Tennis News

After an awkward start to the season, Kei Nishikori kicked off his first Grand Slam event since reaching the final of the US Open last August and advanced to the second round of the tournament with relative ease. He will now come up against Ivan Dodig, whom he has encountered on four previous occasions. Nishikori leads the head-to-head series 3-1.

Watch the match live here: Nishikori v Dodig Stream

The Japanese No. 1 took part in a strong opening round match-up against a sturdy challenger in Nicolas Almagro. He defeated the Spaniard in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-2 to close out the match in 2 hours and 7 minutes. Nishikori withstood 15 aces from Almagro, won 74% of his first service points and hit 30 winners to secure his spot in the second round of the Happy Slam.

“Obviously was really tough, tough first match. He could be seeded player, and I know he was injured, but still was tough match. Yeah, was a little bit windy, so we both didn’t play maybe 100%. But I was getting more balls, especially third set, and I was play much better third set.”

Soon afterwards, Ivan Dodig earned his ticket into the second round of the Australian Open with a straight sets victory over Brazil’s Joao Souza. During the 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory, Dodig hit 10 aces, won 71% of his first service points and 27 winners to close out the match in 2 hours and 54 minutes.

This marks the fifth time that Nishikori and Dodig cross paths on the professional tour, with the Japanese star leading the series 3-1. His lone loss took place in Basel two years ago and has since gone 2-0 against the Croat. Although this could prove to be a grueling encounter, Nishikori should come out of it relatively unscathed.

Prediction: Kei Nishikori in Four Sets

Defending champion Stan Wawrinka began his quest to defend his maiden crown on Tuesday afternoon in Melbourne and wasted minimal energy in victory. Next for the Swiss star is a contest against Marius Copil, whom he has never met on the tour prior to this upcoming encounter.

Follow the match here: Wawrinka v Copil Live

In his match against Tunisia’s Marsel Ilhan, Wawrinka needed less than 90 minutes to secure his spot in the second round in comfortable fashion. Wawrinka hit 8 aces, won 82% of his first service points and struck 34 winners to close out the match 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 28 minutes.

“First Grand Slam never easy, but happy the way I played today. I feel great to come in the court. I play some good tennis and I have confidence with my game in general. That’s what I did today. It was not so hot. A little bit humid, a little bit windy. But, yeah, it was a good match.

“You need to be focused on every match, every point. Today I think was great. Good start for me winning in three sets and playing some good tennis.”

Marius Copil also needed straight sets to advance to the third round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. He defeated Spain’s Pablo Andujar 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 to finish the match in 2 hours and 4 minutes. Copil hit 18 aces, 18 winners and won 70% of his first service points to set up his encounter with the defending champion.

This is set to be the first ever encounter between Wawrinka and Copil and is unlikely to be a troublesome affair for the Swiss No. 2. Given the gaps in each of their skill sets, Wawrinka will undoubtedly have the advantage to reach the fourth round of the tournament.

Prediction: Stan Wawrinka in Straight Sets

With 1000 match wins to his name, Roger Federer arrived in Melbourne and quickly added to that number with his straight sets victory on Monday evening. The 17-time Grand Slam champion will now go on to meet Italy’s Simone Bolelli, whom he has defeated three times without losing a single set. Federer leads the head-to-head series 3-0.

While Federer was faced with an opponent with an endless gas tank and a willingness to run up and down the court, he had no trouble dispatching Yu reach the second round of the Australian Open. Federer struck nine aces, won 86% of his first service points and hit 57 winners to close out the match 6-4 6-2 7-5 in 1 hour and 53 minutes. The third set in particular was a thrashing.

“I think he started to serve better in the third,” Federer said. “I think conditions slowed down a bit. Because of the coolness and the night coming in, I felt it was hard to generate stuff. It became a very interesting third set. Gave me, I think, a lot of information. Instead of sort of just steamrolling through him he really made it tough for me. I don’t want to say I got lucky to not be broken early on in the third, but he was playing some really good tennis. I started to mix it up and trying out things because I had to, I felt, towards the end of the third. Started to serve better myself again towards the end of the match. I adjusted to the conditions, because it did play different at 7.00 than it did at 8.30. A drastic change, in my opinion.”

Next up for the Swiss star is Simone Bolelli, who needed four sets to down Juan Monaco in the opening round in Melbourne. Bolelli hit four aces, won 75% of his first service points and 33 winners to close out the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

This marks the fourth time that Federer and Bolelli meet on the professional tour, with Federer leading the head-to-head series 3-0. He will look to maintain that undefeated streak as he furthers his quest for a fifth title in Melbourne.

Prediction: Roger Federer in Straight Sets

While Rafael Nadal got off to a less-than-stellar start to his 2015 season, he more than made up for it in his opening match at the Australian Open. Now, the Spaniard will look to secure a spot in the third round of the tournament when he meets American Tim Smyczek on Wednesday. This marks the first time that these two will cross paths on the tour.

Watch the match live here: Nadal v Smyczek

Against Mikhail Youzhny, Nadal dominated the encounter en route to a straight sets victory. He defeated the Russian 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 50 minutes of court time. Nadal struck four aces, won 89% of his first service points and hit 37 winners to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Very positive result for me. I think very good start. Very important, no? Always before the first match you always have the doubts, especially in this situation I’m arriving here. Never easy, but it was an important match for me. Every match is very important for me today. Was a comfortable victory that give me some confidence.”

