Lleyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik gave home fans something to savour for the first time in 17 years on Monday after sweeping into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
World number three Hewitt reached the last eight after a thrilling five-set duel with unseeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal, while the up-and-coming Molik stunned American eighth seed Venus Williams in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (7/3).
The wins left Australia with players in the quarterfinals of the men and women’s singles for the first time since 1988.
Hewitt produced a stunning fight back, overcoming a hip injury to defeat 18-year-old Nadal 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in a pulsating contest that transfixed the Rod Laver Arena centre court for nearly four hours.
Hewitt’s win put him in the quarterfinals for the first time in nine attempts, setting up a clash with ninth seed David Nalbandian, who beat fellow Argentine Guillermo Coria 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 in a match that finished at 2.05am local time (3.05pm GMT).
The pugnacious 23-year-old Australian admitted he had been clinging on after falling 2-1 behind and that his sore hip was causing him problems. But quitting had never been an option.
”I tried to put all the negative thoughts out of my mind, just hang in there and wait for the opportunities,” Hewitt said. ”Even if my leg had fallen off, I would have kept playing. I don’t think I would ever have forfeited because of this injury.”
In-form Molik scored the biggest win of her career after outplaying former world number one Williams to reach her first grand-slam quarterfinal, where she will play current world number one Lindsay Davenport on Wednesday.
Molik, who began the year by winning all three of her matches at the Hopman Cup before claiming the Sydney title, thrilled her home-town supporters when she wrapped up victory as Williams hit a forehand long.
Her fans are now dreaming of a first Australian victory in the women’s singles since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
”It doesn’t get much better than that. I’m extremely happy with the way I played. I went for my shots and stayed aggressive,” said Molik, who said she had gleaned inspiration from Hewitt’s victory in the preceding match.
”I watched the end of Lleyton’s game. I definitely drew inspiration from that,” she said. ”I had no doubt he was going to come back.”
Williams was dejected in defeat.
”You win some, you lose some, but that was one I definitely should have won,” she said. ”I’ll be ready for her next time.”
Hewitt and Molik’s victories came on a day when Russian seeds Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva were dumped out of the women’s draw, while men’s second seed Andy Roddick raced through safely.
French Open champion Myskina and sixth seed Dementieva had been expected easily to join compatriots Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the last eight by beating lower-ranked fourth-round opponents.
But third seed Myskina was sent crashing by 19th-seeded Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy, losing 6-4, 6-2.
”No problems, just a bad day, a bad game,” said Myskina, who committed 45 unforced errors. ”Nathalie played pretty smart against me today … I can’t say really that she won the match. I can say that I lost the match.”
Dechy was delighted after reaching her first grand-slam quarterfinal but bristled at Myskina’s assertion that the result had more to do with the Russian’s own shortcomings.
”I’ll just focus on the result,” Dechy said. ”I’m in the next round and she’s not. I won the match. I played the way I needed to play against her.”
Dechy will now play Swiss 12th seed Patty Schnyder, beneficiary of a dramatic collapse by Dementieva, the losing finalist at the French and US Opens last season.
Dementieva was beaten after leading Schnyder by a set and 4-0 to lose eventually 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
”I mean, what can I say?” said a disconsolate Dementieva. ”I was 4-0, 30-0. You know, I didn’t take my chance.”
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, top seed Davenport set up her meeting with Molik after overpowering 13th seed Karolina Sprem of Croatia 6-2, 6-2.
Back in the men’s draw, second seed Roddick beat Germany’s world number 102 Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 in one hour and 27 minutes, and will now take on Russian 26th-seed Nikolay Davydenko in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Davydenko, who sent British seventh seed Tim Henman tumbling out in the previous round, accounted for another higher-ranked player by beating Argentine 12th seed Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
Roddick, on course for a semifinal in the bottom half of the draw with Hewitt, served up 15 aces in Monday’s match, but his error count was a much higher 25.
”I don’t think I hit the ball as clean as I did in my first three matches, but I felt like I started hitting the right way in the third set,” Roddick said. ”I’m not too concerned, I got through okay.” — Sapa-AFP