TENNIS: Australian OpenAndy Murray and his coach, Brad Gilbert, will surely have allowed themselves a wry smile or two after Chile's Fernando Gonzalez pulverised Rafael Nadal, the world number two and French Open champion, in straight sets to reach the last four of the Australian Open.
Gilbert and Murray provided the template for this comprehensive 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 defeat, with the Scottish teenager, a set and 4-1 up in the fourth round, not quite having the intensity or experience to carry it through.
Gonzalez is Mr Intensity, the wild man from Santiago, the raging bull. Show him patience on a monument and he would obliterate the monument. But last night here he was prepared to bide his time, cut down his errors and fire his rockets at the most strategic moments. Nadal, who complained afterwards of a leg injury, rarely if ever looked comfortable, and by the third set was making forehand errors of the most basic kind.
In the Chilean's corner these days is Larry Stefanki, who has coached John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, all of them awkward characters, and all of them former world number ones.
Previously, for all his power and talent, Gonzalez (26) was the loosest of cannons whose mission in life was seemingly to destroy the covers of tennis balls.
Stefanki, with his California coast long hair and laid-back approach, has instilled a calm into Gonzalez's game that had previously seemed impossible. Not all have benefited from his coaching, notably Tim Henman, who became more and more confused. But Gonzalez, the world number nine, has clearly listened and inwardly digested.
Understandably there were occasions against Nadal when he let rip and sent the ball fizzing and leaping way out of anyone's reach, but for the majority of the time he was prepared to play the waiting game. He also served superbly, with Nadal unable to cope with those swinging, sliced deliveries that took him wide and left the court at the Chilean's mercy, much as Murray often managed.
Nadal may still be king of the clay and he did reach last summer's Wimbledon final, but on hard courts he is starting to look vulnerable. Russia's Mikhail Youzhny adopted similar tactics in last year's US Open quarter-finals. The young Spaniard, as Andy Roddick has done to great effect, will need to get closer to the baseline to receive serve.
Gonzalez, by defeating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round, and then crushing James Blake, had served notice he was in top form, while in their previous three meetings he had defeated Nadal twice, albeit in the Spaniard's very early days as a professional. Until Stefanki took over last May he was struggling and becoming more and more frustrated by his relative lack of success.
"I used to hit, hit, hit," beamed Gonzalez after this victory, and there was still something in his eyes that made you suppose that he would still very much love to be felling trees at one blow.
"He was playing at a very good level. It wasn't good for me," said Nadal, who apparently injured himself against Murray. "I have it in my famous arse," he smiled, the size of which and, more specifically, his constant picking of his shorts, has caused much comment here.
Certainly his movement appeared to be limited, though Gonzalez's placement and power might have made anyone appear slow.
Gonzalez now plays Germany's Tommy Haas, who reached his third Australian Open semi-final eight years after his first.
Haas saved a match point in defeating Russia's Nikolay Davydenko over five fluctuating sets and was ecstatic in victory.
MELBOURNE DETAILS
MEN'S SINGLES
Quarter-finals: (12) Tommy Haas (Ger) bt (3) Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 6-3 2-6 1-6 6-1 7-5, (10) Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) bt (2) Rafael Nadal (Spa) 6-2 6-4 6-3.
WOMEN'S SINGLES
Quarter-finals: (1) Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt (12) Anna Chakvetadze (Rus) 7-6 (7-5) 7-5, (4) Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt (6) Martina Hingis (Swi) 3-6 6-4 6-3.
MEN'S DOUBLES
Quarter-finals: (4) Paul Hanley (Aus) & Kevin Ullyett (Zim) bt Julien Benneteau (Fra) & Nicolas Mahut (Fra) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2, (2) Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) & Max Mirnyi (Blr) bt Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) & Radek Stepanek (Cze) 6-3 6-2.
WOMEN'S DOUBLES
Quarter-finals: Chin-Wei Chan (Tpe) & Chia-Jung Chuang (Tpe) bt Ashley Harkleroad (USA) & Galina Voskoboeva (Rus) 6-0 6-0, (2) Zi Yan (Chn) & Jie Zheng (Chn) bt Shengnan Sun (Chn) & Tian Tian Sun (Chn) 6-3 7-6 (7-5)
WOMEN'S DOUBLES
Semi-finals: (3) Cara Black (Zim) & Liezel Huber (Rsa) bt (1) Lisa Raymond (USA) & Samantha Stosur (Aus) 6-4 4-6 6-2.
MIXED DOUBLES
Second round: (1) Bob Bryan (USA) & Lisa Raymond (USA) bt Chris Guccione (Aus) & Casey Dellacqua (Aus) 6-2 6-2, Max Mirnyi (Blr) & Victoria Azarenka (Blr) bt Nenad Zimonjic (Ser) & Jelena Jankovic (Ser) 6-4 7-5, Daniel Nestor (Can) & Elena Likhovtseva (Rus) bt Stephen Huss (Aus) & Monique Adamczak (Aus) 6-1 6-4, (3) Leander Paes (Ind) & Samantha Stosur (Aus) bt Chris Haggard (Rsa) & Eleni Daniilidou (Gre) 6-3 6-4
