Scores and highlights from Day 8 of the Australian Open 2011. The men’s quarterfinals field is set; joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych, and Stanislas Wawrinka will be Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, and Alexandr Dolgopolov. Here’s how they got there:
Australian Open 2011 Tennis Results, Day 8: Rafael Nadal Through To Quarters; Robin Söderling Upset
• No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. No. 15 Marin Cilic, 6-2 6-4 6-3.
Rafa’s run for what we’ll probably end up calling a “Rafa slam” (and, if you really want to get ahead of yourselves, his quest for an actual calendar Grand Slam) continues apace. In a coincidence that will be breathlessly and inaccurately described as “ironic” by pundits worldwide, the last men’s player to reign as champ of all four majors simultaneously was ... Rod Laver, after whom the main arena at the Australian Open is named. Spookay! Nadal is paired with No. 7 David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.
• No. 5 Andy Murray def. No. 11 Jurgen Melzer, 6-3 6-1 6-1.
This marks the second consecutive Australian Open win in straight sets for Murray over Melzer. The Brit made the finals in this tourney last year, and his 2011 run has had barely a hiccup. On paper, he’s got the easiest draw of any quarterfinalist, with unseeded upsetter Alexandr Dolgopolov on tap.
• No. 7 David Ferrer def. Milos Raonic, 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.
Was Ferrer simply trying to up the drama in his fourth-round match with that first set? It worked, nicely backdropped by the loss of the other three Spaniards in the fourth round. Only Ferrer and Nadal remain to see the quarters, and only one will advance to semis. Wild shot-in-the-dark hunch: Not Ferrer.
• Alexandr Dolgopolov def. No. 4 Robin Söderling, 1-6 6-3 6-1 4-6 6-2.
The day’s biggest upset sends home our favorite grizzled Swede, leaves no umlauted players in the draw, and sends an unseeded guy in among top-ranked competitors for the quarterfinals. Dolgopolov doesn’t even have to play Federer yet! Of all the luck. (Andy Murray’s luck, however, seems to be running just as strongly; this won’t be a boring one.)
Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more highlights of fourth-round play on Day 8 of the 2011 Australian Open.
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