Nadal, Murray through as Venus given scare

World No.1 Rafael Nadal and British hope Andy Murray stayed on course for a Wimbledon showdown on Wednesday as Venus Williams came from a set down to reach the third round of the women's draw.

Spanish reigning champion Nadal swept into the last 32 with a brisk demolition of American journeyman Ryan Sweeting, winning 6-3 6-2 6-4 under a closed Centre Court roof as rain disrupted play early on.

Nadal, aiming for his third Wimbledon title in four years, will face Luxembourg's Gilles Muller in the third round, who beat him here in 2005

"I played well. I had the match under control at 2-1, 40-0 in the third set but then made a few mistakes," said Nadal, who added he preferred to play without the roof covering the action.

"That's something strange. They told me they were going to open the roof. But at the last minute, they told me they predicted a shower. Never comes.

"It's a new experience for me, a good experience. But the tournament is outdoor, not indoor and I prefer to play outdoors. I prefer to play with no roof, that's for sure."

Nadal is on course to meet Murray in the semi-finals, with the Scottish fourth seed aiming to become the first British man to win at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray was stretched to four sets in his first round match on Monday but faced no such problems against Germany's Tobias Kamke on Court Number One, wrapping up a 6-3 6-3 7-5 win with a minimum of fuss.

Murray will take on Ivan Ljubicic for a place in the last 16 after the Croatian veteran made short work of Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4 6-4 6-2.

"I served well but the rest of my game needs work. It was quite tricky and windy," Murray said.

"He was hitting the ball very hard and flat, so it was tough to get into a rhythm."

Murray was joined in the last 32 later Wednesday by American eighth seed Andy Roddick who had too much class for Romania's Victor Hanescu en route to a 6-4 6-3 6-4 win.

Roddick, a three-time losing finalist, will face Spain's Feliciano Lopez in the third round on Friday.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, the men's draw went mostly to form, with seeded players Mardy Fish, Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils all reaching the third round.

The highlight of the women's tournament saw five-time champion Venus Williams pushed all the way by 40-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in a pulsating three-hour battle.

Williams, 31, finally prevailed 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 8-6 to advance to a third round meeting with Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez on Friday, who defeated Monica Niculescu 6-3 6-0.

Williams, seeded 23, is feeling her way back into tennis after a five-month lay-off following an injury sustained at the Australian Open in January, an enforced absence that has left her hungrier than ever.

"I think more than anything I've learned I'm very competitive. I've been extremely positive regardless of how my opponent's playing. Just keeping fighting," Williams said

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Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal is the greatest, says Andy Murray

ANDY MURRAY has thrown his weight behind Rafael Nadal in the ongoing argument about whether the Spaniard or Roger Federer is the best player of all time.

Federer holds 16 grand slam crowns to his rival’s 10 but Nadal has won an Olympic gold medal and the Davis Cup and is nearly five years younger.

Murray said: “Rafa for me is maybe the best.

“He’s won on all of the surfaces and his head-to-head record with Federer is very impressive.”

Federer has dropped to third in the world behind Nadal and Novak Djokovic but the draw placed him in the opposite half to Nadal, opening up the possibility of a fourth SW19 final between the two. The 2007 final, when Federer picked up a fifth successive title, was Nadal’s last defeat at the All England Club.

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I want more majors: Djokovic

Novak Djokovic belted out Serbian folk songs in an all-in party after clinching the Australian Open, but shrugged off a poor night's sleep to focus on more glory on the clay courts of Roland Garros.

"We brought two Serbian guys who played our traditional music for two hours ... We went out of the changing room at 2AM. That's all I remember," said a glassy-eyed Djokovic of celebrations at Melbourne Park after his stunning straight-sets victory over Briton Andy Murray.

"I was carrying myself plus my bags and the trophy," he told a small group of reporters on Monday.

"I was handling myself under the circumstances quite good ... I could not really sleep because I was still under the great impression of winning a title, so it was hard because of the excitement."

Wearing jeans and a polo shirt on a sweltering day, the lanky 23-year-old looked a little worse for wear as he sat next to the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup at the MCG.

He perked up enough to gush about having hit his stride after fighting years of doubt as a 'one-slam wonder' since taking his first major title at Melbourne Park in 2008.

