Story highlights
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both cruise into the Australian Open quarterfinals
Number three seed Federer dispatches Australian Bernard Tomic in straight sets
Federer will now face Juan Martin Del Potro after Argentine beat Philipp Kohlschreiber
Nadal beats Feliciano Lopez in straight sets to book clash with Tomas Berdych
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer remain on course for a semifinal clash at the Australian Open after both men recorded straight sets victories in Melbourne on Sunday.
Nadal, the 2009 champion, defeated fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-4 6-4 6-2 while 16-time grand slam winner Federer breezed past Australian teenager Bernard Tomic 6-4 6-2 6-2.
Federer, the world number three, will now face Juan Martin Del Potro after the Argentinean enjoyed a comfortable 6-4 6-2 6-1 victory over German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Nadal will meet Tomas Berdych in the last eight as the Czech overcame a tough encounter with Spanish tenth seed Nicolas Almagro to win 4-6 7-6 7-6 7-6.
Federer rarely broke sweat against Tomic, breaking his opponent six times in a victory that took him just one hour and 44 minutes to record.
He told reporters: “Maybe the score suggested differently, but I thought we had a lot of long games, tough points, and I thought he did actually really well.”
Federer will now face Del Potro – the man who beat him in the 2009 U.S. Open final – and the 30-year-old admitted he was in for a tough encounter.
“I think it’s going to be a good match. I think he’s coming back awfully strong again,” Federer said ahead of his 1000th Tour match.
“I was sad to see that he was out for so long after his amazing year in 2009 and I thought he had a chance in 2010 to sort of make a run for world number one.”
Del Potro looked in imperious form as he dismantled the unseeded Kohlschreiber. “Roger is the best tennis player of the history, and of course he’s the favorite,” he said.
“I remember three years ago I played in the quarters against him and I only won three games. So if this time is something different and I win more games it is going to be OK for me.”
Nadal enjoyed his 11th win against Lopez in 13 meetings and said he feels in better condition than the last two Australian Open tournaments, where injuries hampered his progress.
“I’ve started the tournament playing really well this time. I felt I’ve played well from the first match and today I played another complete match,” Nadal said. “Now I’m in the quarter-finals. I am doing the right things. I am in the right place, right moment.”
There was controversy in Berdych’s win as the Czech refused to shake hands with Almagro at the end of the game after claiming his opponent had deliberately hit the ball at him.
Berdych was booed off by the Melbourne crowd after he had to rely on three tiebreak wins to progress into the quarters. He claimed Alamgro targeted him as they rallied at the net.
“Probably whoever has played tennis knows that the court is pretty big, and you always have some space to put the ball in,” he told reporters. “He should play the ball differently. That’s it.
“I think maybe we both did some mistakes. So it’s even, and that’s it,” he said. “We don’t have any problems at all,”
Monday’s action sees number one seed Novak Djokovic take on home favorite Lleyton Hewitt while British fourth seed Andy Murray takes on unseeded Mikhail Kukushkin from Kazakhstan.
The other last 16 ties see Spaniard David Ferrer, seeded five, take on 17th seed Richard Gasquet, from France and sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga play Japanese 24th seed Kei Nishikori.