NEW YORK // Rafael Nadal cruised through his third round match, then watched three other US Open title challengers fail to advance yesterday, to take a big stride toward a third straight grand slam crown. The Spanish world No. 1 trounced Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadow. Nadal's easy progress was made more important by the failure of other top-10 players.
The fourth-seeded David Ferrer was beaten 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5 by Japan's Kei Nishikori, the Argentine No. 7 David Nalbandian was swept aside 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 by France's Gael Monfils, while the American No. 9 James Blake was beaten in straight sets by his close friend and compatriot Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Andy Murray looked like becoming another high-profile casualty, but the Scottish No. 6 dug deep to beat Austria's Jurgen Melzer 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-4. Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka also came from two sets down to win, defeating Italy's Flavio Cipolla 5-7, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-0, 6-4.
The women's draw was more predictable. The Williams sisters won through to the fourth round with identical 6-2, 6-1 scorelines. Fourth-seeded Serena was too good for the Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama while Venus eased past Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine. The ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanksa was similarly untroubled in cruising past Dominika Cibulkova 6-0, 6-3, but Dinara Safina was forced to work harder for her fourth-round berth, as the Russian struggled past unseeded the Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Nadal's next opponent will be the unseeded American Sam Querrey, who won a battle of the big servers to beat Croatia's Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-2. "I managed to catch a bit of his match," Nadal said. "He has improved a lot, and he has that powerful serve." The 20-year-old Querrey made it through to the fourth round of a grand slam tournament for the first time. "It's great that it's the US Open," Querrey said. "It's the one that, you know, if I had to pick one to win, it would be this one."
The 18-year-old Nishikori made not only personal but national history when he upset Ferrer. He is the first Japanese to reach the US Open fourth round in the Open era. Nishikori overcame cramps to break Ferrer in the final game, converting his third match point with a forehand winner down the line, then dropping his racket and flopping onto his back. "I still can't believe it. I was playing great and he was playing great, too," Nishikori said. "Biggest win for me."
Nishikori's next opponent will be the inform Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who downed Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Murray came back from a two-set deficit to defeat a fading Melzer, then celebrated by pushing up his grey T-shirt's right sleeve and flexing his biceps - a signal to his fitness trainer and support team. "When you're training and wondering why you do all the work and feeling sorry for yourself and what have you - you kind of push through and keep working," Murray said. "Then when you have moments like that on the court, you feel like it's all worth it."
Murray will take on Wawrinka in the round of 16. Wawrinka's beaten opponent Cipolla refused to shake hands after the match, angry that the Swiss had questioned the authenticity of leg cramps the Italian claimed during the match, and also peeved that Wawrinka let out a yell of "Come on!" after Cipolla double-faulted. With the early retirements of the Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, a shoulder injury sidelining Maria Sharapova, and early losses by Lindsay Davenport and Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Williams sisters are the only past champions left in the field.
One Williams or the other won the tournament every year from 1999 to 2002, but neither has made the final since. Less than two months after playing each other in the Wimbledon final, they are headed toward a quarter-final clash here. "I've had over a week to think about it," Serena said. "So right now, I'm just hoping to win my next match." Venus will play Radwanska in the fourth round, while Serena faces unseeded Frenchwoman Severine Bremond. The run of French giant-killer Julie Coin, who came through qualifying to beat world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the second round, was ended by compatriot and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-4.
Mauresmo's opponent in the fourth round will be the Italian Flavia Pennetta, who rallied to beat Russia's Nadia Petrova 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The unseeded German Anna-Lena Groenefeld upset France's Alize Cornet 6-4, 7-5 and will face Safina next. *AP