"It's been a period of ups and downs for me the last three years ... I haven't had that consistency and self-belief that I've needed to," he said.

"Right now and the last six months, I feel that I've reached that stage that I believe that I can really win it.

"In last two months I'm probably playing the best tennis of my life and I cannot ask for a better start to the season. To be able to win the grand slam gives you a lot of confidence."

Djokovic set up his title with a semi-final trouncing of Roger Federer, and his domination of Murray has fuelled talk of a new grand slam triumvirate, with the Serbian tipped to share more of the majors spoils with the Swiss master and Spaniard Rafa Nadal.

While flattered, the Belgrade-born baseliner says he still needs to prove himself on all surfaces to feel comfortable about the compliment.

"If the people want to call me a part of the big three, then that's great," he said.

"I have big respect for Federer and Nadal, they are great examples of champions on and off the court in every sense.

"If I want to become the best player in the world, I will have to win more grand slams," added Djokovic, who has never surpassed the semi-finals at Roland Garros or Wimbledon.

"But yes, my goal you can say is (not only) to do well on clay, but to do my best result on Roland Garros."

After beating Murray under the floodlights at Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic dedicated his victory to Serbia, drawing roars of approval from rows of countrymen clad in red, white and blue in the stands.

Djokovic, who led Serbia to an emotional victory in the Davis Cup over France in December, grew up through the Balkan wars that ravaged the country and says the bitter times continue to spur him on as a player.

"We've been growing up through two wars. When you turn around and analyse what you have been through, you appreciate some things more in your life and you know what your values are," he said.

"Of course everybody loves their country. I don't love my country more than you love yours, but in my case it's a more special feeling because we've been through something different.

"So to be able to help those people who I know how much they've suffered - and they still suffer because of some problems - it's our obligation in some way to give support and present as best we can."

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Nadal ramps up form ahead of quarters

MELBOURNE: World number one Rafael Nadal sent out a warning to his rivals that he's back in business ahead of Wednesday's Australian Open quarterfinal with David Ferrer.

Nadal, bidding for a fourth straight major title to complete a non-calendar year 'Rafa Slam', tagged Monday's straight-sets win over Marin Cilic in the fourth round as his best in the tournament and declared he was healthy.

That's all foreboding news for compatriot and seventh seed Ferrer for their quarterfinal, which guarantees a Spaniard will play in the semifinals.

In Wednesday's other quarter, last year's finalist Andy Murray has an intriguing match-up with Ukrainian giant-killer Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Nadal had been troubled by a virus he picked up in Doha on his way to Australia but there was no sign of his massive sweating in the previous match as he ratcheted up his level against last year's semifinalist Cilic.

"I feel I played my best match by far at this year's Open. I think it was a very good match for me and a very important victory," Nadal said. "I was able to play with high intensity, very good rhythm, playing more inside the court."

Nadal has a 11-3 record over Ferrer, who beat the world number one twice in 2007, including a four-set fourth round victory at the US Open.

"We know each other well. We've played each other a lot of times. I think he's a fantastic player for many years so I have all respect for him," Nadal said.

"I know it's going to be a really difficult match."

It will be Nadal's fifth successive Australian Open quarterfinal and he is in the midst of a 25-match Grand Slam winning streak, his longest, but four off the record run of 29 held by Rod Laver.

The winner will play either British fifth seed Murray or 46th-ranked Dolgopolov in the top-half semifinal.

Murray, who was shattered by his defeat in last year's final by Roger Federer after holding five set points in a marathon third-set tiebreaker, said he was ready for the big matches of the tournament.

"I feel good. The matches are definitely going to get tougher," he said.

"I've been moving well. I'm hitting the ball the best I've have done since the early matches, but it's going to get much tougher. I'm ready for that mentally."

Murray is bidding to win Britain's first male Grand Slam since 1936 and was impressive in losing just five games to Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the round of 16.

Murray, who has yet to drop a set in his four matches at this year's Open, is undefeated in seven matches so far this season.

He is expecting a testing quarterfinal against Dolgopolov, who dumped Swedish fourth seed and two-time French Open finalist Robin Soderling out in the fourth round.

"He's got a very unorthodox game, very different to most of the guys on the tour and he's starting to put everything together," he said.

"He's playing well, taking chances and he has a game that can make you play strange shots or not play that well."

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