Tennis News

The fourth day of the Australian Open almost saw a colossal upset on the women’s side, but it was eventually averted as Maria Sharapova displayed her trademark resiliency to claw her way to a close three-set win. She will next meet Zarina Diyas for a spot in the fourth round of the tournament.

Watch the match here: Sharapova v Diyas Live

The second seed looked to be on her way to a straightforward win on Wednesday afternoon in Melbourne but quickly found herself in a tough match when Alexandra Panova stole the second set to force a decider between the two Russians. All eyes were on Rod Laver Arena as Panova took an early break in the third set and consolidated it with a second break minutes later. All appeared lost for the former champion, but she perservered and eventually managed to save two match points for 5-5. From there, the tides turned in dramatic fashion, and Sharapova won the following two games to close out the match 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

Sharapova hit 8 aces, won 67% of her first service points and struck 38 winners. However, she also hit 51 unforced errors, which contributed to her difficulties on court.

“I thought my thought process through the match to that point was pretty negative. I think I was dwelling too much on my mistakes, what I was doing wrong, not really being in the present, something that I’m really usually good at. At that point when you’re behind and you feel like you’re making a lot of errors, you don’t feel like you have a good rhythm out there, I just really tried to take it a point at a time, think positively, and change my thought process a little bit. When other things aren’t working, maybe the mental side of things will help you out. I think in the end maybe that’s what did.”

The Russian will next come up against rising star Zarina Diyas, who also needed three sets to advance to the third round of the tournament. She struck 7 aces, 38 winners and won 62% of her first service points to win in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour. While Diyas is capable of taking a set of Sharapova, she does not have the intensity to match the Russian’s resiliency.

Prediction: Maria Sharapova in Three Sets

Newly engaged Tomas Berdych continued his quest through the Australian Open draw with another straight sets victory to set up a third round encounter with Viktor Troicki. This marks the seventh time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with the Berdych v Troicki head to head standing at 5-1.

Watch the match here: Berdych v Troicki Live

In his second round match-up against Jurgen Melzer, Tomas Berdych faced minimal difficulties following a tight opening set. He struck nine aces, won 83% of his first service points and 36 winners to close out the match 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-2 and advance in 2 hours and 3 minutes.

“The whole match was not easy one. The tough condition again today. He was playing very smart. His game plan was actually good to go. But after the first set I find the way how to deal with that, how to handle it, and, you know, even though I was each set break down, I managed to come back and to play some good tennis.”

While Berdych’s match was straightforward, Viktor Troicki needed four sets against Leonardo Mayer to find his way into the third round of the Australian Open. He struck 11 aces, won 81% of his first service points and managed 27 winners en route to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory.

This marks the seventh time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Berdych leading the series 5-1. Their most recent encounter took place last season in a meeting that Berdych won in straight sets. Based on their series trajectory, this should be another win for Berdych, granted he maintains his serve.

Prediction: Tomas Berdych in Straight Sets

After meeting twice in 2010 then never again, Simona Halep and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will meet for the third time on the professional tour, with the head to head series tied at 1-1. However, there is little doubt that Halep, who has progressed to become one of the top players on the WTA tour, will take the lead in the series come Friday afternoon.

Watch the match here: Halep v Mattek-Sands Live

The third seed at the Australian Open was on last on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, as she was forced to play after the extended match between Rafael Nadal and Tim Smyczek.

“I didn’t expect that,” Halep said after the match. “But, you know, that’s tennis. Sometimes we have to wait few hours to play. But was okay. If I won, everything was okay. I just stay in the locker room or in the lounge, players lounge, with my team. We are speaking, laughing. Normal things. Nothing special.”

However, the Romainain would not spend much time on court, as she defeated local talent Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the third round of the tournament. Halep hit 7 aces, 21 winners and won 79% of her first service points to close out the win in 1 hour and 7 minutes of court time.

While Mattek-Sands only needed just the two sets to reach the third round, her victory over Kristina Mladenovic came in the form of a pair of tiebreakers. She hit 74% of her first serves in, 38 winners and converted three break points to finish the match in exactly two hours.

“I played once against her in French Open few years ago,” Halep said of her upcoming match-up. “I expect tough match. She’s playing well. She’s fighting till the end. So I have confidence that I can win that match. But, you know, I have to be very focused for every point and to play my game.”

