Australian teen sensation Bernard Tomic won a five-set battle with Ukrainian nemesis Alexandr Dolgopolov to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open on Friday. The 19-year-old rising star won two tiebreak sets on the way to a gruelling 4-6, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-3 win in 3hr 49min on Rod Laver Arena.
---- Nadal sails through
Tomic will now face his idol, 16-time grand slam champion Roger Federer, in the round of 16 on Sunday. Federer won their only meeting, in the Davis Cup on grass in Sydney, in four sets last year. "It was very difficult to play. It was like a mirror playing yourself," Tomic said of his matchup with Dolgopolov. "The shots are coming back the way that you give (them) to players. They're coming back to you the same. I'm happy have to won that second set. It gave me a lot of confidence."
It was 38th-ranked Tomic's first win over Dolgopolov in four meetings and continued his outstanding progress at his home Open after reaching the quarter-finals at last year's Wimbledon. Earlier, Roger Federer cut Croatian power-serving giant Ivo Karlovic down to size to join great grand slam rival Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at the Australian Open on Friday.
The Swiss all-time slam champion, confronted with the tallest challenge in men's tennis, had all the answers in a composed 7-6 (8/6), 7-5, 6-3 win over the towering 6ft 10ins (2.08m) Karlovic in 2hr 17min. World number three Federer remained on track for a semi-final with Nadal, who reeled off his third straight-sets victory of the tournament in accounting for Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko.
Federer improved to 10-1 in matches against Karlovic, swinging the match with a tense opening set tiebreak win and breaking the 57th-ranked Croat's serve twice, while conceding only two break points in 17 service games. Spanish world number two Nadal, bidding for his 11th grand slam title in Melbourne, wore down Lacko after a fiercely contested opening to claim a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Nadal has yet to drop a set in his three wins at the year's opening major tournament and will face compatriot Feliciano Lopez in the round of 16 on Sunday. Lopez, the 18th seed, needed almost three-and-a-half hours to get on top of 16th-seeded American John Isner, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-7 (0/7), 6-1. Nadal has only failed once to reach the fourth round in eight visits to Melbourne, but he denied it was all coming too easily this year.
"I did well. I played three matches at very good level. Today was one of the best, solid, without mistakes, comfortable with the serve and good returns," Nadal said. Elsewhere on the fifth day, Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych knocked out South African 30th seed Kevin Anderson in straight sets and Spanish number 10 seed Nicolas Almagro took out Swiss 21st seed Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-4.
Former US Open champion and 11th seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina ended Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun's tournament with a straight sets win in a night match on Hisense Arena, while German Philipp Kohlschreiber ousted Alejandro Falla of Colombia. Collated results from the Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday (x denotes seeding):
Men's singles (3rd round): Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Lukas Lacko (SVK) 6-2, 6-4, 6-2; Roger Federer (SUI x3) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 7-6 (8/6), 7-5, 6-3; Tomas Berdych (CZE x7) bt Kevin Anderson (RSA x30) 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/1), 6-1; Nicolas Almagro (ESP x10) bt Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x21) 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-4; Feliciano Lopez (ESP x18) bt John Isner (USA x16) 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-7 (0/7), 6-1; Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) bt Alejandro Falla (COL) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3); Juan Martin del Potro (ARG x11) bt Lu Yen-hsun (TPE) 6-2, 6-3, 6-0; Bernard Tomic (AUS) bt Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR x13) 4-6, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-3
Women's singles (3rd round): Iveta Benesova (CZE) bt Nina Bratchikova (RUS) 6-1, 6-3; Victoria Azarenka (BLR x3) bt Mona Barthel (GER) 6-2, 6-4; Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x8) bt Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 6-2, 6-2; Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x1) bt Monica Niculescu (ROM x31) 6-2, 6-2; Julia Goerges (GER x22) bt Romina Oprandi (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1; Jelena Jankovic (SRB x13) bt Christina McHale 6-2, 6-0; Kim Clijsters (BEL x11) bt Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x20) 6-3, 6-2; Li Na (CHN x5) bt Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP x26) 3-0 - retired.
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