Nadal gets any easy match - Mathieu retires injured
I couldn’t believe it when Mathieu came back in the Koubek match, but it looks liek that recovery cost him…
Second seed Rafael Nadal has received an easy passage into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after his opponent, Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, retired hurt during the second set.
Unlike world No.1 Roger Federer and 19th seed Lleyton Hewitt, who both spent more than four hours on court in their third-round matches the previous evening, Nadal advanced in just 49 minutes of court time when he was leading 6-4 3-0.
Mathieu, the 23rd seed, received treatment twice in the first set for what appeared to be a calf problem.
After going down two breaks in the second set, he was unable to continue, handing Nadal victory and a date with Finn Jarkko Nieminen in the quarter-finals.
Mathieu was forced into a four-hour marathon against Stefan Koubek in the third round, coming back from 2-1 behind to win in five sets. AO
