Tennis: Rafael Nadal reported his knee to be "much better" after moving safely into the third round of the Australian Open. The Spanish second seed heard the right joint "crack" on the eve of the tournament on Sunday, leaving him in "unbelieveable pain".
He feared he would have to withdraw from the tournament but he has now come through his opening two matches - Tommy Haasbeing dismissed in straight sets on Wednesday - and is much happier with his body now.
"It is much better and I am so happy the knee is improving and I am able to play without pain," he said after a 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory on the Rod Laver Arena.
Haas, a former world number two and three times a semi-finalist in Melbourne, was blown away in the early stages but soon got into his running, showing some glimpses of the form which lifted hjim high up the rankings 10 years ago.
Now 33, the German claimed a 3-1 lead in the third set only for Nadal to hit back and close out a straight-sets win. Afterwards, Nadal was quick to pay tribute to his opponent and urged him not to quit the game just yet.
"He's a fantastic player," the 2009 champion added. "He's had a lot of injuries the last couple of years but it's always great to play Tommy. He's thinking about retiring but I thought he played well this afternoon."
Roger Federerreached the last 32 without hitting a ball. Scheduled opponent Andreas Beckwas forced to withdraw from their second-round clash, handing Federer a walkover.
The German, who had been to take on the Swiss in the final match of day three on the Hisense Arena, had to withdraw due to a lower back injury.
Federer said: "I didn't know anything about it. It came as a surprise. He said he had a lot of painkillers and pain in the last match. I guess it's the smart decision for him to take.
"I would have loved to have played. I feel sad for the fans at Hisense who would have loved to come and see me play."
Federer will now meet the winner of the clash between Croatian Ivo Karlovicand Argentinian Carlos Berlocqin the third round.
Mardy Fishbecame the highest men's seed to fall so far when he was upset by Alejandro Falla.The eighth-seeded American produced an error-strewn display as he went down 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 7-6 (8/6).
Fish admitted afterwards he "didn't play great".
"He played well. I made a lot of errors. You know, conditions are about as ideal for me as I would have liked. Just didn't work out."
The American also admitted his frustration at Falla's treatment, saying the interruptions had had a "significant bearing" on the thrid set.
"I was under the impression that you can't get treatment for cramps. I guess you can," he added.
The man seeded immediately above Fish, Tomas Berdych, had no such problems.
He eased past diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus6-1 6-0 7-6 (7/4) to book his place in round three.
Berydch will now play South African Kevin Anderson, a four-set winner over Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Later in the day, Wimbledon marathon man John Isnerwas involved in another epic - and this one was more controversial. Isner was famously involved in the longest match in tennis history in 2010 when he beat Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set at the All England Club - the match lasting more than 11 hours.
The American did not have to play that long this time but his four-hour-and-41-minute win over David Nalbandianwas certainly a strength-sapper.
Isner, seeded 16, finally triumphed 4-6 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7/5) 10-8 to book his place in round three but the closing stages were not without drama or controversy and left Nalbandian calling for action to be taken against umpire Kader Nouni.
At 8-8, Isner faced three break points. Things exploded on one of them when Nalbandian tried to challenge an overrule by Nouni which awarded Isner an ace. However, the umpire refused to refer the incident to Hawk-eye on the grounds he had asked too late, the score having already been called. To make matters worse, TV coverage showed Nouni had been wrong.
A furious Nalbandian complained and called the tournament supervisor to the court but the official backed up his colleague in the chair. Isner, looking dog tired, duly held to move 9-8 up and broke the rattled Argentine in the following game.
Afterwards, Nalbandian said: "I haven't seen the video but I don't think it was too late to call. John said, 'yeah, ask'. It's ridiculous playing this kind of tournament with this kind of umpire. Eight-all, break point. Can you be that stupid to do that in that moment?
"What does the umpire need, press, the name, his picture (in the paper) tomorrow? Incredible."
Nalbandian's Davis Cup team-mate Juan Martin Del Potrohad things much easier. The 11th seed, considered by many a title outsider, beat Blaz Kavcic6-4 7-5 6-3.
There was another five-setter over on the Hisense Arena with 13th seed Alexandr Dolgopolovprevailing against Tobias Kamke. He will now face Bernard Tomic, the Aussie hope progressing with with a four-set victory over Sam Querrey.
However, another young prospect, Grigor Dimitrov, saw his hopes ended by 10th seed Nicolas Almagro. The Bulgarian, dubbed 'Baby Federer' by some, led by two sets to one but fell apart in the decider to lose 4-6 6-3 6-7 (4/7) 6-4 6-0.