Dolgopolov makes first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal

MELBOURNE – Alexandr Dolgopolov used to knock balls around with some of the top players in the world when he was just a toddler.

Even then, the pint-sized kid had some outsized groundstrokes.At 22, Dolgopolov is again annoying more senior players with ripping baseline shots and a relaxed air that have sent him to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on his first try.The Ukranian beat No. 4 Roger Soderling of Sweden 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 yesterday in the biggest upset of the tournament, and his second in a row after he defeated No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets two days earlier.The last time someone from Dolgopolov’s home country advanced so far in a Grand Slam was in Melbourne in 1995 and the player was Andrei Medvedev, a former world No. 4 who had Dolgopolov’s father Oleksandar as part of his coaching team.Dolgopolov looked loose and lithe against Soderling, cracking backhand and forehand winners from the back of the court, serving tight after a shaky first set and leaving the Swedish star to make 51 unforced errors to set up a quarterfinal against No. 5 Andy Murray, last year’s runner up.’I play relaxed,’ Dolgopolov said. You know, I enjoy the tennis. I don’t get tight too much. I play really freely, sometimes it pays off,’ he said. ‘I have fun.’Murray, who has only played Dolgopolov once, is wary of the Ukrainian’s game: ‘Strange to play against, very funky game. Very unorthodox, quite erratic. It’ll be a tough match, for sure.’Murray, last year’s beaten finalist, barely gave frustrated Austrian Jurgen Melzer a look in his 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 defeat, which maintained British hopes of ending a men’s Grand Slam drought which stretches back to 1936.Ferrer weathered an early storm to take it 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Big-serving Raonic had already beaten Michael Llodra and Mikhail Youzhny, the world number 22 and 10, and is now projected to break into the top 100.Ferrer will now face either world number one Rafael Nadal or Croatia’s Marin Cilic, who were in action later.Women’s second seed Zvonareva recovered from a slow start to ease past Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1 and move towards her third straight Grand Slam final, as she targets a maiden major win.Zvonareva will next face the Czech Republic’s Kvitova, who downed Italian 22nd seed Flavia Pennetta 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska saved two match points before defeating Peng Shuai in three sets, leaving Li Na as China’s lone hope for a first Grand Slam singles title.Radwanska will play the winner of US Open champion Kim Clijsters’ evening match with Ekaterina Makarova. Nampa-AP/AFP