Sport | Tennis
Nadal, Murray on collision course
Both players are in excellent form and have yet to drop a set in the tournament
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 September 5, 2010
- Image Credit: AFP
- Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates defeating Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan on day five of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York City on Friday.
New York : If you blinked, you might have missed it but Rafa Nadal gave the tennis world another look at the weapon he hopes will help him win the US Open and complete his collection of grand slam titles.
Nadal has been working hard on his serve in the belief that it holds the key to his chances of finally conquering New York. If his performance on Friday night was any guide, the wait may soon be over.
Playing his second round match against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday, Nadal produced an extraordinary display of serving.
It was a high-quality match of power-hitting from both players but he never once lost his serve, which flew fastest across the net at 216km per hour.
"For the moment, it's working really well," Nadal said without any sense of understatement. "I going to try keep playing like this."
Nadal's victory kept him on course for a semi-final showdown with Britain's Andy Murray but the top professionals never like to talk about possible match-ups. One match at a time is their mantra.
But both are in great form and are yet to drop a set in the tournament. If either was beaten before the semi-finals it would be a surprise.
Unorthodox Jamaican
Murray's second-round opponent on Friday was an unorthodox Jamaican called Dustin Brown. The Briton knew little about him but was warned to expect the unexpected. It was good advice but not a great contest, the Scotsman winning easily, 7-5, 6-3, 6-0.
With his dreadlocked hair, sleeveless shirt and baggy shorts, Brown was an instant hit with the centre court crowd but apart from a few fleeting moments in the first set, he was blown away.
Murray, warned that Hurricane Earl was about to dump gallons of rain on the national tennis centre, was in such a hurry to beat the wild weather that never came, that he had to head back out to the practice courts again because he wanted another workout.
"[There were] probably two rallies in the match that went past eight, nine shots," Murray said. "So I just went out and hit for 45 minutes just to get a bit of a rhythm."
They gave the seeds moments of trouble but the big names in action all prevailed. It has been a tournament bereft of upsets but that has only set the stage for a crackerjack second week.
Venus Williams, wearing a sparkling evening dress that would not have been out of place at a Manhattan cocktail party, trounced qualifier Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-2, 6-1 before hamming it up with her sister Serena in a mock interview with the host television broadcaster.
The defending women's champion Kim Clijsters reeled off 12 games in a row to win her match with Czech Petra Kvitova while French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and grand slam finalists Elena Dementieva and Samantha Stosur cruised to straight-set wins.
Clijsters lost the first three games against Kvitova but quickly turned it all around and won the next 12 on the trot in her 6-3, 6-0 win.
The Belgian, who also won here in 2005, struggled with her serve in the windy conditions but still proved too much for Kvitova, the 27th seed, to handle. She has not lost a set in this year's tournament and is steadily improving aspects of her game.
"I think it's only a matter of a few little details I think in my game that I just want to improve," she said. "I'm trying to achieve the perfect match but a match like today gives me more satisfaction because I beat a good player without even playing my best tennis."
RESULTS
Women - 3rd round
Samantha Stosur (AUS x5) bt Sara Errani (ITA) 6-2, 6-3
Elena Dementieva (RUS x12) bt Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x24) 7-5, 6-2
Kim Clijsters (BEL x2) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x27) 6-3, 6-0
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x20) bt Gisela Dulko (ARG) 6-1, 6-2
Francesca Schiavone (ITA x6) bt Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 6-1, 7-5
Ana Ivanovic (SRB) bt Virginie Razzano (FRA) 7-5, 6-0
Venus Williams (USA x3) bt Mandy Minella (LUX) 6-2, 6-1
Shahar Peer (ISR x16) bt Flavia Pennetta (ITA x19) 6-4, 6-4
Men - 2nd round
Tommy Robredo (ESP) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-4, 6-6 retired
Michael Llodra (FRA) bt Victor Hanescu (ROM) 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-2
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) bt Ryan Harrison (USA) 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6)
Andy Murray (GBR x4) bt Dustin Brown (JAM) 7-5, 6-3, 6-0
David Ferrer (ESP x10) bt Benjamin Becker (GER) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS x12) bt Dudi Sela (ISR) 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (7/2)
John Isner (USA x18) bt Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4
Feliciano Lopez (ESP x23) bt Benoit Paire (FRA) 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2
Fernando Verdasco (ESP x8) bt Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x25) by Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
Sam Querrey (USA x20) bt Marcel Granollers (ESP) 6-2, 6-3, 6-4
David Nalbandian (ARG x31) bt Florent Serra (FRA) 7-5, 6-4, 6-2
Gilles Simon (FRA) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER x29) 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
Nicolas Almagro (ESP x14) v Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4)
Rafael Nadal (ESP x1) bt Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5
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