MELBOURNE, Australia – Rafael Nadal advanced to the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday without much trouble from his opponent or his injured right knee. Rival Roger Federer got through without picking up a racket
Nadal beat German veteran Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in a 2 1/2-hour match, declaring that the twisted tendon in the heavily taped knee was not a concern.
Just before Federer was due on Hisense Arena, the Swiss found out that his scheduled opponent, Germany’s Andreas Beck, had a back injury and had to withdraw.
“Now, I’ll just take it easy this afternoon and come out tomorrow and hit intensely, and then I’ll be ready for the next match,” said Federer, a four-time Australian Open winner.
Nadal, asked after his match if he would have appreciated the same kind of good fortune, was pragmatic.
“Before the day started, yes,” he said, smiling. “Now that I’ve played and won, I’m happy. It was a positive match, but not that demanding. We didn’t play four hours, five hours. Three sets, so it wasn’t that tough.”
Nadal and Federer could meet in the semifinals next week. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray, the threats from the other side of the draw,
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