Nadal barges into quarters
Melbourne
Former champions Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova charged into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday, as the guardians of the tennis establishment crushed the grand slam dreams of upstart challengers.
Nadal withstood an early serving barrage from South African beanpole Kevin Anderson in a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 masterclass at Rod Laver Arena to continue his brilliant comeback from a 2014 season ravaged by injury and illness.
The Spaniard, who ruled himself out of contention before the tournament, now faces Tomas Berdych for a place in the semi-finals, a man he mastered in their last 18 matches. The Czech seventh seed, whose record of pain against Nadal dates back to 2007, overpowered local hope Bernard Tomic 6-2 7-6(3) 6-2.
U.S. Open semi-finalist Peng Shuai, taking the mantle from retired Chinese champion Li Na, stayed with the Russian second seed Sharapova for seven games, but was blanked in the next eight as Sharapova set up a blockbuster showdown with Canadian sensation Eugenie Bouchard, a 6-1 5-7 6-2 winner over Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu.
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