MELBOURNE, Australia -- Rafael Nadal said he felt much better during Friday night's third-round match than he did during his agonizing second-round match two nights earlier, attributing his recovery to a lot more sleep than normal. "I don't like to sleep a lot," he said. "I feel when I am sleeping, I am losing time."
People who watched Wednesday's second round (and most Rafa matches) know the feeling. But Rafa and Maria Sharapova gave fans plenty of time to sleep Friday with their back-to-back third-round Australian Open matches at Rod Laver Arena. The two tennis greats beat their opponents handily in straight sets Friday, which was nothing like how their second rounds had gone against two players outside the top 100.
Sweating profusely and dealing with stomach cramps that required on-court medical attention Wednesday night, Nadal struggled mightily against No. 112 Tim Smyczek in that second-rounder that lasted 4 hours, 12 minutes. He even needed a little help in the final set when Smyczek graciously provided a break by giving him a do-over on a first serve after a fan screamed. That was a nice moment of sportsmanship -- for the people who were awake to see it. As John Isner remarked the next day: "I didn't see that part -- I eventually had to go to bed."
Rafa didn't need such a charitable gesture Friday night, nor did he need any doctors, nor did court-side viewers need to pull a Serena-espresso move for a caffeine jolt. Although Nadal did have a third-set letdown, he still beat No. 106 Dudi Sela of Israel 6-1, 6-0, 7-5 in a match that took half as long as his Wednesday marathon. It ended so early that even Isner might have been able to watch it in its entirety, along with the post-match interviews.
Next up for Nadal is a much tougher opponent, No. 15 Kevin Anderson of South Africa, who beat Richard Gasquet in three tight sets Friday. They've played each other only once professionally, though as Andy Murray's mother, Judy, tweeted, the two go back to 12-and-under days.
Sharapova came woefully close herself to getting knocked out in the second round when No. 150 Alexandra Panova twice took her to match point. Her back was never even close to the wall in Friday's third round against No. 31 Zarina Diyas -- she would have needed an Uber lift to get that far -- beating her easily 6-1, 6-1.
"I think I rebounded really well," Sharapova said. "I had a good hit yesterday. I just kind of thought a little bit about what I wanted to try to achieve tonight no matter who I played. Of course, I focused a little bit on myself more than anything else. Just tried to be a bit more aggressive, concentrate. I thought I did a good job of focusing well."
Sharapova plays No. 22 Peng Shuai in the fourth round. "We've always had good matches," Sharapova said. "She's had great success in the last few Slams. You know, she's a bit of an untraditional player with two hands on both sides. That's a little tricky. But yeah, I enjoy playing against her."