Wed, February 23, 2011
MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's Peng Shuai, Swede Robin Soderling on Monday were sent home from Australian Open, while Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Vera Zvonareva and Kim Clijsters sails into quarter finals.
Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov shockingly defeat World No. 4 Soderling by winning a five set 6-1 3-6 1-6 6-4 2-6 fourth round match in two hours and 25 minutes.
He fired 11 aces, and 50 winners throughout the match, while Soderling only has six aces and 24 winners.
"I started not really well. I was serving really bad," Dolgopolov said. "I mean, with a player like that on the baseline, he's really good. So, I mean, the first set I was struggling, and a break down in the second."
"I came back somehow and started to play better and better with every set. I'm really happy I'm through to the quarterfinal."
Soderling is the only Swede in the men's singles draw at the Australian Open this year.
Dolgopolov will meet 5th seed British Andy Murray on the final eight encounter.
China's Peng Shuai wasted two match points against 12th seed Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska before losing the fourth round 7-5, 3- 6, 7-5 in 2 hours 44 minutes.
The result leaves China relying on Li Na, a semifinalist last year, as it seeks its first ever Grand Slam singles title. Li plays Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, World No. 1 and Australian Open favorite Nadal continues to tick like a metronome, overpowered 15th seed Croatian Marin Cilic 6-2 6-4 6-3 in two hours 31 minutes.
Nadal has not dropped a set through four rounds at Melbourne Park, and he also only offered two break points on his own service game, neither of which Cilic could convert.
"Before the match I was a little bit nervous because he is very dangerous and I tried to play with high intensity," he told reporters in Melbourne after the game.
"I am very happy because I played my best match of the year at the Australian Open."
Nadal also said it is a very good feeling when the girls whistle and take pictures of him when he is changing shirt during the break of the game.
The 24-year old sets a final eight encounter against 7th seed Spanish David Ferrer, who earlier on Monday defeated Milos Raonic 6-4 2-6 3-6 4-6.
This will be the first all-Spanish quarter final at Melbourne Park since 1997 when Carlos Moya defeated Felix Mantilla.
Fifth seed British Andy Murray easily defeated 11th seed Austrian Jurgen Melzer 3-6 1-6 1-6 in one hour and 44 minutes match.
He will next meet unseeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, who shockingly kicked out 4th seed Swede Robin Soderling.
In women's draw, second seed Russian Zvonareva, who has lost in the finals of the last two grand slams at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, continued her quest for a first grand slam title with a commanding 6-4 6-1 victory over unseeded Czech Iveta Benesova in one hour and 15 minutes.
Zvonareva, who looks to seal a place in the Melbourne Park semi- finals for the second time, said she was improving every time she took to the Melbourne Park courts.
"You know, I try to give my best all the time. I've been pretty good at the majors last year, and so far this year started off well," She told reporters in Melbourne on Monday.
"It's your Grand Slam, and that's what you work hard, very hard over the many many years. That's where you want to play your best tennis."
She will face Czech's Petra Kvitova, in the final eight following Kvitova's 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Italian Flavia Pennetta on Monday.
Third seed Kim Clijsters battled her way into quarter finals by crashing Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-7 2-6 in one hour 28 minutes to set a meeting with Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.
