The top four seeds in the Australian Open 2012 Men’s Singles Tennis have all made it through into the second week, after each recorded a straight sets victory in the Third Round.
Novak Djokovic (1), the Serbian World Number One, was in imperious form as he blew France’s Mahut off the court, dropping just two games in the process. Djokovic won a quick three setter, 6-0 6-1 6-1.
At the other end of the draw, Rafael Nadal (2) was equally as impressive, as he came through his third round match with Slovakian, Lacko, 6-2 6-4 6-4.
Swiss ace, Roger Federer (3) had a tougher time against huge Croat, Karlovic, but emerged victorious following a 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 6-3 win on his favoured hardcourt surface.
Britain’s Andy Murray (4) showed a little more composure and a better attitude to see off France’s Llodra with an impressive 6-4 6-2 6-0 win.
With all four of the brightest lights in Men’s Tennis still in the tournament, Australian Open 2012 is looking like developing into another of those fascinating Grand Slams that fans of the sport have come to expect in recent years.
In This Story: Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray OBE is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He has been ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. He has won three Grand Slam tennis championships, as well as an Olympic Gold Medal.
Australia, officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world’s sixth-largest country by total area.
Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 2 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Nadal has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most in history for a male player, as well as 35 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 21 ATP Tour 500 titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles and the 2016 Olympic gold medal in doubles. In addition, Nadal has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks, including being the year-end No. 1 five times.
In majors, Nadal has won a record twelve French Open titles, four US Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open title, and won at least one Grand Slam every year for a record ten consecutive years (2005–2014). Nadal has won 85 career titles overall, including the most outdoor titles in the Open Era (83) and a record 59 titles on clay. With 81 consecutive wins on clay, Nadal holds the record for the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Nadal has been involved in five Davis Cup titles with Spain, and currently has a 29-win streak and 29–1 record in singles matches at the event. In 2010, at the age of 24, he became the seventh male player and the youngest of five in the Open Era to achieve the singles Career Grand Slam. Nadal is the second male player after Andre Agassi to complete the singles Career Golden Slam, as well as the second male player after Mats Wilander to have won at least two Grand Slams on all three surfaces (grass, hard court and clay).
