Tennis News

Top seed Novak Djokovic lived up to his title and stormed into the third round of the Australian Open with remarkable ease, and little fuss. He will next come up against Fernando Verdasco, whom he has met on 10 previous occasions on the professional tour – the first meeting of which took place nearly a decade ago. Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 6-4.

After a smooth victory over Aljaz Bedene, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic had an even easier second round encounter against Andrey Kuznetsov, whom he defeated 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the third round of the tournament. Djokovic hit 28 winners, 8 aces and won 86% of his first service points to close out the match 1 hour and 24 minutes.

“Well, generally this is my most successful Grand Slam and the tournament where over the years I’ve performed my best tennis. Reason? I think there is not one reason. A few reasons together. Probably the fact that I enjoy the conditions of play. Even though last two years the courts have played faster, significantly faster than they were before, still I do enjoy being here in Australia.”

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While it was not as easy for Fernando Verdasco, he managed to get past Go Soeda in straight sets to set up his encounter with the world No. 1. The Spaniard hit 15 aces, 42 winners and won 79% of his first service points to close out the match 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(3) in 1 hour and 56 minutes.

This marks the 11th time that Djokovic and Verdasco will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Serbian star leading the series 6-4. Djokovic clearly holds the advantage on hard court, which he is 4-1 against Verdasco. The Spaniard’s advantage is on clay, where he leads Djokovic 3-2. Given that their meeting is taking place Down Under on hard court, there is little doubt that Djokovic ca overcome his next challenge in straight sets.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets

In one of the more interesting and competitive third round matches at the Australian Open this year is the match-up between Spain’s David Ferrer and France’s Gilles Simon. The two are well-versed in each other’s games, as they have met seven previous times on the tour, including contests at Grand Slams, Masters events, and Davis Cup competition. Ferrer leads the overall head-to-head series 5-2.

In a surprising start to his second round match, David Ferrer dropped the opening set and was forced to rally back from the deficit to defeat Sergiy Stakhovsky 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The contest lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes and saw Ferrer hit 31 winners, 2 aces, and win 77% of his first service points. After the slow start, it was clear that Ferrer was set to cruise control.

One of the more underrated players left in the draw is the 18th seed Gilles Simon, who reached the third round of the draw with a victory over Spain’s Marcel Granollers. He won the match 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4 and did so with relative ease and minimal fuss. The Frenchman struck 41 winners, including 5 aces, and won 83% of his first service points. He even converted 5 break points to make up for the two he handed the Spaniard to close out the match in 2 hours and 16 minutes.

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This marks the eighth time that Ferrer and Simon will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Spaniard leading the head-to-head series 5-2. While that may be the case, Simon won their most recent encounter at the US Open 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-3, which only adds to his confidence and chances at another upset on Saturday. This will likely be a grueling five-set encounter.

Prediction: Gilles Simon in Five Sets

For just the third time, Stan Wawrinka and Jarkko Nieminen will cross paths on the professional circuit, and will look to settle the score and determine who will take the lead in the series. With the Head to Head tied at 1-1, and with four years separating them from their last encounter, this is set to be an interesting rubber match.

Watch the match here: Wawrinka v Nieminen Live

While it was a closer match than many expected, defending champion Stan Wawrinka was able to work his way into the third round of the Australian Open with a tight straight sets win against Copil. He hit 36 winners, 2 aces and won 73% of his first service points to close out the match 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-3.

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“It was quite tough match. Happy to get through, especially in three sets. Condition wasn’t easy today. Quite hot. Really fast on the court. And he was playing great. He was serving big, putting lots of pressure. Wasn’t playing my best tennis, but I’m happy the way I fight today and the way I did with the match.”

In their second round encounter, Jarkko Nieminen defeated Germany’s Matthias Bachinger in close straight sets to advance to the next stage in Melbourne. The Finnish star hit 41 winners, including 4 aces, and won 71% of his first service points to close out the match 7-6(4), 7-5, 7-5.

“He’s a tough, tough player, lefty,” Wawrinka said of Nieminen. “Love to play from the baseline in the same rhythm. Love to use the speed of the ball. It’s going to be interesting match.”

