Nadal, Federer into 3rd round; Fish out at Aussie Open

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01/18/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champions Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer eased into the third round at the Australian Open -- one of them without hitting a shot on Wednesday. Eighth-seeded American Mardy Fish, however, went by way of the upset at the first Grand Slam event of the year.

Nadal, the No. 2 seed, fought off eight aces and beat error-prone German Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, while the third-seeded Federer moved on when his opponent, German Andreas Beck, pulled out of their match with a back injury.

Seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and No. 11 seed Juan Martin del Potro joined Nadal in the win column on Day 3.

The 16-time Grand Slam titlist Federer, a four-time Aussie Open champion, said Beck greeted him in the locker room and said he was in a lot of pain after his first-round match Monday against Frenchman Eric Prodon.

"I didn't know anything about it. It came as a surprise," Federer said. "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."

Federer, who last won this major event two years ago, was coming off a win over Russian Alexander Kudryavtsev on Monday.

The iconic Swiss great said he felt bad for the fans who came out to watch his match and was looking forward to working off the unused energy in practice on Thursday.

"I'll just relax this afternoon and have an intense hit tomorrow," Federer said.

The 10-time major champion Nadal, after beating American Alex Kuznetsov in the first round, notched 36 winners in his match against the former world No. 2 Haas, who committed 38 unforced errors. Nadal, who defeated Federer in the 2009 finale here and last year's French Open final, converted six of his 10 break-point opportunities en route to victory.

Fish was knocked off in the first big men's upset of the tournament, falling in straight sets to Colombian Alejandro Falla 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). The first and third sets both took over an hour to play. Fish was done in by 58 unforced errors, but didn't make any excuses.

"He's a good player," Fish said.

The former Wimbledon runner-up Berdych beat diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-1, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4) and the former U.S. Open winner del Potro topped Slovenian Blaz Kavcic 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 during Wednesday's 16-match schedule on the men's side.

Tenth-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro came from behind to beat promising Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-0, while 13th-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov (13) overcame German Tobias Kamke 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 8-6, and 16th-seeded massive-serving American John Isner edged out former top-five star and former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian in a marathon bout, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 10-8.

In other second-round action involving seeds, No. 18 Feliciano Lopez of Spain handled Italian Flavio Cipolla 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, No. 21 Swiss Stan Wawrinka downed former Aussie Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in Wednesday's nightcap and No. 30 South African Kevin Anderson held off Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.

Meanwhile, rising Aussie favorite Bernard Tomic came back to defeat on-the- mend American Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 and Slovak Lukas Lacko doused American Donald Young 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Other second-round winners were 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic, German Philipp Kohlschreiber and Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu.

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Problem with Bears?

Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.

"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."

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Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.

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