Tennis Australian Open: The script had been following a predictable line - until the fourth round. Then, like a weather front sweeping in off the Great Australian Bite, all changed, with three of the top eight women seeds falling in one day, all in the top half.
The biggest casualty was the French Open champion, Anastasia Myskina. She was joined by her fellow Russian Elena Dementieva, the runner-up in last year's French and US Opens, and Venus Williams.
Williams was defeated 7-5, 7-6, by Alicia Molik who, by reaching her first grand slam quarter-final, guaranteed herself a place in the top 10 no matter how she fares in tomorrow's match against Lindsay Davenport, the world number one. Australia has waited a long time for a woman player of international repute, Wendy Turnbull being the last Australian-born player with a top-10 ranking 20 years ago.
Williams, who won the last of her four grand slam titles at the US Open in 2001, remained in denial that her days of domination are seemingly over. "I would say players are playing better but I would definitely also say that, when I'm playing well, I feel like I'm the best."
Williams's contract with Reebok has run out and there were few signs here that she is about to resurrect her career. She refused to give Molik any praise and infuriated Australians by suggesting that, if this match had been played anywhere else in the world, it would not have attracted much attention.
Myskina and Dementieva might be the weakest of the four Russians in the top 10 but neither had been expected to lose, thereby leaving France's Nathalie Dechy and Switzerland's Patty Schnyder to scrap it out tomorrow for a semi-final place.
Dechy, who will be playing in her first major quarter-final, defeated Myskina 6-4, 6-2, the Russian playing such error-strewn tennis that it was all but impossible to imagine she won at Roland Garros last year.
Schnyder had her greatest moment here last year when she reached her first grand slam semi-final. Yesterday she defeated Dementieva 6-7, 7-6, 6-2.
Meanwhile, the tennis world is sure to hear a great deal more about Rafael Nadal, who has an ambition, rare among Spaniards, of winning Wimbledon - along with every other grand slam title, that is.
The 18-year-old beat Andy Roddick last December to give his country the momentum to win the Davis Cup and he came close in the Rod Laver Arena to denying Lleyton Hewitt a first quarter-final appearance in his home major.
With a little more experience, and this was only his fifth grand slam event, Nadal would have downed a limping Hewitt. As it was, the never-say-die Australian, recalling inspirational Davis Cup successes on the same court, forced his protesting body to the limits for a 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 win.
"No pain, no pain," Hewitt chanted to himself after winning the fourth-set tie-break. He had picked up a right-hip injury when winning the Sydney International, and had treatment after the third set.
Nadal may have thought he had the match won then, only to find Hewitt coming back at him with renewed vigour.
Now that Hewitt has finally succeeded Australians are likely to worry that the injury, coupled with the exertions of this match, which lasted close to four hours, will exert a heavy toll when he plays the Argentinian David Nalbandian tomorrow.
In tomorrow's other quarter-final Roddick, the number two seed, will play Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, who trounced Tim Henman in the third round.
Roddick eased through with a 6-3, 7-6, 6-1, win over Philipp Kohlschreiber, a 21-year-old from Augsberg in Germany, while Davydenko beat Canas, also in straight sets.
So far Roddick has dropped only one set, against Greg Rusedski in the second round, and has entered the second week with his tank virtually on full. - Guardian Service
Melbourne Details:
Men's Singles Round 4: (9) D Nalbandian (Arg) bt (6) G Coria (Arg) 5-7 7-5 6-3 6-0, (3) L Hewitt (Aus) bt R Nadal (Spa) 7-5 3-6 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2, (26) N Davydenko (Rus) bt (12) G Canas (Arg) 6-3 6-4 6-3, (2) A Roddick (USA) bt P Kohlschreiber (Ger) 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 6-1
Women's Singles Round 4: (1) L Davenport (USA) bt (13) K Sprem (Cro) 6-2 6-2, (10) A Molik (Aus) bt (8) V Williams (USA) 7-5 7-6 (7-3), (19) N Dechy (Fra) bt (3) A Myskina (Rus) 6-4 6-2, (12) P Schnyder (Swi) bt (6) E Dementieva (Rus) 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2
Men's Doubles Round 3: T Berdych (Cze) & A Pavel (Rom) bt A Fisher (Aus) & T Parrott (USA) 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-3, (6) M Llodra (Fra) & F Santoro (Fra) bt W Moodie (Rsa) & N Zimonjic (Ser) 6-3 7-6 (7-3), (4) J Bjorkman (Swe) & M Mirnyi (Blr) bt (16) S Aspelin (Swe) & T Perry (Aus) 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-5).
Women's Doubles Round 3: (16) E Daniilidou (Gre) & N Pratt (Aus) bt M Bartoli (Fra) & A-L Groenefeld (Ger) 6-3 2-6 6-4, G Navratilova (Cze) & M Pastikova (Cze) bt J Lee (Tpe) & S Peng (Chn) 6-2 4-6 6-1, A Medina Garrigues (Spa) & D Safina (Rus) bt C Chuang (Tpe) & R Fujiwara (Jpn) 6-2 6-3.
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