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SPORTS Monday 23 January 2017
Tough at the top: Murray, Kerber make 4th-round exits in Oz

JOHN PYE In the bottom half of the
AP Sports Writer draw, 14-time major winner
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Nadal is the only remaining
— Andy Murray and An- contender who has won a
gelique Kerber had much Grand Slam title.
in common heading into The top half of the wom-
the first Grand Slam of the en’s draw is open, too.
season as the No. 1 seeds. Venus Williams returned
They shared an unwanted to the quarterfinals for the
link on Sunday, though, ninth time with a 6-3, 7-5
when both were upset in win over No. 181-ranked
the fourth round of the Mona Barthel.
Australian Open. The seven-time major win-
By the end of a chaotic ner next plays No. 24-seed-
first week at Melbourne ed Anastasia Pavlyuchen-
Park, five-time finalist Mur- kova, who beat No. 8 Svet-
ray had extended his Aus- lana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-3.
tralian drought following a Muguruza beat Sorana
7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 loss to No. Cirstea 6-2, 6-3 and will
50-ranked Mischa Zverev a next play Vandeweghe —
matter of hours before de- they’re both in the quarter-
fending women’s cham- Britain’s Andy Murray cools off during a break in play against Germany’s Mischa Zverev during finals here for the first time.
pion Kerber lost 6-3, 6-2 to their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Kerber’s loss continued a
CoCo Vandeweghe in an Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Associated Press poor run since she won the
upset that finished at six U.S. Open last September.
minutes past midnight. and lost in the first round Williams in the final. She re- found a way to fend off She’s played seven tourna-
Novak Djokovic, who beat here last year. But she placed Williams atop the the 2014 U.S. Open final- ments without winning a ti-
Murray in finals to win four pounded Kerber with a rankings after winning the ist, who was cramping and tle, only reached one final,
of his record six Australian powerful forehand, club- U.S. Open. Now Williams needed late treatment on and was 5-7 against top-50
titles, didn’t make it past bing 13 of her 30 winners can regain the top spot — his back, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1, players.
the second round. Multiple from that side. if she wins the title here. 4-6, 6-3. The bigger upset of the
major winners Roger Feder- After match point, she Murray rebounded last It was Federer’s 200th ca- day, then, was produced
er and Rafael Nadal, both shrugged her shoulders in year from his Australian reer win over a top 10 by Zverev, the older and
returning from injury lay- player. apparently lesser-talented
offs, needed come-from- He was ecstatic. “It was brother of Alexander who
behind wins to advance to about staying with him. ... had never gone past the
the second week. almost going down 6-0, I third round of a major and
Another six-time champi- thought ‘It’s not going to was appearing at only
on, Serena Williams, is still get any worse from there,’” his third Grand Slam in six
on track for a record 23rd said Federer, on the come- years.
major title and will get the back from six months on Zverev attacked Murray,
second week started on the sidelines to repair his unsettling his natural base-
center court. injured left knee. line game, and won 65
It was tough at the top on “Huge win for me in my ca- of 118 points at the net.
Sunday for Murray and Ker- reer.” Murray had reached the
ber. Murray’s exit follows the quarterfinals or better on
“Right now I’m obvious- second-round departure his previous seven trips to
ly very down because I of Djokovic, beaten in Australia but never won
wanted to go further in this the second round by No. the title.
event,” Murray said. “I’ve 117-ranked wild-card entry He had not lost to a player
had tough losses in my ca- Germany’s Angelique Kerber makes a backhand return to Unit- Denis Istomin. ranked as low as Zverev
reer in the past. I’ve come ed States’ Coco Vandeweghe during their fourth round match It’s the first time since 2002 at a major since his loss to
at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne,
back from them. This is a Australia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. that the top two seeds in No. 51 Juan Ignacio Chela
tough one.” the men’s draw haven’t here in 2006.
Kerber said: “Of course, reached the Australian Zverev next plays Federer,
they are new experiences a “so-what” motion after and French Open finals Open quarterfinals, and who beat him 6-0, 6-0 in 40
... new challenges,” Kerber moving into a quarterfinal defeats to replace Djokov- the first time at a Grand minutes in their last meet-
said. “I can learn from all against French Open win- ic at No. 1. Slam since the French ing in 2015.
the other stuff which is new ner Garbine Muguruza. He was undone by some Open in 2004. He made some stunning,
for me.” “It’s the first time I’ve ever old-school serve and volley In their absence, U.S. Open lunging volleys on clutch
Against Vandeweghe, she beaten a world No. 1,” from Zverev, who played champion Stan Wawrinka points against Murray, but
said she was “trying every- the 35th-ranked American the match of his life. is a growing contender af- for him it was all a blur.
thing, but I missed a lot and said. “And especially at a Zverev will now meet 17- ter beating Andreas Seppi “It was like I was in a little
I make a lot of unforced Grand Slam, I think it makes time major winner Federer 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4). He’ll coma, I just served and
errors — this was not my it that much sweeter.” in the quarterfinals. play a quarterfinal against volleyed my way through,”
game.” Kerber saved a match In between the upsets was 2008 Australian Open final- Zverev said.
Vandeweghe had never point in the first round last pretty rocky, too. Federer ist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who “Honestly there were a few
been past the third round year before winning her first was down 5-1 in the first beat Dan Evans 6-7 (4), points where I don’t know
at the Australian Open, major title, beating Serena set against Kei Nishikori but 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. how I pulled it off.”q