Wawrinka and Nieminen have not met on the tour in nearly four years, and the Swiss star has not beaten the Finnish veteran since 2009. Having split their previous two meetings, this should be an interesting match, even though their career trajectories have changed dramatically since that time. The defending champion should advance to the fourth round with relative ease.

Prediction: Stan Wawrinka in Straight Sets

Following two entertaining, albeit straightforward, rounds of action, the third stage of the 2015 Australian Open will feature several enthralling match-ups, including the key contest (no pun intended) between Czech No.1 Petra Kvitova and rising American star Madison Keys. This is just the second time that these two competitors cross paths on the professional tour, with Kvitova leading the head-to-head series 1-0.

Watch the match here: Kvitova v Keys Live

Up against Mona Barthel in her second match in Melbourne, Petra Kvitova stormed to an early lead before snatching the opening set in 29 minutes. She followed up with another straightforward set to close out the match 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour and 19 minutes. Kvitova struck 10 aces, 30 winners and won 75% of her first service points en route to victory.

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Her opponent, Madison Keys, needed three sets to advance to the third round, as she rallied back from a set down to defeat Casey Dellacqua 2-6, 6-1, 6-1, The American struck 35 winners, including 5 aces, and won 77% of her first service points to finish the match on a high note.

“She’s better player than she was when I played her in Tokyo,” Kvitova said about her opponent Keys. “It’s different surface, different condition for sure. I know she has a big serve. Is going to be really aggressive from her. That’s what I have to be there and stay. Maybe similar with Venus, you know, very similar game. So, yeah, I need to serve well and try to return her serve.”

Kvitova and Keys have only met once previously on the tour. Kvitova leads the head-to-head series 1-0 with a win two years ago in Tokyo. She will look to remain undefeated against the American, but it will be a much harder task this time around. Keys has looked fantastic since the start of the season and should be able to take her opponent to deep waters.

Prediction: Petra Kvitova in Three Sets

While Venus Williams was written off as an inconsistent player past her prime several years ago, she came into the 2015 Australian Open as a favourite to reach the second week of the tournament, and has so far lived up to expectations and remains well on that quest to reach the later stages of the tournament. Up next is a match-up against Italy’s Camila Giorgi, whom she has never encountered previously on the professional tour.

Watch the match here: Venus Williams v Giorgi

Former finalist Venus Williams advanced to the third round of the tournament with a 6-2, 6-3 win against fellow American Lauren Davis, whom she had met several weeks ago. Williams struck 4 aces, 18 winners and converted 5 break points to close out the match in 1 hour and 16 minutes of court time. She will now look to reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time since 2010.

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“Always good to advance. That’s pretty much the goal when you step on the courts, it’s like, Come on. Let’s get to the next round. Met the goal today.”

With no intention of spending more time on court than necessary, Camila Giorgi stormed through her match-up against Tereza Smitkova in straight sets to advance to the third round in Melbourne. She hit 8 aces, 23 winners and won 86% of her first service points to close out the match 6-1, 6-4 in 65 minutes.

“Not sure if I played her before, but she definitely raises her game depending on the caliber player that she plays,” Williams said of her upcoming opponent. “I think it’s just important to remain consistent and aggressive, just as I’ve been this whole year. That’s my goal.”

Venus and Giorgi have never met on the professional circuit before and could make for a particularly interesting match if both players happen to bring their respective A games. While there is potential for some intriguing chemistry, the likelihood is that Williams will overpower the younger Giorgi and find her way into the fourth round of the tournament.

Prediction: Venus Williams in Straight Sets

After winning a bagel set against Van Uytvanck in her opening match in Melbourne, world No. 1 Serena Williams followed up with another strong performance – and a bagel set – to find herself in the third round of the Australian Open with relative ease. She will next meet Elina Svitolina, whom she encountered once previously nearly three years ago in Fed Cup action. Williams leads the head-to-head series 1-0.

Watch the match here: Serena Williams v Svitolina Live

The top seed came up against Vera Zvonareva in her second round match-up and swatted the challenge away without much effort. The American won the match 7-5, 6-0 in a total of 1 hour and 25 minutes. She hit 32 winners, 5 aces and won 70% of her first service points.

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“I’m feeling better every day. I think in beginning of the tournament every player feels a little sluggish; at least I do. Now I’m feeling like I’m starting to hopefully feel better.”

