![]() ![]() ![]() Then we’ve got Carla Suárez Navarro against the No2 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who has won five of their seven meetings and only ever lost to the Spaniard on clay. Asked just how dangerous an opponent Cilic is, Nadal came up with a deliciously gnomic response: “ today is the most dangerous player that I can play against, because the one that I’m going to play. Both are seeded, so that’s something, but Nadal is the No1 and having lost his first meeting with Cilic, back in 2009, is 11-1 up in sets and 5-0 up in matches since. The 32-year-old posted a beautiful image on social media image of her who portrays her wearing a t-shirt and the words 'Stronger than cancer.' Another step. It has been seed carnage out there.Īnd so to Rafael Nadal against Marin Cilic. The women’s No4 seed, Elina Svitolina, was crushed in two sets by Elise Mertens, who had never previously been beyond the third round of a Slam the men’s No3 seed, Grigor Dimitrov, was beaten by Kyle Edmund, the Briton unexpectedly reaching his first Slam semi-final and on the Margaret Court Arena the top seeds in the men’s doubles, Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, lost to Jan-Lennard Struff (doubles ranking 157) and Ben Mclachlan (73). As I type on the two main showcourts the only seeds to have won today, legends doubles contests notwithstanding, are the American doubles pairing of Mike and Bob Bryan, who are looking for a 31st Grand Slam doubles final and perhaps their first Grand Slam title since 2014. It has already been a memorable day in Melbourne. At deuce Cilic wins a break point but surrenders it with an unforced error, at which Nadal produces an unforced error of his own to give him another one - and this time, on the second serve, he slashes a forehand across court for a clean winner and breaks back! He wins that point but struggles through the game. At 15-30 a plane noisily flies overhead and Nadal waits for it to pass, nervously glancing at the umpire as he does so, but no warning is forthcoming for him. ![]() So what will Cilic do with his anger? Will it destroy him, or inspire him? It looks like the latter as he motors to a 0-30 lead. And those people, I would argue, should not be chair umpires in the latter stages of major competitions. Some will say that there’s no leeway in the rulebook, only right and wrong. During her last year as a professional tennis player, she had to deal with a serious illness, last summer she announced that she had cancer. There are times when it is appropriate to allow a little leeway, or to allow an absolutely key point to be played before disrupting a player’s concentration. The umpires are there to enforce the rules, of course, but they don’t need to be so clumsy and thoughtless about it. But in the end the game and the set hinges on one crucial moment: at 5-5 Cilic puts on a fantastic display of forehand power-hitting to take control of the point only to slightly overhit the winner.Second set: Nadal* 6-3, 3-3 Cilic (*denotes server) I’m also angry about that bit of umpiring. This is so upsetting that a baby starts crying - a baby in the Rod Laver Arena watching tennis at 10pm - causing a lengthy delay. But it’s the first of many: Cilic hits a fabulous crosscourt passing shot and a fine backhand winner to go 4-1 up, but then an unforced error and Nadal’s incredible return from way wide makes in 4-3 Cilic’s forehand winner means that seven of the first eight points have been won against serve. Third set: Nadal 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 Cilic (*denotes server) Nadal takes an early mini-break as Cilic pays for a late decision to come to the net - he doesn’t get there in time to volley a winner, and instead has to brake and hits a tentative backhand into the net from mid-court. Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning a point in his fourth round match. 12.11 CET Nadal takes the third set to lead 2-1! Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic and Caroline Wozniacki into Australian Open quarterfinals.
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