Serena, Federer slide into Melbourne last 8
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, January 22, 2013
Roger Federer and Andy Murray were locked on a collision course at the Australian Open yesterday as an unstoppable Serena Williams powered towards her third straight grand slam title.
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Roger Federer takes another routine win to reach quarters. |
As Novak Djokovic regrouped after his late-night thriller against Stanislas Wawrinka, Federer and Murray had no such problems as they breezed into the quarterfinals.
Murray had the simplest of tasks against a weakened Gilles Simon, still struggling after his marathon win over Gael Monfils, while Federer easily had the weapons to deal with the machine-gun serve of Canadian Milos Raonic.
Federer, playing in the showpiece evening match on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, needed a solitary break to edge the first set, and then won the tiebreaker for the second before he swept through the last to take it 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
The Swiss master, now into his 35th consecutive grand slam quarterfinal and seeking his 18th major title, said "good reflexes" were the key to coping with Raonic's bullet serve.
"You try to anticipate a bit, and it happened better and better as the match went on," he said. "It's important to stay focused. I have learned that over the years, and it pays off in the end."
Simon was still struggling from his marathon victory over Monfils a day earlier.
The Frenchman, who could hardly walk after wrapping up the five-setter post-midnight, was in no state to face US Open champion Murray, and he quickly went down 3-6, 1-6, 3-6, calling it "a painful hour-and-a-half."
Murray called it a "tough situation" but he admitted his mind was already on his next match, a quarterfinal with France's world No. 36 Jeremy Chardy. The Briton is scheduled to face Federer in the semifinals.
Chardy, who comes from the same coaching stable as Williams, reached his first grand slam quarterfinal with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Italian Andreas Seppi. He had never previously gone past the second round in Melbourne.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, buoyed by new coach Roger Rasheed, beat Richard Gasquet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to tee up a quarterfinal against Federer.
Meanwhile, the women's competition heated up as Williams ran over a stunned Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-0 and her potential semifinal opponent, title-holder Victoria Azarenka, dominated Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-1.
Williams dispatched Kirilenko in less than an hour as she reached her 35th grand slam quarterfinal and set up a last-eight clash with fellow American Sloane Stephens, 19, who beat Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
"I haven't beaten Serena and I hope I'll give you all a good show," said the confident teenager.
Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time grand slam winner, missed much of last season with injury but she said the break had done her good as she returned and beat former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
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