New York - Rafael Nadal completed a comeback sweep while the
Williams sisters put in a bid for more title success at the US Open,
as seeds dominated on Saturday's start of a three-day holiday
weekend.
Nadal continued to impress in his first Grand Slam as a top seed,
pumping out a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 win over Serb Viktor Troicki for a spot
in the fourth round.
The Spaniard won the last 11 games after rallying from a 1-3
deficit in the second set.
Serena and Venus, with four titles at Flushing Meadows between
them, produced identical 6-2, 6-1 scorelines in the third round to
start the Labour Day weekend.
Fourth seed Serena followed her elder sister's example, thrashing
Japan's Ai Sugiyama only a few hours after Venus had dispatched Alona
Bondarenko of the Ukraine.
'I'm definitely at my best now. I think I understand the game
more,' said five-time Wimbledon winner Venus. 'I'm trying different
kind of shots lately, trying to add some variety.'
'I felt like I took my time between points, (I was) just hitting
it right, just finding my timing,' added the American, who is
searching for a first New York trophy since 2001.
Nadal has been on fire in recent months, winning French Open and
Wimbledon titles over Roger Federer before claiming the Beijing
Olympic gold.
Despite a punishing schedule, the 22-year-old is thriving on
court. He completed his sweep of Troicki to claim a runaway win in
just under two hours, despite 11 aces from his 71st-ranked opponent.
He next faces the brightest of the American young guns after Sam
Querrey, 55th, cut Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic down to size 7-6 (7-
5), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
Nadal beat the Californian youngster in their only other meeting
at Cincinnati in 2006, but Querrey says he - as well as Nadal - are
different players now.
'I'm in the fourth round and I to improve my tennis,' said the top
seed. 'I'm ready to try and play a good match. I know I have to if I
want to win.'
Querrey and Karlovic, two of the game's biggest hitters, rained
down 44 aces with the Croatian managing 24 in defeat.
Querrey will be playing in the fourth round of a major for the
first time in his two-year career.
British sixth seed Andy Murray will play Swiss number 10 Stan
Wawrinka after the pair each recovered from two sets to love down.
Murray worked his magic over Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-7 (5-7), 4-
6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-3 while Wawrinka beat Italian Flavio Cipolla 5-
7, 6-7 (4-7), 6-5, 6-0, 6-4.
Amelie Mauresmo ended the dream run of Julie Coin, who stunned
world number one Ana Ivanovic in the second round, dismissing her
inexperienced fellow Frenchwoman 6-4, 6-4.
Mauresmo, a former number one and two-time grand Slam winner, has
been working her way out of a slump for the past two seasons.
The number 29 says she's optimistic of lifting back toward the
elite. 'My goals are not so much in terms of ranking. It's more in
terms of being able to be in the second week or final spots in the
Grand Slams.'
USA
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