Ferrer ends Nadal's bid for 'Rafa Slam'

MELBOURNE: David Ferrer dumped injury-hit Rafael Nadal out of the Australian Open in straight sets today, ending the world number one's bid for a historic sweep of the Grand Slam titles. The grimacing Nadal was in trouble right from the 18-minute second game, but despite repeated medical attention and a strapped left thigh he grimly battled to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 quarter-final defeat.

In pic: Under pressure ... Rafael Nadal during a break in his straight-sets loss to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in Melbourne last night. Photo: AFP

Nadal's shock loss comes on the exact anniversary of last year's injury pull-out in the quarter-finals against Andy Murray, which also came on Australia Day as celebratory fireworks lit up the Melbourne night sky. The demise of Nadal, 24, halts his quest for the "Rafa Slam", a non-calendar year Grand Slam which would have united the four major titles for the first time since Rod Laver in 1969. "It's not easy because Rafael is a gentleman and he was playing injured and we are friends," Ferrer said. "He was injured in the first set but I played my game, I fight a lot and sometimes it's not easy."

Nadal stands at nine Grand Slam titles and is the youngest man to win all four of the big tournaments. However, another injury setback will revive doubts about his longevity in the game. Spain's Ferrer will face Andy Murray in Friday's semi-final after the British fifth seed outgunned rising star Alexandr Dolgopolov. Ferrer has a 3-2 winning record against Murray but has never beaten him on hardcourt.

Murray, last year's runner-up to Roger Federer, dropped his first set of the year against Ukrainian shot-maker Dolgopolov, 22, who dominated a third-set tie-break before going down 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3. "It was very tough and every point was different, he hits the ball different to a lot of other players and I struggled a little bit with my rhythm early on," Murray said. "He came back at me well in the third set but I thought I did well enough."

Murray, 23, is now into his fifth Grand Slam semi-final as he bids to break a British men's major drought stretching back to Fred Perry's 1936 US Open win. Earlier three-time Grand Slam-winner Kim Clijsters beat Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to set up a heavyweight semi-final with world number two Vera Zvonareva, who downed Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4.

Zvonareva wore a black ribbon on her cap to support victims of Monday's deadly suicide bombing at Domodedovo airport in Moscow, her home city, which killed 35 and left her frantically calling relatives. "You're calling back home and making sure everyone is okay, the people that you know," she said. "I just tried to put it away. It happened, it is terrible. But you try to move on."

The 26-year-old remains on course for her third straight Grand Slam final, after losing to Serena Williams at Wimbledon and Clijsters at the US Open in September. Clijsters overcame a high error-rate to see off Radwanska, who played a limited game but stayed in the match with some scrambling defence, taking advantage of the Belgian's 37 unforced errors. "Everything has to be better (against Zvonareva)," said Clijsters, who beat the Russian in September's US Open final.

"I mean, serving, returning, the unforced errors. Everything has to be better." World number one Caroline Wozniacki will face China's Li Na in tomorrow's other semi-final, while defending champion Federer plays third seed Novak Djokovic in a mouth-watering men's last-four match-up. -AFP

Nadal breezes into 3rd round at Australia Open

MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 23 matches, continuing his pursuit of a "Rafa Slam" with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 win over American qualifier Ryan Sweeting to reach the third round of the Australian Open. The top-ranked Nadal is aiming to be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.

In pic: Rafael Nadal

He's conceded only four games en route to the third round, sealing his win over Sweeting today with another of his rifling forehands. After retiring with an injury in the quarterfinals at the last Australian Open, Nadal rebounded to win the French, Wimbledon and U S Open.

Nadal hit some shots that Sweeting could barely believe, including an ace to finish the first set and forehand on set point in the second when the Spaniard's curling shot caught the baseline for the winner. Sweeting challenged the call as he walked off, but the call stood.

The only hint of anything other than complete domination for Nadal came in the third set, when Sweeting broke serve in the fifth game and then had game points to bring it back to 4-2 in a game that to deuce five times. Again, Nadal held on to convert a break and served out in the next game. "I feel good. Today the serve started to work much better," Nadal said.

"Only one (bad) moment, when the sun came in my eyes," Nadal said. "It was a positive victory for me, an important victory." All the coverage of his "Rafa Slam" had no influence on Nadal's mindset. "No, for sure, it's not a distraction," he said. "It's the last thing I'm thinking about right now. I'm trying to find my best level."

Kim Clijsters showed why she's fast becoming a hot favorite for the women's title by beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3. U S Open champion Clijsters opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over former No 1-ranked Dinara Safina, but Suarez Navarro was a potentially dangerous second-round matchup.

The 22-year-old Spaniard beat Venus Williams in a second-round upset in her first trip to Melbourne Park two years ago. "She is a tough player. She's tricky. The balls bounce so much different than for my first round," Clijsters said. "I was just happy with the way that I played. I tried to play both sides of the court, tried to be aggressive and dictate the points. And it worked."

With defending champion Serena Williams not playing in Australia due to a prolonged foot problem, third-seeded Clijsters is hopeful of going one better than her previous best performance at Melbourne Park -- she lost the 2004 final. Her third-round 6-0, 6-1 loss here to Nadia Petrova last year was her worst in a major.

It's a defeat she claims she doesn't dwell on and doesn't think will influence her preparations for the same stage this weekend. "I don't think I've ever played a match like that. So it was very easy in a way to also forget about it, as well," Clijsters said.

Joining her in the third round from the bottom half of the draw were No 10 Shahar Peer, who beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-2 and No 22 Flavia Pennetta, who beat Lourdes Dominguez 6-2, 6-2. Seventh-seeded Jelena Jankovic lost 7-6 (3), 6-3 to China's Peng Shuai, continuing an unimpressive streak of seven losses in eight matches.

It was former world No 1 Jankovic's worst result at a major since the 2009 U S Open. Meanwhile, Clijsters has spent just two hours on court so far, leaving plenty of time to joke with the crowd and take a little swipe at on-court interviewer Todd Woodbridge, a former Australian doubles great.

She lightheartedly chided Woodbridge about a text message he'd sent to fellow Australian Rennae Stubbs, suggesting Clijsters was showing physical and emotional signs of being pregnant. "No, I'm not!" said Clijsters, who took time off the tour when she married and had a child -- daughter Jada, born in February 2008 -- before returning to win the U S Open in 2009.

While Clijsters and Nadal have advanced with ease, Venus Williams and defending men's champion Roger Federer have encountered challenges. Williams injured a muscle between her stomach and groin yesterday as she twisted for a volley. She needed a medical timeout after losing the first set. She was on the verge of tears, and apparently elimination. But she refused to stop playing and eventually beat Sandra Zahlavova of the Czech Republic 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-4.

Federer faced a more familiar problem -- Gilles Simon. He's one of only three men on tour with a winning record against the Swiss great. The 16-time Grand Slam champion admitted he was "happy I survived a scare." Nadal, one of the other men who have a winning record against 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer, watched the match on TV. "It was fantastic tennis. Simon had an amazing comeback. In the fifth set, Federer played unbelievably well in important moments." -AP