MELBOURNE: In the same half of a Grand Slam singles draw for the first time since 2005, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are taking similar paths to a potential semifinal matchup at the Australian Open.
A rematch of the women’s 2011 final is already in place, with defending champion Kim Clijsters and China’s Li Na both winning Friday night to set up a meeting in the fourth round. Clijsters won in straight sets, Li advanced when her opponent, Anabel Medina Garrigues, had to retire with an ankle injury midway through the fourth game.
Neither the four-time Australian champion Federer nor 2009 titleholder Nadal have dropped a set, although Federer’s path has been made easier by a walkover win in the second round.
The longtime rivals played back-to-back matches at Rod Laver Arena on Friday. Nadal, his right knee still taped from a recent injury, showed no problems while moving briskly around the court in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over qualifier Lukas Lacko.
Federer followed in the marquee matinee program by beating Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (6), 7-5, 6-3, saving a set point in the tiebreaker with a scrambling lob over the 6-foot-10 Croatian. Federer will play Australian teenager Bernard Tomic on Sunday in the fourth round.
Nadal will next meet fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who beat No. 16 John Isner 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-7 (0), 6-1 to put the last U.S. man out of the draw.
No. 7 Tomas Berdych beat No. 30 Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-1 and will next play No. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain, who beat 21st-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4.
Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 11th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro beat Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 and Tomic defeated 13th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 4-6, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3. Del Potro plays Kohlschreiber in the fourth round.
Defending champion and top-seeded Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who has lost in the final at Melbourne Park the last two years, play their third-round matches Saturday, with a Djokovic-Murray replay only possible in the semis.
On the women’s side, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki also has not dropped a set in advancing to the fourth round as she continues her quest for a first Grand Slam title. She beat Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-2, 6-2 Friday, and third-seeded Victoria Azarenka defeated Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-4.
It’s the toughest half of the women’s draw, Wozniacki could face Clijsters in the quarterfinals. But before Clijsters gets that far, she will have to beat French Open winner Li.
Li advanced to the fourth round after Medina Garrigues badly twisted her right ankle in the second game. Li won the first three games and had taken the first two points in the fourth game on Medina Garrigues’ serve when the Spaniard hit the ball into the air with her racket, then went—in tears—to to the net to retire. It was only one and a half games after she had sustained the injury.
Clijsters advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Daniela Hantuchova earlier at Hisense Arena.
Clijsters’ only loss to Hantuchova in 11 matches was at Brisbane two weeks ago when she withdrew with a hip injury in the second set of their semifinal.
On Saturday, the two biggest threats in the other half of the women’s draw, five-time champion Serena Williams and 2011 Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, play for a spot in the last 16.
Wozniacki, who needs to reach the quarterfinals to have any chance of retaining the No. 1 ranking, wasted one match point and was broken when she was serving for the match. But she broke back immediately to ensure she moved into a final 16 encounter against former No. 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic, who beat American Christina McHale 6-2, 6-0. (Agencies)