There was still plenty of rust on show for Roger Federer in his competitive return to action on Monday at the Australian Open.…
Defending champion Angelique Kerber will be hoping for an easier time in her round two clash on Wednesday when she faces …
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
World number one Andy Murray has admitted he does not know much about his Australian Open second round opponent Andrey Rublev.
Murray will face the 19-year-old Russian, ranked 152nd in the world, on Wednesday from 09:30 GMT.
Fellow Briton Dan Evans will also be in action in Melbourne, against seventh seed Marin Cilic.
“I’ve never hit with him or played against him, but I’ve seen him play and he goes for it,” Murray said.
“I know a little bit about him and he doesn’t hold back. He hits a big ball.”
Rublev is appearing in his second Grand Slam – he was knocked out in the first round of the US Open in 2015.
“I’m so excited, I have nothing to lose. He’s the best tennis player at the moment. So I will just try to take a great experience from this,” he said.
Murray was left frustrated after his first round victory over Illya Marchenko, taking two hours and 48 minutes to register a three-set win.
“I have had a lot of tough losses here, for sure,” said Murray, who has been beaten in the final in Melbourne five times in seven years.
“I have played some of my best tennis on hard courts here. But I keep coming back to try. I’ll keep doing that until I’m done.”
Elsewhere, Roger Federer faces American Noah Rubin from 04:00, while fourth seed Stan Wawrinka will play Rubin’s compatriot Steve Johnson.
World number one Angelique Kerber plays Germany’s Carina Witthoeft, while Serena and Venus Williams appear in the first round of the doubles, playing Hungary’s Timea Babos and Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith
We’ll learn a lot more about Rublev in this match. He is a big-hitting player who goes after the shots and plays high-octane tennis.
It’ll be good to see what this young man can bring but it’s a very tough ask for someone of that age against Andy.
It’s an environment that Andy really enjoys. You would expect him to get the job done, but he will study him and won’t take anything for granted.
Rafael Nadal did his best to erase the memory of his 2016 first-round loss in Melbourne on Tuesday, dominating Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours in Rod Laver Arena. The Spaniard landed 70 per cent of his first serves and ripped 39 winners against the 33-year-old Mayer, who was playing at Melbourne Park for the first time in three years.
Nadal fell to countryman Fernando Verdasco a year ago, the victim of an all-out attack from Verdasco, who hit 90 winners in the win. But Tuesday’s match was never in question for the 30-year-old Mallorca native. Nadal earned a break in each set, including at 4-4 in the third set, and converted his first match point with a forehand winner.
Nadal will next face Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who advanced to the second round when Russian Mikhail Youzhny retired down 6-3, 3-0. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 8-1.
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
World number nine Rafael Nadal produced a commanding display to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
The injury-hit Spaniard, who last won a Grand Slam in 2014 and lost in the first round last year, beat Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-3 6-4 6-4 in Melbourne.
Nadal, seeking to win a 15th Grand Slam title, dominated from the start and will now play Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
“Today was a good first round for me,” said Nadal, 30. “Florian is a tough first player to play against.”
Nadal is attempting to win his second Australian Open after beating Roger Federer in the 2009 final.
A wrist injury plagued the Spanish left-hander after the French Open last year, and he missed Wimbledon, but he has a new coach in Carlos Moya and says he is fit and healthy.
“I was healthy enough to practise the way I wanted to practise, so that’s important for me,” Nadal added.
“I’ve had a longer period of time here in Australia, it was great experience and I was able to play in Brisbane.”
Third seed Milos Raonic went through with a comfortable 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Germany’s Dustin Brown.
The 26-year-old Canadian, a semi-finalist last year, hit 18 aces and 46 winners, and will next face either Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller or American Taylor Fritz.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic, the second seed, started his campaign against Fernando Verdasco of Spain at 08:00 GMT.
You can follow the match live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and the BBC Sport website.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
Six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams progressed to the second round with a straight-set win over Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic.
The American, 35, beat her 19-year-old opponent 6-4 6-3 in 79 minutes in scorching conditions in Melbourne.
The world number two, attempting to win a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title, said she “has nothing to lose”.
“Every match I’m playing for fun. I get to travel the world and do what I do best – play tennis,” she added.
Williams lost the Australian Open final last year to Angelique Kerber but won Wimbledon to equal Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles.
She has barely played since the US Open last September because of injury, and lost in the second round of this month’s Auckland Classic.
But she eased doubts about her form and fitness with a typically powerful performance in temperatures of about 35C.
Williams will face Lucie Safarova in the second round after the 29-year-old Czech saved nine match points before beating Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-1.
Safarova saved five match points on her own serve in the second set and another four in the tie-break.
“It’s not fun,” said a stunned Wickmayer. “I think she served very well on certain points and other points I didn’t go for enough.
“But it’s normal when you have match point and you want to play it a little bit safe. Then after, you realise it’s not the best option.”
Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, seeded third in the Open, beat Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1 4-6 6-1. She will now face Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Fifth seed Karolina Pliskova, who beat Williams in last year’s US Open semi-finals, went through thanks to a 6-2 6-0 victory over Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
“Even when you’re not playing your best, somehow you have to win,” said the 24-year-old.
“I know I can be dangerous deep in the tournament, quarters and semis, and when there are big players I can beat them.”
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki did not hang around as she beat Australian Arina Rodionova 6-1 6-2 in just over an hour to set up a meeting with Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
British number one Johanna Konta started her Australian Open campaign with an assured 7-5 6-2 first-round win over Kirsten Flipkens in Melbourne.
Ninth-seeded Konta, who won last week’s tournament in Sydney, coped with heat rising to 35C before beating the Belgian in 96 minutes.
The 25-year-old will face either Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand or Naomi Osaka of Japan in the second round.
Fellow Britons Heather Watson, Naomi Broady and Kyle Edmund play later.
They will be seeking to join Konta, Andy Murray and Dan Evans in reaching the second round.
Last year Konta became the first British woman to reach an Australian Open semi-final since Sue Barker in 1977, and the first at any Grand Slam since Jo Durie at the 1983 US Open.
“It was incredibly tricky. She has the kind of game that can trouble any player,” said Konta.
“I tried to play myself in to the match and I’m happy to be through. A lot has happened in the last year and I’m just enjoying playing and trying to get better every day.”
She had a chance to serve for the opening set at 5-4 but Flipkens put the Briton’s usually consistent serve under pressure and broke back.
Konta responded by breaking Flipkens again and then held her serve to love to take the opening set after 51 minutes.
The Briton dominated the second set, securing two breaks of serve, and wrapped up victory in impressive style.
Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.