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Nadal limps out as Murray and Henin
dream on
Andy Murray of
Britain reacts during his quarterfinal
match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal at the Australian
Open in Melbourne yesterday. — Reuters
MELBOURNE —
Rafa Nadal limped out of the Australian Open yesterday, his title defence
shattered by a recurring knee problem and a devastating display by Andy
Murray. Nadal quit when trailing Murray 6-3 7-6 3-0 but the match was as
good as over with the Scotsman deservedly on his way to the semifinals for
the first time.
“When the big moments came in the match, I thought I dictated what happened
on the court,” Murray said. “Obviously, I didn’t know when he hurt his
knee...but from my side, I played really well and deserved to be up when the
match was stopped.” It has been 74 years since a British man won a grand
slam title but the wait could soon be over if Murray can maintain his
brilliant form for two more matches.
The 22-year-old has not dropped a set in Melbourne and will next face
Croatia’s Marin Cilic, who wore down seventh seed Andy Roddick 7-6 6-3 3-6
2-6 6-3 but is nearing exhaustion after spending more than 18 hours on court
to get this far. Justine Henin’s dream of winning the women’s championship
also edged closer to reality as did that of Zheng Jie, the first Chinese to
make the semis in Australia.
Henin booked her place in the last four with a 7-6 7-5 win over Russia’s
Nadia Petrova to set up a showdown with Zheng, who defeated Russia’s Maria
Kirilenko 6-1 6-3. Nadal’s exit was another sorry chapter for the Spanish
second seed whose brilliant career has been blighted by knee injuries over
the past year.
There must be doubts as to whether the 23-year-old can scale the heights he
did 12 months ago when he held the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles
and was ranked number one in the world. “Don’t start guys with these
questions right now,” Nadal told a news conference. “I think it is not the
right moment. “It is impossible for me to know after half an hour.”
Former world number one Henin is playing only her second tournament since
coming out of an 18-month retirement and her next opponent represents the
changing face of women’s tennis. Zheng raised hopes of a first Chinese grand
slam singles champion after she tormented Kirilenko with her powerful
groundstrokes and speed around the court.
“I feel a bit calmer than the last time I made a semi-final,” said Zheng.
“Now, I feel like whoever makes the last four has a chance of winning it.”
Zheng is one of two Chinese left in the women’s draw. Li Na also made the
quarterfinals and plays Venus Williams today, raising the possibility of an
all-Chinese final.
Defeating Henin will be tough, however, with the Belgian seven-times grand
slam champion growing in confidence. “I was curious about what was going to
happen,” she said. “I knew it was going to be hard. Every match was a goal.
“Now I can dream of being in the final of this grand slam, of course, but
it’s still a long way.”
Cilic became the first Croatian to reach the semifinals at Melbourne Park
when he summoned up the energy to fight off American Roddick’s comeback from
two sets down. Cilic had been pushed to five sets in two of his previous
three matches, including his fourth-round win over US Open champion Juan
Martin del Potro, and now faces Murray. “Every grand slam is special and
every grand slam is important to win,” Nadal said. “For Andy, I think he
deserves to win his first grand slam and he’s gonna do it.” — Reuters |
