Rafael Nadal left behind a second set scare while Nick Kyrgios’ dream of winning a Grand Slam in front of his home crowd blew in air once again as Melbourne Park celebrated some quality tennis on the seventh day. For India it was mixed emotions as Leander Paes lost while Rohan Bopanna won with his partner. Here’s summary of the last day of the first week of the first Grand Slam of the year.
Rafael Nadal
If Rafael Nadal wanted a fitness test in the first week, he got one in his nearly four-hour, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3 win over Diego Schwartzman.
After embracing Schwartzman at the net, his spot in a 10th Australian Open quarterfinal secure, the top-ranked Nadal draped an arm around his Argentine friend and patted him on top of the head.
Nadal lost last year’s Australian Open final in five sets to Roger Federer, but went on to regain the No. 1 ranking and win the French and US Open titles before bringing his season to a premature end because of an injured right knee.
Grigor Dimitrov vs Nick Kyrgios
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov ended home hopes of a first men’s champion in 42 years with victory over Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open.
Third seed Dimitrov, 26, won 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-4) in a gripping night-session contest in Melbourne.
He goes on to face Britain’s Kyle Edmund in the last eight on Tuesday.
Marin Cilic
Marin Cilic collected his 100th Grand Slam match win with a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (3) victory over No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta. He will next face Nadal.
Caroline Wozniacki vs Magdalena Rybarikova
World number two Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with victory over 20th seed Magdalena Rybarikova.
The Dane, 27, took 11 of the last 12 games to win 6-3 6-0 in 63 minutes against her Slovakian opponent on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Wozniacki, who hit 25 winners and dropped only six points in the second set, will play Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in her third Australian Open quarter-final.
Such was Wozniacki’s confidence she even produced a between-the-legs shot during the first set and although it did not win her the point it summed up her mood.
Elina Svitolina
Fourth seed Elina Svitolina saw off Czech Denisa Allertova even more quickly, winning 6-3 6-0 in 57 minutes.
The Ukrainian, 23, will face Elise Mertens in the quarter-finals.
Mertens became the first Belgian to reach the last eight in Australia since Kim Clijsters in 2012, as the unseeded world number 37 beat Croatia’s Petra Martic 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.
Leander Paes
A day after stunning the fifth seeds, veteran Leander Paes and Purav Raja on Sunday crashed out of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.
Paes and Raja suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals.
The unseeded Paes and Raja were beaten 1-6 2-6 by their 11th seeded opponents in a contest that lasted one hour and nine minutes at the Melbourne Park here.
Paes and Raja failed to capitalise on any one of the five break points — two in the first set and three in the second — they got in the match while the Cabal-Farah duo converted four out the 10 they had.
The Colombian duo broke the Indians twice in both the sets to easily grab the match and make it to the quarterfinals.
Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna and his Hungarian partner Timea Babos outplayed their opponents to progress to the pre-quarterfinals in mixed double.
Bopanna and Babos easily edged past Australian pair of Andrew Whittington and Ellen Perez 6-2, 6-4 in the mixed doubles first round.