Nadal and Ivanovic win as upsets continue at US Open tennis

Wozniacki, Kvitova and Kuznetsova crash out of season's final grand slam tournament.

Rafael Nadal was just too good for Ivan Dodig on Saturday. Stan Honda / AFP

NEW YORK // Rafael Nadal, growing in confidence with each match, blasted his way into the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday with an ominous display as the upsets continued at the last grand slam of the year.

The world No 2 turned on a masterclass of power and precision as he brushed aside Croatia's Ivan Dodig 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to lead a trio of Spanish men into the fourth round.

David Ferrer, the French Open runner-up, also moved through, beating Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, while a third Spaniard, Tommy Robredo, ended the Cinderella run of British qualifier Dan Evans, winning 7-6, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

Caroline Wozniacki, the former world No 1, and Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, were among the high-profile casualties in a women's draw packed with surprises.

Four of the eight women already through to the fourth round are unseeded and three of the eight are Italian.

Camila Giorgi, who had to come through the qualifiers to reach the main draw, sent Wozniacki packing with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win on Arthur Ashe Stadium while Flavia Pennetta knocked out Svetlana Kuznetsova, the former US Open champion, 7-5, 6-1. Roberta Vinci also won for Italy.

Nadal has been in great form in the past month, winning warm-up tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati. He has not dropped a single set in getting to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows and believes he is still improving.

"I played better today than in the previous matches. [That's] always a positive thing," he said.

Nadal's next opponent is Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat towering American John Isner 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, with Roger Federer looming as a possible quarter-final opponent.

While Nadal cruised into the next round and most of the men's results went as expected, a feisty Victoria Azarenka dropped her first set of the tournament before recovering to book her place in the last 16 of the women's draw.

A finalist last year and one of the favourites to win the title this season, the world No 2 and reigning Australian Open champion overcame a shaky start to beat Alize Cornet of France 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.

The Belarussian was given a tough workout from Cornet and allowed her frustrations to boil over when the umpire ordered a point she had won be replayed.

"That was the most ridiculous thing there is," Azarenka said.

Ana Ivanovic, the former world No 1, had to dig deep to avoid joining the exit queue. The Serbian was on the brink of defeat in her match against American Christina McHale before recovering to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. She plays Azarenka next.

"I know what to expect," said Ivanovic. "I really want to play against the best and challenge myself, because I'm ready to take them on."

Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion and seventh seed at Flushing Meadows, fell 6-3, 6-0 to Alison Riske, the American wildcard.

The US Open is the only grand slam where Kvitova has failed to at least make the quarter-finals and the Czech said she was unable to play near her best after contracting a virus.

"Unfortunately I was lying in the bed yesterday and I had a fever," Kvitova said. "I tried to play, tried to fight. But my body wouldn't let me fight."

Riske burst into tears after her win. The 23 year old, who still travels with a security blanket that was given to her on the day she was born, has had a long road to her first fourth round appearance at a grand slam.

She first tried to qualify for the US Open in 2007 and had never won a main draw match until this year. Now she is through to the last 16, and facing a showdown with Daniela Hantuchova, who saved four match points in her 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 win over Israeli qualifier Julia Glushko.

"The blankie story is out," Riske said. "I'm used to it now. I can't deny it now. It's getting smaller by the week. It can fit in the palm of my hand."

Six doctors told Lleyton Hewitt, the former world No 1, he should retire. Thankfully he sought further opinion and is now looking forward to a third round clash at the US Open on Sunday against Evgeny Donskoy.

Hewitt's inspirational five-set triumph over Argentina's sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro at Flushing Meadows on Friday was a crowning moment in his harrowing journey back from five rounds of surgery.

The Australian, 32, recovered from blowing a huge early lead to finally notch a 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 second-round win on Arthur Ashe Stadium that came two years after he was repeatedly told he should quit if he had major surgery on the big toe of his left foot.

"The foot surgery, I must have seen seven or eight different surgeons worldwide," Hewitt said.

"At least six of them told me to retire if you have it done. I'm very thankful that I found the guy that I believed in. We went in there and we were optimistic about it."

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