Power-hitter Amelie Mauresmo produced another no-nonsense straight sets victory on Monday to move into the Australian Open quarterfinals, as all the top seeds remaining kept their hopes alive.
Mauresmo spared no sympathy for 16-year-old Czech Nicole Vaidisova, crushing her 6-1, 6-1 in just 52 minutes to reach her 14th grand-slam quarterfinal.
Second seed Kim Clijsters had a tougher assignment, surviving a dogged challenge from Italian Francesca Schiavone, seeded 15, to win 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 after coming back from 4-1 down in the first-set tiebreak.
”I really felt like I had to step it up every time it was getting close and luckily enough I was able to do that,” said the Belgian.
An in-form Patty Schnyder, Germany’s unfancied Nicolas Kiefer and Sebastien Grosjean of France also won, as did men’s fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko, who wore down Dominik Hrbaty, playing in his fourth consecutive five-setter.
Mauresmo, the third seed, is gaining in confidence and will now take on seventh seed Schnyder, who easily accounted for Russian 12th seed and former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina 6-2, 6-1.
Mauresmo drew 34 unforced errors from Vaidisova to her own two.
”I was expecting a tough one, she is a young player coming up, she’s been playing great, so I’m very happy to go through in straight sets and not to spend too much time on court to recover for the quarters,” said the 1999 finalist.
”I think it gives you a lot of confidence to have these kinds of matches and also not to spend too much time on the court,” she said. ”Physically, I’m feeling well.”
Myskina made almost as many unforced errors (32) as Vaidisova to hand victory to Schnyder, who is playing on her favourite surface, having reached the quarters here last year and the semis in 2004.
”I knew if I mixed it up, like either her forehand or backhand, it could break down a little bit. That’s what happened,” said Schnyder.
Martina Hingis is in action later on Monday, trying to defeat the last remaining Australian, Samantha Stosur, and continue her comeback at a tournament where she has made the final on her past six attempts.
Whoever wins will take on Clijsters, who played again on Monday with her left thigh heavily strapped but showed no noticeable effects.
Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova are already into the last eight.
Davydenko of Russia won the battle of the super-fit against Hrbaty, coming from behind to grind out a 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win in three hours and 30 minutes.
The reward is a potential quarterfinal with world number one Roger Federer, who plays later on Monday.
”It was difficult after losing the first two sets and in the third set I was a break down, but something happened and I tried to run and keep fighting and I kept swinging in the third, fourth and fifth sets,” Davydenko said.
Kiefer scored his 300th career victory when he overcame the challenge of Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets.
Seeded 21, the German reached his third quarterfinal appearance at the tournament by winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-3.
He will play 25th seed Grosjean, who dispatched compatriot Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets.
Federer takes up his racquet in a night match against Germany’s unseeded Tommy Haas, who beat him at an exhibition ahead of the Australian Open, one of the few players to do so in the past 12 months.
The sublime Swiss hasn’t dropped a set in his three consummate wins here, but in Haas he faces his first real challenge.
Haas beat the 24-year-old at the same stage in the Australian slam four years ago and Federer hasn’t forgotten.
”Dangerous players are always around in a draw like this. I cannot take anybody lightly. I’ve got to focus on playing good tennis,” he said.
Fabrice Santoro, David Nalbandian, Ivan Ljubicic and Marcos Baghdatis have already booked their places in the last eight. — Sapa-AFP