Verdasco denies Britain’s Grand Slam hope
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AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 27, 2009 00:00
MELBOURNE - Andy Murray was not the only one feeling pain yesterday at the Australian Open.
While Murray's anguish was mostly psychological - the fourth-seeded Scot was ousted by Spain's Fernando Verdasco 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 - three other players had to quit mid-match with injuries or illness, paving the way for Serena Williams, Gilles Simon and Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the quarterfinals.
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, left 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez feeling out of sorts with another dominating performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win. He has yet to drop a set and next faces the sixth-seeded Simon, who advanced when fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils retired with a wrist injury.
"I am playing well, but you never know if it's going to be enough," said Nadal, who had 33 winners and just 11 unforced errors.
Verdasco will meet fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
Williams was the biggest beneficiary of the wave of retirements. She was down a set to 13th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and so frustrated with her first serve that she got a warning for a verbal obscenity for cursing it. The 19-year-old Azarenka, who woke up sick, had to quit in the second set.
Murray said he hasn't been feeling well the last few days, though he refused to use it as an excuse.
"I don't feel that was the reason why I lost," Murray said. "I definitely did have my chances, and he played too well. I'm disappointed that I lost. But I'll try and learn from it. It's not a disaster. I'm still playing well. I lost to a good player in a very close match."
Murray saved two match points after falling behind 40-0 in the last game but wasn't able to fend off a third, netting a backhand.
Murray, who lost in the U.S. Open final last year to Roger Federer, was trying to become the first British man since 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title.
"The consistency of his first serve was pretty awesome for the last two, three sets," Murray said.
Verdasco was a key player in Spain's Davis Cup final triumph in Argentina, and he said he was able to draw on the experience.
"I think that Davis Cup final made me much stronger mentally," he said. "This preseason, I was working really hard. So today, I was really believing in myself, that I can win the match."
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, left 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez feeling out of sorts with another dominating performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win. He has yet to drop a set and next faces the sixth-seeded Simon, who advanced when fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils retired with a wrist injury.
"I am playing well, but you never know if it's going to be enough," said Nadal, who had 33 winners and just 11 unforced errors.
Verdasco will meet fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
Williams was the biggest beneficiary of the wave of retirements. She was down a set to 13th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and so frustrated with her first serve that she got a warning for a verbal obscenity for cursing it. The 19-year-old Azarenka, who woke up sick, had to quit in the second set.
Murray said he hasn't been feeling well the last few days, though he refused to use it as an excuse.
"I don't feel that was the reason why I lost," Murray said. "I definitely did have my chances, and he played too well. I'm disappointed that I lost. But I'll try and learn from it. It's not a disaster. I'm still playing well. I lost to a good player in a very close match."
Murray saved two match points after falling behind 40-0 in the last game but wasn't able to fend off a third, netting a backhand.
Murray, who lost in the U.S. Open final last year to Roger Federer, was trying to become the first British man since 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title.
"The consistency of his first serve was pretty awesome for the last two, three sets," Murray said.
Verdasco was a key player in Spain's Davis Cup final triumph in Argentina, and he said he was able to draw on the experience.
"I think that Davis Cup final made me much stronger mentally," he said. "This preseason, I was working really hard. So today, I was really believing in myself, that I can win the match."