MELBOURNE, Australia(AP) A much-anticipated rematch fizzled Saturday when Marcos Baghdatis withdrew from his third-round meeting with Lleyton Hewitt because of shoulder pain.
Fans hoping for a replay of their epic five-setter from the 2008 Australian Open - which lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes and finished at 4:34 a.m. - saw just 54 minutes of tennis before the Cypriot retired in the second set, trailing 6-0, 4-2.
Baghdatis was coming off a tough five-set win two nights earlier.
I couldn't hit the forehand. I couldn't control the ball,'' Baghdatis said.I didn't think that it would be this painful and this bothering during the match.''
Hewitt has called the showdown two years ago the most memorable match of his career and had been looking forward to facing Baghdatis, who had beaten him last week in the Sydney International quarterfinals.
Tonight was always going to be a step up in class,'' the 22nd-seeded Australian said.Even though it didn't obviously pan out the way it was supposed to, I guess, Marcos - you got to be extremely wary of him.''
Hewitt's next match is against No. 1 Roger Federer.
You play for those moments, to play against the best players, and Roger is that,'' Hewitt said.This is what motivates you. If you can't get up for these matches, you shouldn't be playing the game.''
Baghdatis wasn't the only man to withdraw on Saturday.
Austrian qualifier Stefan Koubek tried to play through a fever but retired after losing the first set 6-1 to ninth-seeded Fernando Verdasco.
To go out there and compete against a top-10 player, it didn't work,'' Koubek said.There was no chance to compete like that - it makes no sense for him or for me to play like that. To play him, you have to run a lot. I couldn't do it.''
Lukasz Kubot from Poland didn't even warm up because 20th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia withdrew early because of a wrist he injured in a grueling five-set win over Richard Gasquet in the first round.
Kubot was happy to have more time to prepare to face Novak Djokovic in the next round.
``Of course, it will not be easy for me because I'm not that experienced, but on the other hand I have nothing to lose here,'' Kubot said.
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CHARMED BY A PRINCE: Serena Williams called Britain's future king ``shazam'' but said it is actually actor Leonardo DiCaprio who leaves her speechless.
It was super cool,'' Williams said of meeting Prince William on Wednesday when he stopped by Melbourne Park to watch some tennis, including part of Roger Federer's second-round win.Prince William was really dapper and suave. You know, he was just basically, shazam.''
She said she had always wanted to meet the prince, who is her age, 28.
I told him that I might like his little brother better because he's the little brother, and he laughed and said he might like Venus better because she's older,'' Williams laughed.So we just had a little joke about that.''
Was she nervous? Not at all. Williams said the only celebrity who makes her nervous was DiCaprio.
Every time I see Leonardo DiCaprio I get totally speechless,'' she revealed.Every time I'm like, 'Hi.' ``
She said her reaction to the actor may have something to do with his famous role in the 1997 film ``Titanic.''
I think it was,'' she said.I think it was how he just sacrificed the life.''
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RAFA'S TRIUMPH: It's not always tennis that energizes defending champion Rafael Nadal.
The highlight of his day Friday? His victory with Argentine Juan Monaco in a Playstation soccer game against two Spanish players.
Nadal, who writes a Q&A blog for Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper, said the game even gathered spectators in the room.
I know it sounds bad saying this for many reasons ... because tennis is why we are here and that is the priority, because it is not nice to promote your own victories, because (Carlos) Moya is older than me,'' Nadal wrote in Saturday's edition.But it was such an important match, so much tension in it and everything, that I had to mention it!
``Moya is known for being the best, but Monaco and I are a magic team!'' Nadal said.
The losers' punishment?
``They had to go down to the lobby and 'pay' by doing push-ups! Too funny!'' he wrote.
Nadal also used his blog to laugh off a fan's proposal earlier in the week.
During a second-round match against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia on Wednesday, a spectator took advantage of a quiet lull before play to shout: ``Hey Nadal, will you marry me?''
As the audience laughed, Nadal smiled and briefly waved his hand in the woman's direction as he prepared to receive Lacko's serve.
Hahahahahahahaa. I can only laugh,'' Nadal wrote in his blog.It was very kind. I suppose we would need to know each other more to go that much further, right?''