Murray runs out of steam

The Spaniard,capitalising on Gonzalez’s four-hour marathon with Richard Gasquet,raced through the first two sets in less than 40 minutes each,pushing the 13th seed back to keep his giant forehand at bay. Monday’s victory also avenges his quarter-final loss two years ago to Gonzalez,whom he also beat in the Beijing Olympic final in August.

Verdasco will meet fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France,who beat No 9 James Blake 6-4,6-4,7-6 (3),leaving No 7 Andy Roddick as the only American in the men’s draw. Tsonga was runner-up last year to Novak Djokovic,while Blake has failed to get past the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam in 28

appearances.

Williams was the biggest beneficiary of the wave of retirements on day eight. She lost the first set to 13th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and was so frustrated with her first serve that she cursed it,earning a warning for a verbal obscenity. The 19-year-old Azarenka,who woke up sick,had to quit in the second set.

Williams,seeking a 10th Grand Slam singles title,next plays 2004 US Open champion Kuznetsova,who advanced when Zheng Jie of China retired at 4-1 in the first set.

No excuses

Murray said he hasn’t been feeling well the last few days,though he refused to use it as an excuse. “I don’t feel that was the reason why I lost,” Murray said. “I definitely did have my chances,and he played too well. I’m disappointed that I lost. But I’ll try and learn from it. It’s not a disaster. I’m still playing well. I lost to a good player in a very close match. I’ll have more chances to win Grand Slams.”

Murray saved two match points after falling behind 40-0 in the last game but wasn’t able to fend off a third,dumping a backhand into the net.

Murray,who lost in the US Open final last year to Roger Federer,was attempting to become the first British man since 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Verdasco saved two break points in the pivotal sixth game of the fifth set against Murray,firing aces when he needed them and forcing errors from the other side. He broke Murray in the subsequent game.

Swift end

Williams could only watch in sympathy as Azarenka deteriorated quickly. She said she wanted to win,but not like this. “I just want to go inside and make sure she’s OK. I feel so bad. She was playing so well,” Williams said.

Azarenka said she had been vomiting all morning and had a fever with what later was diagnosed as a virus. She didn’t want to default before the match started but ran out of energy. “The doctors didn’t want me to keep going,but I wanted to keep trying and see how I do,” Azarenka said. “But it was probably not a very good idea.”

Carla Suarez Navarro,the 20-year-old Spaniard who had an upset win over seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the second round,beat No. 21 Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3,6-2.

She next plays Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva,who made the quarter-finals for the first time in 11 years at Melbourne Park with a 6-2,6-2 win over Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.