Tennis: Australian Open Championships:Andy Roddick lost his cool and with it his chance of a first Australian Open title when he was beaten by the little-known Philipp Kohlschreiber in an astonishing third-round match, which saw the Rod Laver arena crowd finally head for home at just after 2am.

The number six seeded American went down 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-7, 8-6 to an inspired Kohlschreiber, and despite sending down a career-best 42 aces. The German, who entered with a career-high ranking of 27, responded with 32 of his own.

Both men had points to take the crucial third set, moreover, but the number 29 seed won the tie-break 9-7 to move ahead, the signal for Roddick to lose his temper with the umpire, Emmanuel Joseph.

"You're an idiot," he shouted. "Stay in school, kids, or you'll end up being an umpire."

Although Roddick did win the fourth set, 7-3 on another tie-break, he was always chasing in an astonishing match which saw the German rack up 104 winners to his 79.

The number six seed also saved four match points at 4-5 in the final set - three of them with aces - and for a moment it looked as if he would dig his way out of trouble, but Kohlschreiber converted his fifth and now faces Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the fourth round, equalling his previous best grand-slam performance.

Australia has never seen the best of Rafael Nadal yet either, so when the young Spaniard snatched off his bandana and raised his arms after his 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Gilles Simon of France the warmth of the applause reflected the desire to see him reach the final a week tomorrow.

Rafa would dearly love to be there. Three times the French Open champion, and twice runner-up at Wimbledon, he has yet to make a similar impact on the hard courts here or at the US Open.

This has nothing to do with any inability to adapt his game to this surface. The uncertainty centres on the Spaniard's body, and whether his joints can stand up to the fearful pounding that his all-action game places on his limbs.

Ever since he won the French Open for the third successive year last June the state of his knees and feet have been a constant source of speculation, with matters reaching a head late last year when Toni Nadal, his uncle and coach, talked of a serious foot injury.

"He has to learn how to live with it and so far he has managed for two years," he said.

"It's very serious. I don't know if it's career threatening. He has to take a lot of precautions when he plays."

Yet within 24 hours Rafa and his uncle stood together in front of the TV cameras with the player stressing that the injury "hasn't stopped me competing at the top level for over two years. The story that has come out is totally false."

But there have been further worrying signs this month, during the warm-up event in Chennai. He was involved in a marathon semi-final against Carlos Moya, and then lost the final against Mikhail Youzhny 6-0, 6-1, the heaviest of his career.

"I was only tired," Nadal said. "I finished the semi-final late and had less than 24 hours to recover."

Yet this has become something of a trend. There have been increasing signs that his physical vulnerability, especially after a long match, is becoming a serious issue.

Nadal's last two years have followed an almost identical pattern, with his main success centred on the clay, followed by a run to the Wimbledon final, and then a relatively barren spell on hard courts. It would seem as if he can only maintain his game on the more forgiving surfaces and that hard courts take the sort of toll on his body that reduces his effectiveness.

Both of his knees have support bandages and while Nadal has been at pains to stress injuries have not affected his play, he has privately admitted he has often not been able to train as assiduously as he would wish.

Next up tomorrow is another Frenchman, Paul-Henri Mathieu, who gave him one of his toughest tests at Roland Garros two years ago.

If the number two seed were to win this one, and then go beyond his quarter-final finish of last year, it might do much to ease all the doubts although even then they are unlikely to disappear completely. Unless he wins the title, perhaps. Guardian Service