This marks the third time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, and the second time at a Grand Slam event. Halep leads the head-to-head series and will likely add to that lead, even though this will be their first meeting in well over four years.

Prediction: Simona Halep in Straight Sets

There was much talk and concern regarding the expected performance of Eugenie Bouchard at the season-opening Grand Slam event given her abysmal ending to 2014. However, in her two matches to date this week in Melbourne, she has passed with flying colours and is yet to face a challenge in her draw. That will change on Friday, as the Canadian is scheduled to come up against Caroline Garcia, who defeated her in their only career meeting last year in Acapulco. Check out the Bouchard v Garcia Head to Head.

Watch the match here: Bouchard v Garcia Live

Against Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, Bouchard required minimal effort and only faced a slight hiccup at the end of the match en route to her straight sets victory. Bouchard only dropped three games in the match, all of which took place in the second set. She won 70% of her first service points, hit 20 winners and 14 unforced errors to beat Bertens in 54 minutes of court time.

“I think I put pressure on her a lot and I think probably forced her to make some errors,” Bouchad said. “I was happy with the way I was able to step in and control the, points, whether I did the winner or she did the error. In the end I think that’s how I want to play. Just need to stay a bit more focused at the end to try to close it out. More on my terms.”

Faced with a durable opponent in Stefanie Voegele, France’s Caroline Garcia fired 11 aces, 39 winners and won 94% of her first service points to close out the match 6-3,6-4. The contest lasted 1 hour and 9 minutes and was an entirely lopsided affair on Court 6.

“I know it’s going to be super tough,” said Bouchard of Garcia. “I know she’s a good up-and-comer. She can have some big shots. She’ll definitely, yeah, do some big shots and play well. It’s up to me to try to not let her do that as much as I can, you know, and try to focus on my game and play aggressive. But, yeah, I know I’m going to be up against a tough player who’s going to go for it.”

This marks the second time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Garcia leading the series 1-0 with a win in Acapulco on hard court. These two will likely be in for another three-set thriller, particularly given their most recent performances in Melbourne, but this time it will be Bouchard who will find her best tennis to claw her way to victory.

Prediction: Eugenie Bouchard in Three Sets

Former three-time finalist Andy Murray looked to be in quite the hurry on Margaret Court Arena when he ran through his opponent in straight sets, barely breaking a sweat. The British No. 1, who is yet to drop a set in Melbourne, will next face Portugal’s Joao Sousa, whom he has faced on three previous occasions. The British No. 1 leads the head-to-head series 3-0.

Watch the match here: Murray v Sousa Live

Following his breezy victory over Bhambri, Andy Murray took on Australia’s Marinko Matosevic, who he needed even less time to dispatch and secure his spot in the third round of the Australian Open. Murray, who won the match 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, fired 5 aces, won 85% of his first service points and struck 21 winners to close out the match in 1 hour and 42 minutes.

“I definitely started quite quickly today,” said Murray. “I was timing the ball well on the return and serving well from the beginning of the match, and it helped a lot because, you know, obviously the crowd were behind him. You know, managed to take the crowd out of it a little bit by starting that quickly.”

While Joao Sousa spent longer on court than his upcoming opponent, he still won the match via retirement when Martin Klizan was forced to withdraw from the contest. Sousa was leading 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, 1-0 before the Slovakian retired in the fourth set. The Portuguese No. 1 hit 8 aces, 8 winners and won 72% of his first service points before the premature ending of the match.

This marks the fourth time that Murray and Sousa will meet on the professional tour. Murray leads the head-to-head series 3-0, which include two straight sets victories in 2014. Both those wins took place on hard courts, which only adds to the expectation that the Briton will ease into the fourth round of the tournament.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Straight Sets

After much speculation ensued over the past week regarding world No. 1 and former champion Novak Djokovic’s preparedness for the Australian Open following his illness earlier in the month, the Serb silenced all doubters when he eased into the second round of the Australian Open. Djokovic will next meet Andrey Kuznetsov, whom he has never encountered previously, to determine who will advance to the next stage of the event.

The top seed cruised into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Aljaz Bedene, but only after a surprisingly slow start to the match. The Serb struck eight aces, won 83% of his first service points and 29 winners to close out the match in just over 90 minutes of court time. He did, however, hit a astonishing amount of unforced errors (27), which may indicate that he is yet to find his form.

