Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer Advance in Australian Open\

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal beat German veteran Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in a 2 1/2-hour match, declaring that the twisted tendon in the heavily taped knee was not a concern.


Just before Roger Federer was due on Hisense Arena, the Swiss found out that his scheduled opponent, Germany's Andreas Beck, had a back injury and had to withdraw.


"Now, I'll just take it easy this afternoon and come out tomorrow and hit intensely, and then I'll be ready for the next match," said Federer, a four-time Australian Open winner.


Just before Federer was due on Hisense Arena, the Swiss player found out that his scheduled opponent, Germany's Andreas Beck, had a back injury and had to withdraw.
"Now, I'll just take it easy this afternoon and come out tomorrow and hit intensely, and then I'll be ready for the next match," said Federer, a four-time Australian Open winner.
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Nadal, asked after his match if he would have appreciated the same kind of good fortune, was pragmatic.
"Before the day started, yes," he said, smiling. "Now that I've played and won, I'm happy. It was a positive match, but not that demanding. We didn't play four hours, five hours. Three sets, so it wasn't that tough."
Nadal figures he's in strong shape to add a second Australian Open title to the one he captured in 2009, one of his 10 Grand Slam singles titles.
"I've been practicing well, I've had a very good preparation in my opinion," Nadal said. "I've won two matches in straight sets with positive feelings."
Nadal and Federer could meet in the semifinals next week. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray, the threats from the other side of the draw, play their second-rounders Thursday.
Two of the women's title contenders, defending champion Kim Clijsters and No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, both won their second-round matches Wednesday on their way to a potential quarterfinal meeting.