

Dimitrov loses

Dressed in black and oozing menace, Andy Murray extracted sweet revenge by felling Wimbledon nemesis Grigor Dimitrov in a late-night thriller as the old guard stood firm to march into the quarterfinals.

Former champions Rafa Nadal and Maria Sharapova sailed into the last eight but will share the limelight with Murray’s next opponent Nick Kyrgios, a local gatecrasher who roared to a famous five-set victory over Roger Federer-slayer Andreas Seppi. Dimitrov ended Murray’s title defence at his home grand slam last season and the Rod Laver Arena crackled with tension as the pair slugged out a midnight classic.

Murray won 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5 and Dimitrov destroyed his racquet in disgust after blowing a 5-2 lead in the fourth set to allow the Briton to serve for the match. The ending was cruel for Dimitrov but well-earned for Murray, as the Scot punched a cross-court forehand into the tape on match point, with the ball dropping over to send the Bulgarian out.

“I think I got quite lucky at the end, a few net cords went my way, that was the difference really,” the Scot told reporters. “The momentum was switching both ways all the time.”

Murray will battle the home crowd as well as Kyrgios when the pair clash in two days’ time. — Reuters