MELBOURNE // In the same half of a grand slam singles draw for the first time since 2005, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are taking similar paths to a potential semi-final match at the Australian Open.
Neither the four-time Australian champion Federer nor 2009 title-holder Nadal have dropped a set so far, although Federer's path has been made easier by a walkover win in the second round.
The long-time rivals played back-to-back matches at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
Nadal, his right knee still taped from an injury, showed no problems while moving briskly around the court in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over the qualifier Lukas Lacko.
Federer followed in the marquee matinee programme by beating Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 7-5, 6-3, saving a set point in the tiebreaker with a scrambling lob over the tall (2.08m) Croatian.
Federer will play the Australian teenager Bernard Tomic on Sunday in the fourth round.
"He gave me a second serve and gave me a slight chance," Federer said. "Might have had a little bit of a lucky volley …"
Karlovic agreed. "It was unlucky … one in a hundred that I'm going to lose that point," he said.
"I didn't really expect him to do that. I was there, I just miscalculated how much I was jumping. If I would have won that, everything would be different, but that's life."
Nadal had few dramas in his match against Lacko, the Slovak, which is just the way he wanted it. He felt a sharp pain in his knee while sitting in his chair in his hotel on the weekend, an innocent enough movement he initially feared would cause him to withdraw from the tournament.
Three matches later, Nadal said: "The knee is fine … being in the fourth round without losing a set, it's fantastic news."
Nadal will next meet fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who beat No 16 John Isner 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 to put the last US man out of the draw.
It is the first time since the start of the Open Era in 1968 that no American men have reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, although no Americans entered the tournament in 1972 and 1973.
The last American to win the Australian Open was Andre Agassi in 2003, his third win in four years at Melbourne Park.
"It's very ugly, to be honest, to have no one in the round of 16 … very disappointing, not a good effort from the Americans," Isner said.
"We've got to try to rectify that next time the big tournaments roll around."
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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Whiile you're here
Damien McElroy: Anti-science attitudes in America are proving lethal
Editorial: What makes the UAE such a good place to test vaccines?
Editorial: The fight against Covid-19 should be guided by science
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
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Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
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Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
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Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
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Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')
Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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4.35pm: Handicap; Dh165,000 (D); 2,000m
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Install an air filter in your home.
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Shower or bath after being outside.
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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Fixtures (all times UAE)
Saturday
Brescia v Atalanta (6pm)
Genoa v Torino (9pm)
Fiorentina v Lecce (11.45pm)
Sunday
Juventus v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Inter Milan v SPAL (6pm)
Lazio v Udinese (6pm)
Parma v AC Milan (6pm)
Napoli v Bologna (9pm)
Verona v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Monday
Cagliari v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
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Defending champions
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Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
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Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
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UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich 1
Kimmich (27')
Real Madrid 2
Marcelo (43'), Asensio (56')