Tennis: Novak Djokovic Into Quarter Finals In Australia
January 26th 2009 03:39
Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open quarter-finals after a late-night win over 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis. The defending champion, Djokovic was pushed to a fourth set before winning 6-1 7-6 (7/1) 6-7 (5/7) 6-2 in a match that started at 11:10 pm and finished at 2:26 am.
The third seed will now face in-form American Andy Roddick, who demolished Tommy Robredo earlier, in the quarter finals. Three-time champion Roger Federer is also in his half of the draw.
“We waited three-and-a-half or four hours to get on the court so it was really hard to warm up,'' Djokovic said.
“Actually we warmed up five times and then got cold again.''
Baghdatis described the Australian Open's late matches as a “pain in the a***'' this week after he was kept up to 1:14 am playing America's Mardy Fish.
The Cypriot, ranked world No 94, wrapped up a five-setter with Lleyton Hewitt last year at 4:34 am in the tournament's latest finish.
Apparently keen to get the match over, Djokovic made a quick start and was two breaks up before Baghdatis got a game on the board.
The Cypriot came to life in the second with more aggressive shot-making but he wilted in the tie-break, going down 7/1 for a two-set deficit.
However, Baghdatis edged the third-set tie-break to stay in the match before Djokovic took control of the fourth, nailing a huge backhand for the second break and converting the first match point.
“I'm really happy to win such a match,'' Djokovic said.
“It's the same quarter-final as the US Open last year. It's going to be really tough, he's playing fantastic tennis, so let's see.''
The Serbian broke Rafael Nadal and Federer's chokehold on the grand slams at the Australian Open last year, becoming the only other Serbian Major winner since Gaston Gaudio at the 2004 French Open.
Djokovic and Baghdatis started their match late after local hope Jelena Dokic battled to a three-set win over Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova.
Agence France-Presse
The third seed will now face in-form American Andy Roddick, who demolished Tommy Robredo earlier, in the quarter finals. Three-time champion Roger Federer is also in his half of the draw.
“We waited three-and-a-half or four hours to get on the court so it was really hard to warm up,'' Djokovic said.
“Actually we warmed up five times and then got cold again.''
Novak Djokovic Stretches
Baghdatis described the Australian Open's late matches as a “pain in the a***'' this week after he was kept up to 1:14 am playing America's Mardy Fish.
The Cypriot, ranked world No 94, wrapped up a five-setter with Lleyton Hewitt last year at 4:34 am in the tournament's latest finish.
Apparently keen to get the match over, Djokovic made a quick start and was two breaks up before Baghdatis got a game on the board.
The Cypriot came to life in the second with more aggressive shot-making but he wilted in the tie-break, going down 7/1 for a two-set deficit.
However, Baghdatis edged the third-set tie-break to stay in the match before Djokovic took control of the fourth, nailing a huge backhand for the second break and converting the first match point.
“I'm really happy to win such a match,'' Djokovic said.
“It's the same quarter-final as the US Open last year. It's going to be really tough, he's playing fantastic tennis, so let's see.''
The Serbian broke Rafael Nadal and Federer's chokehold on the grand slams at the Australian Open last year, becoming the only other Serbian Major winner since Gaston Gaudio at the 2004 French Open.
Djokovic and Baghdatis started their match late after local hope Jelena Dokic battled to a three-set win over Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova.
Agence France-Presse
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