Nadal and Djokovic march on

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:22

The Spaniard, who has won three of the past four grand slam titles, struggled early on but still managed to break twice to take the opening set.

Tursunov battled hard at the start of the second set to stay on terms but Nadal finally grabbed the break he needed in the eighth game to secure the win in one hour 17 minutes.

The Russian had one break point chance to stay alive but Nadal saved it and then won the next two points to book his place in the last 16, where he will meet 14th seed David Nalbandian, who beat Viktor Troicki 6-4 6-2

Defending champion Novak Djokovic made light work of Tommy Haas to also progress to the fourth round with a 6-2 7-6 (7/1) win. The Serbian strolled through the opening set, converting his only two break points to take the early advantage.

Haas put up more of a fight in the second and the pair traded breaks before Djokovic ran through the tie-break to seal his place in the last eight, where he will play Sam Querrey after he beat Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6 7-5 7-6 (8/).

Also in the men’s draw, sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro beat Jurgen Melzer 6-2 2-6 7-6 (7/2), American Andy Roddick slipped past number 31 seed Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, 6-4 7-6 (7/4), and David Ferrer of Spain was a 3-6 6-4 6-4 winner over unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

In the women’s event, top seed Dinara Safina of Russia beat American Jill Craybas 7-5 6-4.

Fourth seed Vera Zvonareva proved too strong for China’s Li Na, progressing with a 6-4 6-4 win, while in the late match Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic beat Flavia Pennetta 6-4 4-6 6-4.

The eighth and ninth seeds, Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki, were also straight-sets winners, over Shahar Peer and Urszula Radwanska respectively.

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here