Nadal avoids top player exodus from Aussie Open

0

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rafael Nadal avoided the top
player exodus that claimed two-time defending women’s champion Victoria
Azarenka in the preceding match on center court with a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6
(7), 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov in the Australian Open quarterfinals
Wednesday.
Nadal, who received treatment several times for a
nasty-looking blister on the palm of his left hand that he said caused
him to serve slower than usual, advanced to a semifinal match against
the winner of the marquee quarterfinal between Andy Murray and Roger
Federer later Wednesday.
Azarenka won’t have a semifinal date. No.
5-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska stopped Azarenka’s 18-match winning run at
Melbourne Park with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 win earlier in the day.
That
means both defending champions went out in the quarterfinals — Novak
Djokovic lost to Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday, ending his bid for a fourth
consecutive men’s title. Azarenka had been aiming for three in a row and
other women’s title contenders Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova
didn’t even make it as far as the quarterfinals.
Nadal won on his
fourth match point on Dimitrov’s serve in 3 hours, 37 minutes, a long
time after his celebration following a second-set tiebreaker that more
resembled a victory dance. He stayed in a squat position after his
winning cross-court shot and then pumped his chest out three times.
There
were more muted celebrations after a tiebreaker in the third set, with
Nadal acknowledging Dimitrov let him off the hook with a wide forehand
on set point.
"It’s a tough moment mentally for an opponent,"
Nadal said. "If that forehand from him goes in and he wins the third,
I’m going to be fighting."
Nadal fended off three set points in the third set, including two in the tiebreaker, and won on his first
set point.
He
went up 2-0 in the fourth when he hit a passing backhand down the line
on break point with Dimitrov standing at the net. At the end, Dimitrov
appeared to wipe tears from his eyes with a towel as he walked off Rod
Laver Arena.
Dimitrov was still emotional during his post-match news conference, tearing up while discussing the
forehand that got away.
"Obviously
I got to put that in the past," he said. I’m sure I could have done
something different. But in a match everything comes down to a split of a
second … whether in or out."
Earlier, he said: "I’m a bit shattered. I came out expecting nothing less than to win."
Azarenka’s
defeat left 2011 French Open champion Li Na as the only major winner
remaining in the women’s draw. Radwanska next plays No. 20 Dominika
Cibulkova, who won the last eight games in a one-hour, 6-3, 6-0
quarterfinal rout of No. 11-seeded Simona Halep earlier Wednesday.
Li, a two-time finalist in Australia, will play 19-year-old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the other
semifinal.
Radwanska
played drop shots and slices from the baseline, forcing Azarenka to
come forward and then lobbing or passing her. She hit touch volleys with
calm precision, and instinctively anticipated Azarenka’s shots.
"She
was aggressive.
She was making everything.
She was guessing right,"
Azarenka said. "I was just playing a little bit too predictably.
Radwanska
was also safe on her own serve, dropping just two games while breaking
Azarenka six times. She hadn’t beaten Azarenka in their last seven
matches.
"I said to myself one day I have to have one step forward
and do the semifinal, and I’m so, so happy that I did it finally,"
Radwanska said.
Azarenka was booed late in the match when she
smashed a ball into the back of the court after another one of her 47
unforced errors. She screamed loudly after losing big points to the
incredibly consistent Radwanska, punched her thigh and her racket and
even slapped the court with her hand. Nothing worked to change her
fortunes.
"I’m not happy with what I did today, but on the court I
felt like I could have played a lot better," Azarenka said. "I can’t
take away what she’s done today.
She played amazing."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.

No posts to display