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Nadal reaches Australia Open 3rd round
Melbourne, Jan 17 (IANS) World No.1 Rafael Nadal on Wednesday eased past Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in the second round of the Australian Open third round.
Nadal needed two hours and 38 minutes to continue his bid for his second Australian Open title following his 2009 success, reports Efe.
“For my team and my family, this tournament is their favourite of the year so I want to stay as long as possible,” Nadal said after the match.
The 31-year-old Spaniard dominated the encounter, sealing the first two sets thanks to one serve break apiece, while saving all the break points he faced.
However, Nadal saw his serve broken for the only time while serving for the match in the third set’s 10th game.
With both holding their next serve, Nadal, the 2017 finalist, got the better of world No. 52 Mayer in the tie break to keep his Australian Open campaign rolling.
In the upcoming round, Nadal is due to play Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur, the world No. 30 who defeated Australia’s John Millman 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion hopes for a better result against Dzumhur as he was forced to withdraw from their lone career match in Miami 2016.
Sixth-seed Marin Cilic also reached the third round, defeating Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-1, 7-5, 6-2.
For a place in the round of 16, the Croatian is set to face the United States’ Ryan Harrison, who eliminated Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.