“Australian Open has been very dear to me. My most successful Grand Slam. I’ve been playing some of my best tennis throughout career on these courts. Trying to soak up every joyful moment on the court. Obviously the start was a bit slower performance, weaker performance, from my side. He had a couple of breakpoints. The match could have gone a different way in the first set. Never played him. Watched him only once. He did surprise me. I had a difficult time to read his serve.”

Djokovic added that he feels he has recovered from the illness that plagued him earlier in the month.

“It hasn’t been an ideal couple of weeks in terms of health and preparation. But, you know, I fighted my way through. Now it’s behind me. I’m only looking forward. I think I did well in terms of responding to the slow start today, feeling a little bit rusty on the court. So hopefully the next one will be even better.”

Djokovic will next come up against Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov, who needed four sets to oust Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He struck 8 aces, won 74% of his first service points and hit 8 winners to close out the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).

This marks the first time that these two competitors cross paths on the professional tour and will likely be another straightforward encounter for Djokovic, who appears to have shaken off the flu.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets

In her first professional match of the season, word No. 1 Serena Williams cruised into the second round of the Australian Open with relative ease. After worrying fans with her bizarre performances at the Hopman Cup, Williams was able to rebound and advance to the next stage of the tournament, where she will come up against Russia’s Vera Zvonareva, a player she has contested frequent matches with for over a decade – including the final of the Wimbledon Championships in 2010. Williams leads the head-to-head series 7-3.

Watch the match live here: Serena Williams v Zvonareva Stream

The top seed cruised to the second round of the Australian Open with minimal resistance from Alison Van Uytvanck. Williams, who won the match 6-0, 6-4, struck 11 aces, won 86% of her first service points and hit 21 winners to close out the match in 61 minutes of court time.

“I felt okay,” Williams explained after the match. “As always, I had the jitters going out in the first match of a Grand Slam. So, yeah, it’s never super easy to be the one that everyone wants to beat. So I always have to be a little bit above. But, yeah, I felt okay. I definitely think I can improve a tremendous amount.

The American will now come up against Vera Zvonareva, who defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-3 to arrive at the intriguing encounter. She hit 3 aces, won 81% of her first service points and 6 winners to finish the match in 1 hour and 3 minutes.

This will mark the 11th time that Williams and Zvonareva cross paths on the professional tour, with Williams leading the series 7-3. The American has won four of their five most recent matches dating back to the 2007 US Open, and will likely add to that record with another win in their fourth Grand Slam encounter.

Prediction: Serena Williams in Straight Sets

Canadian No. 1 Milos Raonic kicked off his Australian Open campaign – his first ranked inside the Top 10 – with a straight sets victory and will now look to add to his quest and reach the third round with a victory over America’s Donald Young. This marks the third time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour with Raonic leading the Head to Head series 2-0.

Watch the match live here: Raonic v Young

Raonic, who was up against Illya Marchenko in his opening match in Melbourne, managed to cement his place in the second round with a straight sets win against the Ukrainian. He defeated Illya 7-6(3), 7-6(3), 6-3, hitting 30 aces, 91% of his first service points and 48 winners in the process.

“It was what I needed it to be, especially with how well I served, I probably should have stepped up and taken a few more risks on the return games. I felt at some points I got a little monotone with my game and I sort of stooped into a not-so-effective game plan especially on the return side. Other than that, it was what I needed it to be for a first round.”

The Canadian will come up against Donald Young, who eased into the second round with a four-set win against Germany’s Tim Puetz. The American hit 7 aces, won 80% of his first service points and 7 winners to close out the match in 2 hours and 13 minutes.

“I know Donald because I’m a year younger than him,” said Raonic. “He was sort of the poster boy of the way everybody sort of wanted their junior career to go. I knew him from that sense. I remember, I think it was Junior Davis Cup at the time, Key Biscayne, I was playing under-14, I would go over to watch him play against Bester and Polansky. I definitely followed because there were a lot of tags and labels on him. I definitely was aware of sort of what happened, then what he sort of went through. There’s always been a big spotlight on him.”

This marks the third time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour with Raonic leading the series 2-0. Both wins took place last season – the first at in the Washington semi-finals and the second in Basel. Young was able to snatch a set off Raonic in their most recent encounter and is more than capable of making this another tough match for the in-form Raonic.

Prediction: Milos Raonic in Four Sets