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  • Nadal cruises on day 3

    1/16/08 1:53 PM | David Cox
    - Rafael Nadal sent a warning shot to his rivals this morning with a crushing 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Florent Serra.

    The match was played in the heat of the day on Rod Laver Arena and the combination of stifling temperatures and Nadal’s forehand was too much for the Frenchman who never really recovered from the loss of the first 8 games. After looking sluggish in round 1, this match featured a much more aggressive Nadal who kept Serra constantly on the back foot, probing the corners with heavy topspin. Serra did actually manage to break Nadal in the 2nd and 3rd sets but made too many errors to capitalise (26 in total). Speaking after the match, Nadal was happy with the improvement in his game, saying that he produced a very high level in the opening set and felt he was striking the ball well considering its only his 2nd match in the tournament.

    Gilles Simon was another player to find an extra gear in rd2, beating former finalist Rainer Schuettler 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. The German had no answer to Simon’s strong serving and clever tactical play. However, the French 28th seed now has the unenviable task of playing Nadal on Friday.

    Andy Roddick set up an enticing rd3 encounter with Germany’s Philipp Kolhschreiber. The 6th seed was rarely troubled during a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win against an erratic Michael Berrer in the night session match on Rod Laver Arena. It was a flawless serving display from the American who made 75% 1st serves and thundered down 10 aces. Berrer took the game to Roddick from the baseline and matched him for winners (34 in all) but the high risk strategy meant the errors racked up (21 in the 3rd set) while Roddick made just 12 in the entire match. Kohlschreiber progressed when Evgeny Korolev retired at 6-4, 6-2, 0-1 down. Both players have huge forehands and aren’t afraid to go for the lines but it was the Russian who misfired more often, making twice as many errors.

    23rd seed Paul-Henri Mathieu recovered from the loss of the opening set to overcome Chile’s Paul Capdeville 6-7, 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 in just over 3 hours. Mathieu failed to make the most of his chances on the Capdeville serve in the opening set but came back strongly to breeze through the 2nd which quickly became an opportunity for both to relax before resuming battle in the 3rd. Both remaining sets were tight but in the end, the Chilean proved slightly more erratic and the greater variety of Mathieu enabled him to seal a place in the last 32. High quality match with nearly 100 winners combined.

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