Knee OK, Nadal advances to fourth round at Australian

Associated Press

melbourne, australia

Rafael Nadal moved into the fourth round of the Australian Open without dropping a set or showing any signs that a freak knee injury is bothering him.

Second-ranked Nadal had a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win Friday over Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko, the last qualifier in the draw, and will next play either John Isner or Feliciano Lopez.

Nadal, who won the 2009 Australian title but has gone out in the quarterfinals due to injuries in the last two years, felt a crack and then sharp pain in his right knee while sitting in a chair at his hotel on the weekend and was concerned that he might not be able to play in his opening match.

Medical tests didn’t show any serious damage, and he has had the knee heavily taped in his three matches since.

“The knee is fine ... fourth round here, and I have a good feeling,” the 10-time major winner said.

Nadal is on the same half of the draw as Roger Federer at a major for the first time since 2005. Federer, who has won four of his 16 Grand Slam titles in Australia, was playing Ivo Karlovic in the following match on Rod Laver Arena.

On the women’s side, third-seeded Victoria Azarenka advanced when she beat Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-4 in a match between champions of two warmup tournaments.

Azarenka, who beat four seeded players including French Open champion Li Na to win the Sydney International last week, has only lost eight games at Melbourne Park en route to the Round of 16.

The 22-year-old from Belarus will next meet Czech player Iveta Benesova, who beat Russian qualifier Nina Bratchikova 6-1, 6-3.

Barthel was on a 10-match winning run in Australia after capturing her first title at the Hobart International last week as a qualifier.

Barthel hit 20 winners — one more than Azarenka — but she was broken three times and failed to convert three break opportunities.

Andy Roddick is already out of the tournament, retiring during his second-round match against Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt late Thursday.