Nadal, Sharapova charge into quarters as top brass shine

Monday, 26 January 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Former champions Rafa Nadal and Maria Sharapova charged into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday, as the guardians of the tennis establishment crushed the grand slam dreams of upstart challengers. Nadal withstood an early serving barrage from South African beanpole Kevin Anderson in a 7-5 6-1 6-4 masterclass at Rod Laver Arena to continue his brilliant comeback from a 2014 season ravaged by injury and illness.

The Spaniard, who ruled himself out of contention before the tournament, now faces Tomas Berdych for a place in the semi-finals, a man he has mastered in their last 18 matches. The Czech seventh seed, whose record of pain against Nadal dates back to 2007, overpowered local hope Bernard Tomic 6-2 7-6(3) 6-2. Ticketholders at Rod Laver Arena may have felt a bit short-changed by the day session, with Nadal’s two-hour nine-minute romp to victory following Sharapova’s 69-minute demolition of Peng Shuai. U.S. Open semi-finalist Peng, taking the mantle from retired Chinese champion Li Na, stayed with the Russian second seed for seven games, but was blanked in the next eight as Sharapova set up a blockbuster showdown with Canadian sensation Eugenie Bouchard, a 6-1 5-7 6-2 winner over Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu. Twenty-year-old Bouchard was dubbed ‘the next Sharapova’ as she announced herself in a breakout 2014, and bristles at the comparison which was put to the test at the French Open semi-finals last year. Sharapova came back from a set down to quash Bouchard that day before going on to win the title and expects another stiff test from the Canadian upstart.

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