Rafael Nadal extended his series of victories against other left-handers like him to 16, defeating Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 this Saturday and advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Nadal, who won the record for the 21st Grand Slam title, started the tournament with a rigid back and no competitive matches in 2021. He reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the 14th time in 16 starts.
The second seed dominated its rival Norrie, the 69th seedless. He had only one double fault, and his service was interrupted only once.
“It’s better today,” the Spaniard said of his back pain. “On the first day I feel an improvement and this is the most important thing for me today.”
He did not give up a set in three games, something that, he said, “I hope will help me for what follows.”
His next opponent will be 16th Fabio Fognini, who has just eliminated Australia’s last hope in the men’s division, Alex de Miñaur, in straight sets.
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev finally knows how it feels to win a five-set game.
The Russian tennis player (4th ranking) was 0-6 in the long games, but on Saturday he stopped his series against the Serbian Filip Krajinovic (28) winning 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3- 6, 6 – 0 and advanced to the round of 16 at the Australian Open.
Medvedev’s coach, Gilles Cervara, left the field in the middle of the game, after several outbursts of anger from his increasingly lively and talkative student with the bench, in an empty Rod Laver Arena, after the event was banned with the day before. stands as a precaution against coronavirus.
“Before he left, he said he was sure he would win the game and that he would let me be calmer,” Medvedev said in a field interview. “It was a good thing. Fortunately, I won. “
The victory extended Medvedev’s winning streak to 17 matches, including his successful path to the ATP final last year and his victory over Russia in the ATP Cup last week.
Medvedev felt discomfort in his upper left foot and left the field with a coach during a break for treatment at the end of the fourth set. He played much better in the decisive set, with a winning maneuver in the corner, which completed an exchange of 18 shots and gave him a 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard.
Medvedev, a finalist at last season’s US Open, will now face American Mackenzie McDonald, who defeated Lloyd Harris in straight sets to match his best Grand Slam result.
In another game of the day, Andrey Rublev defeated Spanish veteran Feliciano López 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 and kept open the possibility of a duel in the quarterfinals between Russian tennis players with Medvedev. Also, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) eliminated the Swede Mikael Ymer with 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
The Russians suffered a loss on the sixth day of the tournament, after Karen Kachanov was overtaken by Matteo Berrettini with sets of 7-6 (1), 7-5 (1), 7-6 (5). The Italian will meet Tsitsipas in the next round.
In the women’s draw, the number one in the WTA rankings, Ash Barty, advanced to the round of 16 for the third consecutive year, after defeating the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-4.
The Australian, who won his second home title at the Yarra Valley Classic last week, rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the second set and broke Alexandrova’s serve to tie 4-4 for the sixth break point. Then he won 10 of the last 15 points to solve the game.
Barty said that while it felt strange not to have fans on the stadium for the first time in his career in top flight, there were a few things he didn’t mind.
“We seem to be training,” he said, “so we’re very used to it.”
Her next opponent will be the American Shelby Rogers, who eliminated Anett Kontaveit (21st place) 6-4, 6-3.
Elise Mertens needed just 62 minutes to get rid of the Swiss Belinda Bencic (11th) 6-2, 6-1.
Last week, the Belgian (18th) won a training tournament organized for tennis players who went through a stricter quarantine in Australia before the start of the first major of the year.
She will carry a seven-match winning streak in her next match against Czech Karolina Muchova in the fourth round.
Muchova (25) organized a spectacular comeback in the second set, where she overcame a 5-0 deficit almost in complete silence, to beat compatriot Karolina Pliskova (6) 7-5, 7-5 and advanced in round the father.
WTA no. 61, Jessica Pegula defeated Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-1 and will face Elina Svitolina, ranked 5th, who has won the last nine matches and won 6-4, 6 -0 in front of Yulia Putintseva.
Jennifer Brady gave up just four games to advance to the fourth round match against Donna Vekic, who served for the match point and defeated Kaia Kanepi 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6 -4.