Local hopes for 2011 at the Australian Open ended in a Saturday night massacre as Bernard Tomic and Samantha Stosur were comprehensively knocked out in the third round.
Tomic, the teenage hope of the Aussie game, was schooled by world number one Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 as the top seed gave a demonstration of the wide gap in the game between the wannabes and the elite.
Nadal came out tentative against Tomic, 18, who failed to duplicate the 2003 Wimbledon success of Mark Philippoussis, the last Australian to beat a world number one when he upset Andre Agassi in the round of 16.
Nadal dug his way out of brief difficulty as he went down a double break 0-4 in the second set, only to end up winning the set as his juggernaut gathered momentum. The Spaniard won running away to complete a straight-set sweep over the number 199.
"When I was down in the second set, I was thinking that I'd have to win the third," said Nadal, who next faces Marin Cilic. "He makes you play badly. It's hard to move him from the baseline.
"In the end I went to the net more. I have to play more like that. I must improve my level if I want to beat Cilic. I have to play aggressively and go for shots close to the line."
Stosur, the women's fifth seed, was stunned by precision play from Petra Kvitova 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 after the Czech tuned up for the major with a title to start the season in Brisbane. French Open finalist Stosur, was out-hit by Kvitova, ranked 28th.
Men's Grand Slam finalists Robin Soderling and Andy Murray moved closer toward repeat challenges for major title honours after both seeds blew into the fourth round.
Two-time Roland Garros runner-up and fourth seed Soderling earned an easy 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 win over Czech qualifier Jan Hernych, firing 33 winners on a secondary show court which required a second repair for a dead spot near the net in as many days.
"I've played three matches here and I haven't lost a set yet," said the Swede. "I'm playing pretty good, but there's still a couple of things I need to improve.
"I'm trying to play a little bit more aggressive, come to the net a little bit more," he said of his work with new Italian coach Claudio Pistolesi.
Number five Murray, last year's losing finalist to Roger Federer, crushed Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in less than 90 minutes. The Scot managed 10 aces and broke eight times as he won a 15th match in Melbourne and his second over 32nd-ranked Garcia-Lopez.
"It was good, obviously, it was a quick match," said Murray. "I served well and hit the ball clean from the back. I played well and he probably didn't play his best. It was over quickly. But it was hot today, so it was nice to get off the court."
A Canadian qualifier tasted the biggest success of his short career, with number 152 Milos Raonic knocking out Russian 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 and bombing 31 aces to lead the tournament in that department as he plays in only his second major.
He will face David Ferrer after the Spanish seventh seed defeated Richard Berankis 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.
Unheralded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov achieved the best major result of his career with an upset of 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the French 13th seed went down 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Tsonga is on a slow return from knee injuries in 2010 and has not won a title since 2009. "He was better than me, that's it," said Tsonga. "He played a better match and was more consistent."
Women's second seed Vera Zvonareva squeezed out a narrow third- round defeat of Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) to move into the second week.
The Russian who played the Wimbledon and US Open finals made a lucky escape as Safarova denied her victory on two occasions, with Zvonareva only going through on her third match point to culminate a massive 86-minute second set.
Third seed Kim Clijsters spoiled the 21st birthday of Alize Cornet with a defeat of the Frenchwoman 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
Tomic, the teenage hope of the Aussie game, was schooled by world number one Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 as the top seed gave a demonstration of the wide gap in the game between the wannabes and the elite.
Nadal came out tentative against Tomic, 18, who failed to duplicate the 2003 Wimbledon success of Mark Philippoussis, the last Australian to beat a world number one when he upset Andre Agassi in the round of 16.
Nadal dug his way out of brief difficulty as he went down a double break 0-4 in the second set, only to end up winning the set as his juggernaut gathered momentum. The Spaniard won running away to complete a straight-set sweep over the number 199.
"When I was down in the second set, I was thinking that I'd have to win the third," said Nadal, who next faces Marin Cilic. "He makes you play badly. It's hard to move him from the baseline.
"In the end I went to the net more. I have to play more like that. I must improve my level if I want to beat Cilic. I have to play aggressively and go for shots close to the line."
Stosur, the women's fifth seed, was stunned by precision play from Petra Kvitova 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 after the Czech tuned up for the major with a title to start the season in Brisbane. French Open finalist Stosur, was out-hit by Kvitova, ranked 28th.
Men's Grand Slam finalists Robin Soderling and Andy Murray moved closer toward repeat challenges for major title honours after both seeds blew into the fourth round.
Two-time Roland Garros runner-up and fourth seed Soderling earned an easy 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 win over Czech qualifier Jan Hernych, firing 33 winners on a secondary show court which required a second repair for a dead spot near the net in as many days.
"I've played three matches here and I haven't lost a set yet," said the Swede. "I'm playing pretty good, but there's still a couple of things I need to improve.
"I'm trying to play a little bit more aggressive, come to the net a little bit more," he said of his work with new Italian coach Claudio Pistolesi.
Number five Murray, last year's losing finalist to Roger Federer, crushed Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in less than 90 minutes. The Scot managed 10 aces and broke eight times as he won a 15th match in Melbourne and his second over 32nd-ranked Garcia-Lopez.
"It was good, obviously, it was a quick match," said Murray. "I served well and hit the ball clean from the back. I played well and he probably didn't play his best. It was over quickly. But it was hot today, so it was nice to get off the court."
A Canadian qualifier tasted the biggest success of his short career, with number 152 Milos Raonic knocking out Russian 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 and bombing 31 aces to lead the tournament in that department as he plays in only his second major.
He will face David Ferrer after the Spanish seventh seed defeated Richard Berankis 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.
Unheralded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov achieved the best major result of his career with an upset of 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the French 13th seed went down 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Tsonga is on a slow return from knee injuries in 2010 and has not won a title since 2009. "He was better than me, that's it," said Tsonga. "He played a better match and was more consistent."
Women's second seed Vera Zvonareva squeezed out a narrow third- round defeat of Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) to move into the second week.
The Russian who played the Wimbledon and US Open finals made a lucky escape as Safarova denied her victory on two occasions, with Zvonareva only going through on her third match point to culminate a massive 86-minute second set.
Third seed Kim Clijsters spoiled the 21st birthday of Alize Cornet with a defeat of the Frenchwoman 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
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