Nadal wins 3 sets and advances to the Round of 16 in Australia

Melbourne, Australia (AP) – Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak against other leftists like him to 16 by beating Cameron Nori 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 and advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Nadal, who is seeking to win his 21st Grand Slam title, started the tournament with a strong back and no competitive matches in 2021. He reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the 14th time in 16 games.

The second seed dominated his 69th seed rival Nuri. He had one double mistake and only broke once.

“The first games in a long time,” Nadal said. “I have played three games and I hope you will help me next.”

His next opponent will be Fabio Funini XVI, who has just eliminated the last Australian hope in the men’s division, Alex de Minor, in straight sets.

Daniel Medvedev finally knows what it feels like to win a five-set match.

The Russian tennis player (fourth seed) was 0-6 in long matches, but on Saturday he stopped his streak against Serbian Filip Krajinovic (28) by winning 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0 and climbing to The round of 16 in the Australian Open.

Medvedev’s coach, Jill Servara, left the field mid-game after some tantrums from his student, who had become more lively and chatty with the bench, at the Rod Laver Arena empty after the event had been banned the day before. The audience is in the stands as a precaution against the Coronavirus.

Medvedev said in the interview on the field: “Before leaving he said he was sure that he would win the match and that he would leave me calmer. It was a good thing. Fortunately I won.”

The victory extended Medvedev’s winning streak to 17 matches, including his successful way to the ATP Finals title, last of the year, and his victory with Russia in the ATP Cup last week.

Medvedev felt discomfort in his upper left leg and left the field with a coach during a break for treatment at the end of the fourth set. He played better in the deciding set, with a victorious forehand strike to the corner that capped 18 exchanges and gave him a 2–0 lead over the scoreboard.

Medvedev, who reached the final at the US Open last season, will face American MacKenzie MacDonald, who defeated Lloyd Harris in straight sets to match his best result in the Grand Slam tournament.

In another match of the day, Andrei Rublev beat Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-5 6-2 6-3 and kept the possibility of playing the quarter-final match between Russian tennis players with Medvedev. Moreover, Greek Stefanos Tsetsepas (5th) managed to eliminate Sweden’s Mikael Ymir 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.

In the women’s draw, Ash Party, ranked number one in the WTA ranking, advanced to the round of 16 for the third year in a row after beating Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-4.

The Australian, who won her second home title at the Yara Valley Classic last week, recovered from a 4-2 defeat in the second set and broke Alexandrova to tie 4-4 on her sixth point in the second half. Then he won 10 of the last 15 points to settle the match.

Her next competitor will be American Shelby Rogers, who eliminated Annette Contavet (No. 21) 6-4 6-3.

It took Elise Mertens 62 minutes to knock out Swiss Belinda Bensic (11) 6-2, 6-1.

Last week, the Belgian (18) won an organized pre-season tournament for tennis players who passed a more stringent quarantine in Australia before starting this year’s first major.

Czech Karolina Moshova (25) made a wonderful comeback in the second set, where she overcame the trailing 5-0 in almost complete silence, defeating her compatriot Karolina Pliskova (6) 7-5, 7-5 and advancing to the fourth round.

Jennifer Brady (22), Donna Vekic (28) and Jessica Bigula (61) also advanced to eighth in Melbon Park.