While Williams took part in a simple, straightforward match on court, her opponent, Elina Svitolina, had a much more difficult outing against Nicole Gibbs. The No. 26 seed was pushed to a tiebreak in the opening set, which she won, then dropped down a double break in the second set, which she clawed her way back from – swatting set point after set point in the process. Eventually, she was able to push back to 5-5, then they each broke each other again for 6-6, which was where the Ukrainian jumped to a 6-2 lead before closing out the match 7-6(3), 7-6(6).

This marks just the second time that Williams and Svitolina meet on the professional tour, with Williams leading the head-to-head series 1-0. While the Ukrainian has looked impressive over the past few days in Melbourne, she is no match for an in-form Serena.

Prediction: Serena Williams in Three Sets

After being handed a remarkably difficult draw as an unseeded former champion, Victoria Azarenka has handled the challenge with poise and confidence, and has blasted her way back into Grand Slam form. Her third challenge at the event will come against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, whom she has met twice previously on the tour and has never dropped a set to take a 2-0 Head to Head lead.

Watch the match here: Azarenka v Zahlavova Strycova Live

After defeating Sloane Stephens in first round action, Victoria Azarenka, a former champion at this event, came up against the resurgent Caroline Wozniacki, whom she has a storied history against. It proved to be a necessary litmus test for Azarenka, and her straight sets win will likely boost her confidence for the remainder of the event. She defeated her Danish adversary 6-4, 6-2 to close out the match in 1 hour and 38 minutes.

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“I think it was a very good match, very high quality,” said Azarenka. “I’m happy with the way I stayed consistent throughout the whole match. I think there’s always things you can improve, but it’s a great progress from one match to another. I just want to keep trying to stay in that path and continue to grow, continue to improve.”

“I wish I would have won,” said Wozniacki. “You can always look back and say, I wish I’d done this, I wish I’d taken this breakpoint, taken advantage at 30-Love. At the end of the day she played better than me today and hats off to that. I just need to go back and work hard. Early, still beginning of the year. So still have 10 months to make up for this. Hopefully it’s still going to be a good year.”

In her second round match against Kai-Chen Chang, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova dominated the proceedings en route to a straight sets victory. She won the match 6-1, 7-5, hitting two aces, 11 winners and 59% of her first service points. The contest lasted a total of 80 minutes.

Of their two previous meetings on the tour, Azarenka holds a 2-0 stranglehold over the series and will be keen to hold onto that lead en route to the later stages of the season-opening Major tournament. She has never dropped more than six games in her matches against Strycova but also has not met her in nearly four years, which could complicate matter slightly.

Prediction: Victoria Azarenka in Straight Sets

The biggest upset on Friday afternoon in Melbourne took place on Rod Laver Arena, where 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer suffered a shocking defeat to Andreas Seppi to crash out of the tournament before the fourth round.

Seppi, who held a 0-10 record against Federer prior to this encounter, withstood 15 aces from the former champion and broke serve three times to close out the mach in four sets 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(5). Federer, who was dealing with the difficult conditions out on court, hit 9 double faults along with his 55 unforced errors to contribute to his demise in Melbourne.

The match came with twists and turns, particularly in the second set, where Federer worked his way from a break down to a tiebreaker, led 4-1, then squandered it to hand the Italian a two-set lead in the match. Nothing was the same after that. With the shadow covering half the court in Melbourne, Federer was unable to serve properly in the fourth set and eventually lost a second tiebreaker to Seppi, who finished the match with a miraculous passing shot.

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“I wish I could have played better, but clearly it was tough losing the first two, you know,” a dejected Federer said after the match. “Had chances to get back into it. I let it slip, I mean, both times in some ways. I guess I won the wrong points out there today. I knew how important that second set tiebreaker was, so clearly that hurt, losing that one. The end wasn’t pretty, you know. It wasn’t easy to play with the shadow. But it was the same for both of us. Just a disappointing loss, you know.”

The loss to Seppi snaps Federer’s remarkable semi-final streak in Melbourne, which began in 2004 and extended until 2014.

Federer began his 2015 season with a title victory in Brisbane, which included wins over James Duckworth, Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic. Given his current form, and the fact that he had only dropped one set to Seppi prior to their meeting on Friday, this is easily the biggest upset of the year so far.