Nadal to meet Murray in semis

However, the Spaniard must first face 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rafael Nadal knew he had plenty to live up to after Andy Murray’s dominating third-round win.

He went one better Saturday, when they both advanced to the second week at the Australian Open.

Stunned after dropping his first service game of the tournament and falling behind 2-0, the top-ranked Nadal stormed back against Tommy Haas, ripping 53 winners in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win.

He kept his unforced errors to a frugal eight — and to just one in the 43-minute second set.

“I played one of my best matches here at the Australian Open,” said Nadal, who has improved by one round in each of his five trips to Australia. To continue that sequence, he’ll have to make the final.

To get there, he’ll have to overcome Murray in the semis. No easy assignment. Murray beat the 22-year-old Spaniard at that stage at the U.S. Open. On Saturday, the Scot won 11 straight games during a 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 win over Austrian Jurgen Melzer.

And the 21-year-old Murray thought he’d been miserly with his 10 mistakes against No. 31 Melzer.

He was broken when serving for the match at 5-1 and wasted two match points in the subsequent game before finishing off with an ace.

Right now, fourth-seeded Murray isn’t Nadal’s major concern.

He’s got 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez next. The 28-year-old Chilean rallied from two-sets down and saved match point en route to a 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (10), 6-2, 12-10 win over Richard Gasquet of France.

Gonzalez was on the court two hours before Nadal, but their matches both finished around midnight.

“My body is still alive,” Gonzalez said. “I have 48 hours, maybe a little bit less. But I want to enjoy this moment. I think I won a really tough match that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Gonzalez lost to Nadal in the Beijing Olympics final, but has the edge in Australia after ousting the Spaniard in the 2007 quarterfinals.

After losing a semifinal last year to unheralded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, Nadal is wary of being overconfident.

“Perfect matches doesn’t exist,” he said, a touch dismissively, when asked if his game was beyond improvement as he dismantled Haas, a semifinalist here two years ago. “Always you can improve, no?”

That’s something Serena Williams has regularly said as she’s collected nine Grand Slam titles.

Williams wasn’t in top form again in a 6-1, 6-4 win over China’s Peng Shuai.

She had to overcome two service breaks in the second set to keep alive her pursuit of a 10th Grand Slam title.

Williams next faces No. 13 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who ousted 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo.

Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva extended her women’s winning streak to 13 matches, winning 15 of the 17 points after falling behind 5-2 in the first set to oust Australia’s Samantha Stosur.

Fifth-seeded Tsonga joined fellow Frenchmen Gael Monfils and No. 6 Gilles Simon in the fourth round. He next faces No. 9 James Blake, the second American to reach the final 16 after Andy Roddick.

Roger Federer’s quest for a record-equaling 14th major continues when he plays 20th-seeded Tomas Berdych in an afternoon match on Rod Laver Arena.

Serbians Jelena Jankovic, the women’s No. 1, and defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic have the opening and closing matches on center court