His opponent reached the second round with a straight sets win against Luke Saville. Tim hit six aces, won 73% of his first service points and hit 33 winners to set up an encounter with Nadal.

“All opponents are going to be difficult, and with the maximum respect for everybody and knowing that anything can happen in every round against anyone,” Nadal said. “So just going to go on court with the same spirit as today, maximum respect, trying to be very focus, and try to play little bit the same way like I did today. I think I did very positive things. I am trying to improve in the thing that I need to improve a little bit more.”

This marks the first time that Nadal and Smyczek will meet on the tour and based on the Spaniard’s most recent effort, it will likely be a one-sided affair in his favour.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal in Straight Sets

Grigor Dimitrov and Lukas Lacko will meet for the first time on the professional tour on Wednesday afternoon to determine who will advance to the third round of the Australian Open.

Watch the match live here: Dimitrov v Lacko

The Bulgarian No. 1 took part in a straightforward match-up, where he lost a mere seven games to defeat Germany’s Dustin Brown 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Dimitrov struck 11 aces, won 90% of his first service points and hit 30 winners to close out the match in 1 hour and 19 minutes. The longest of the three sets took just 26 minutes.

“It was a good start for me. Of course, I expected it to be tricky. It’s never easy to play against him. I believe I played against him on clay court maybe three, four years ago. I remember it was tight three sets. You don’t know what to expect against him. I think the biggest thing for me today was that I just came out on the court and I was really composed.

“I knew what I had to do, and I just didn’t — I didn’t feel like I gave him chance to do his game, so to speak. Didn’t give him chance to play his shots. I think that discouraged him a little bit. After a couple breaks I already knew the match can go on my side, but at the same I have to stay focused. It’s best-of-five sets and you never know what kind of shot or ball can take you out of that momentum.”

Lukas Lacko took part in one of the first five-set matches at this year’s Australian Open, as he went the distance with Maximo Gonzalez to ultimately close out the contest 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1. He struck 18 aces, won 82% of his first service points and 18 winners to secure his spot in the second round of the tournament.

Prediction: Grigor Dimitrov in Straight Sets

Following a strong showing in her first round match, Simona Halep will further her campaign Down Under when she comes up against Jarmila Gajdosova, whom she has never faced previously on the professional tour. Of the announced second round matches on tap so far, this is easily one of the more intriguing ones.

Watch the match live here: Halep v Gajdosova

The Romanian No. 1 needed minimal effort to dispatch of her first challenge at the Australian Open, as she defeated Karin Knapp in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to reach the second round of the tournament. Halep, who went down a break early in the match, hit 57% of her first service points, struck 15 winners and 26 unforced errors to close out the match in 1 hour and 27 minutes.

Her opponent, Jarmila Gajdosova, defeated Alexandra Dulgheru 6-3 6-4 to advance to the second round of the tournament. She won 76% of her first service points and 19 winners to win the match in 1 hour and 28 minutes.

“Obviously she’s been playing well. She’s 3 in the world,” said Jarmila. “As I said, I been playing lately seems like all the top 10ers the last three weeks, so it’s just another person on the other side of the net. I’m going to go to play the way I played today, the way I played last week, and I will fight and do my best. We’ll see who comes on top.”

This marks the first time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour and could make for an entertaining and competitive affair. Gajdosova looked motivated to compete last week and has managed to carry that momentum over to Melbourne. If she plays her cards correctly, she could be primed for an upset.

Prediction: Simona Halep in Three Sets

Brisbane International champion Maria Sharapova maintained her undefeated streak in 2015 with a quick start to the Australian Open on Monday evening. Following her first round win, Sharapova will now meet fellow Russian Alexandra Panova to determine who will arrive in the third round of the tournament. This is the first time that the two Russians will cross paths on the professional tour.

Watch the match live here: Sharapova v Panova

Against Croatia’s Petra Martic, Sharapova dropped only five games to ease her way into the second round. She struck 5 aces, won 73% of her first service points and hit 26 winners to close out the match 6-4, 6-1 in I hour and 26 minutes. Given her recent victories, Sharapova cannot deny that this is a fantastic start to her year.

“I’m in a much more comfortable situation than I was last year,” Sharapova admitted. “My goal last year at this time was just to play as many matches as I could to get a good feeling to see where my shoulder was, where I was physically, how I would cope with playing a lot of matches.

“It was definitely great to get a title in last week. I don’t think I’ve done that in my career, winning a title to begin the year. That was nice. But when you come here, everything is new and fresh – of course, it’s a nice feeling to have that victory, but you have to start from scratch.”

Her opponent, Alexandra Panova, reached the second round with a straight sets win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. She even managed to hit a bagel second set to close out the match in 1 hour and 7 minutes.

Although this is the first time that Sharapova and Panova will meet on the professional tour, it is not a contest that requires much analysis to offer a prediction. The five-time Grand Slam champion is far more experienced than her opponent and will likely cruise into the third round in Melbourne.

Prediction: Maria Sharapova in Straight Sets