Rafael Nadal stormed past Croatia`s Marin Cilic into the Australian Open quarter-finals in his bid to unite the Grand Slam titles, as Kim Clijsters and Andy Murray also went through.
|Last Updated: Jan 24, 2011, 08:35 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Melbourne: Rafael Nadal stormed past Croatia`s Marin Cilic into the Australian Open quarter-finals in his bid to unite the Grand Slam titles, as Kim Clijsters and Andy Murray also went through.
World number one Nadal was in devastating touch against the 15th seed, who struggled throughout and double-faulted on match-point to go down 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 after 2hr 31min on a cool evening at Rod Laver Arena.
Nadal, who caught a virus this month and sweated buckets in Saturday night`s encounter with Australian teen Bernard Tomic, said he was now feeling "perfect" just three matches away from a non-calendar year Grand Slam.
"I didn`t sweat as much tonight," he smiled. "Two days ago I was sweating like crazy and I felt tired, but today is the first day that I felt perfect physically."
With the win, Nadal moves to 25 consecutive Grand Slam match victories, equalling runs by Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras in the 1970s and 1990s. Only Rod Laver (29) and Roger Federer (27, twice) have longer streaks.
Nadal will meet David Ferrer on Wednesday in the Australian Open`s first all-Spanish quarter-final in 14 years. The French Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion can become the first man to hold all four major titles since 1969.Earlier Murray barely gave Austria`s Jurgen Melzer a look in his 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 win which maintained British hopes of ending a men`s Slam drought dating back to Fred Perry`s 1936 US Open victory.
The world number five, beaten by Federer in last year`s final, said he was surprised by the easy win over the 11th seed which, like Nadal, puts him into the last eight without dropping a set.
"I`ve played Jurgen in the Slams a few times, including here two years ago, and I was expecting a tough match and I was surprised by beating him in three sets," Murray said."I hit the ball well from the start of the match and I played some of my best tennis (here) last year. I don`t want to get carried away as I haven`t won this kind of thing
(major) before."
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.