2012 Australian Open Recap: Nadal to Face Federer and Clijsters Seeks Another Crown
Day Nine action at the 2012 Australian Open further narrowed the field competing for the first major Grand Slam of the year. Wins by both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal sets up a Thursday showdown between the number two and three players in the world. Federer took just two hours to defeat Spain’s Juan Martin DelPotro, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, while Nadal was victorious in a four-hour-plus marathon over the number seven seed, Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-3. Nadal, winner of the 2009 Australian Open, has his 10th consecutive win over Berdych.
On the women’s side of the draw, defending champ Kim Clijsters took another step toward another Grand Slam title with her 6-3, 7-6(4) win over world number one-ranked Caroline Wozniacki. Wozniacki, meanwhile, took another step toward relinquishing her number one status with the loss. Clijsters win advances her to the semifinals where she will meet the number three seed, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, a 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 winner over the number eight seed, Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.
The field will shrink even further in tomorrow’s action as, on the men’s side, top-ranked Serbian Novak Djokovic will play the fifth-seeded David Ferrer and world number four-ranked Andy Murray from Great Britain will meet the number 24 seed, Japan’s Kei Nishikori. On tap for the women’s side of the draw tomorrow, upstart Ekaterina Makarova will meet fellow Russian and fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova, and the unseeded Italian Sara Errani will face the number two seed, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Kvitova is looking to ascend the WTA rankings and overtake the top spot from Caroline Wozniacki with a win over Errani.
