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| May 19, 2007 | Saturday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 02, 1428 |
Nadal tames Andreev to extend record streak
HAMBURG, May 18: Rafael Nadal easily defeated the last man to beat him on clay on Thursday, downing Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Hamburg Masters.
Top-ranked Roger Federer also advanced, producing some solid tennis to beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-3.
Nadal extended his record streak to 79 victories on clay. He has been unbeaten on the surface since he lost to Andreev in the quarter-finals of the Valencia Open on April 8, 2005. Since then, Nadal’s run has included 13 tournament titles.
Nadal, seeded second in the tournament behind Federer, dominated Thursday’s match, facing only two break points and saving them both.
In the quarter-finals, Nadal plays fifth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, whom he beat in the Rome Masters final on Sunday. Gonzalez rallied to defeat Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Federer, who needs to win the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, has gone four straight tournaments without a title – his worst run since becoming the top-ranked player in Feb 2004.
But he looked strong against Ferrero, a former French Open champion and once the top player on clay. Ferrero had only one break point and couldn’t use it.
Three other Spaniards joined Nadal in the quarter-finals. David Ferrer beat Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-3, Carlos Moya rallied to upset eighth-seeded James Blake 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Nicolas Almagro defeated Jose Acasuso 6-2, 6-3.
Federer next goes against Ferrer, against whom he has never lost a set in six matches.
Fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic overcame pain in his left shoulder and left leg in the third set and beat Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
They were among several players who had to play twice during the day because their matches on Wednesday had been delayed or interrupted by rain.
Lleyton Hewitt upset third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. In the quarter-finals, Djokovic plays Moya and Almagro faces Hewitt.
Results (x denotes seeding):
Second round: Nikolay Davydenko (RUS x3) bt Gilles Simon (FRA) 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 7-5; Jose Acasuso (ARG) bt Philippo Volandri (ITA) 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3; Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt Florian Mayer (GER) 6-2, 6-4; Novak Djokovic (SRB x4) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3; Jurgen Melzer (AUT) bt Richard Gasquet (FRA x11) 6-3, 6-4; Fernando Gonzalez (CHI x5) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 7-5, 6-4.
Third round: David Ferrer (ESP) bt Ivan Ljubicic (CRO x7) 6-3, 6-3; Carlos Moya (ESP) bt James Blake (USA x8) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3; Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Igor Andreev (RUS) 6-4, 6-1; Nicolas Almagro (ESP) bt Jose Acasuso (ARG) 6-2, 6-3; Roger Federer (SUI x1) bt Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP x15) 6-2, 6-3; Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) beat Nikolay Davydenko (RUS x3) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4; Novak Djokovic (SRB x4) beat Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4; Fernando Gonzalez (CHI x5) bt Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
ROME: Former champion Serena Williams beat Shahar Peer for the third time this season as she reached the Rome Open quarter-finals on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-3 win.
The eighth-seeded American, who has won two of the three events she has played in another typically light season, also defeated the world number 15 Israeli at the Australian Open and Miami.
The 2002 champion here set up a match against Swiss Patty Schnyder, who cut short the giant-killing run of Australian Samantha Stosur with a 6-4, 6-4 third-round win.
Serena and Peer started off dismally, with five breaks of serve marring the opening five games.
But the former number one American finally held on her way to lifting the set in 48 minutes. Peer lost serve twice and Serena once in the second set before a marathon final point sealed success with a huge scream from the winner.
Serb third seed Jelena Jankovic took a fifth victory over Ukranian Alona Bondarenko, reaching the last eight 6-4, 7-5 after losing serve three times in a rugged second set.
She next plays Elena Dementieva, who secured quick revenge for a loss last week to fifth seed Nadia Petrova as her fellow Russian was forced to retire with a lower back injury trailing 4-3. After taking treatment, she played one point in the eighth game before retiring.
Results:
Third round: Elena Dementieva (RUS x10) bt Nadia Petrova (RUS x5) 4-3, retired (lower back); Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x9) bt Anna Chakvetadze (RUS x7) 6-2, 6-3; Jelena Jankovic (SRB x3) bt Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 6-4, 7-5; Patty Schnyder (SUI x14) bt Samantha Stosur (AUS) 6-4, 6-4; Serena Williams (US x8) bt Shahar Peer (ISR x11) 6-3, 6-3; Dinara Safina (RUS x6) bt Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 6-2, 6-3; Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) bt Nathalie Vieren (ITA) 6-1, 6-1; Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x2) bt Juliana Fedak (UKR) 7-6 (7/4), 6-1. –Agencies
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