Inglot/Mergea Advance, Aussies Oust Seeds

Inglot/Mergea Advance, Aussies Oust Seeds

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Milos Raonic vs Gilles Simon Australian Open 2017 Preview and Prediction

With Novak Djokovic’s stunning round two loss to Denis Istomin on Thursday, there is a great opportunity for someone…

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Rafael Nadal vs Alexander Zverev Australian Open 2017 Preview and Prediction

In a match that has the potential to be one of the best in the tournament so far, Alexander Zverev faces Rafael Nadal in…

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Rojer/Tecau Rebuilding Winning Combination At Australian Open

Rojer/Tecau Rebuilding Winning Combination At Australian Open

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Australian Open: Dan Evans beats Bernard Tomic in front of hostile crowd

British tennis number two Dan Evans says he took strength from a hostile Australian Open crowd to beat home-favourite Bernard Tomic in straight sets.

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Australian Open: Roger Federer eases past Tomas Berdych in third round

Roger Federer eased past 10th seed Tomas Berdych to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.

The 35-year-old former world number one came into the tournament seeded 17th after six months out through injury.

But the Swiss was in destructive form against Czech Berdych and needed only one hour 32 minutes to win 6-2 6-4 6-4.

Federer will now face world number five Kei Nishikori, with the winner of that match potentially meeting Andy Murray in the quarter-finals.

World number one and five-time Melbourne finalist Murray beat Sam Querrey 6-4 6-2 6-4 earlier on Friday and will face Germany’s Mischa Zverev in the fourth round.

Nishikori progressed with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win against Lukas Lacko from Slovakia.

Former Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka, the reigning US Open champion, also reached the last 16 with a 3-6 6-2 6-2 7-6 (9-7) victory over Serbia’s Viktor Troicki.

The Swiss, a potential semi-final opponent for Murray, will play Andreas Seppi next after the Italian beat Belgian Steve Darcis 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-2).

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Tsonga Survives Sock In Melbourne

Tsonga Survives Sock In Melbourne

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Andy Murray column on Novak Djokovic, beating Querrey and meeting Zverev

I thought I was pretty good in my win over Sam Querrey. I certainly played better than the first two matches. Sam’s a tough opponent with a big game so I was happy with it.

I probably warmed up for the match on three or four different occasions. Svetlana Kuznetsova was up a set and 4-1 on court before me, and then all of a sudden it was 3-0 in the decider to Jelena Jankovic. Then there was an injury time-out at the end.

You start warming up as soon as it gets to near the end of the match and then you just have to wait and hang around. It’s really tough but there’s not a lot you can do. I was ready to go out there for about an hour and a half.

The tough part is the mental side of it. You have to be switched on as you might just be about to go on and play in a Grand Slam match. It’s about trying to find a way of staying relaxed and not using up too much mental energy.

The support in the arena was great. The court we were playing on isn’t a ticketed court so you get really enthusiastic fans watching. Anyone can come in and watch – I think it’s $45 for the day. And with Dan Evans playing on the court after me, the Brits have been there all day. It was loud crowd, so I really enjoyed it.

‘I’ve known my next opponent for 17 years’

Next up is Mischa Zverev. We’ve known each other since we were 12 years old, so for 17 years. We’re the same age and we grew up playing against each other in the juniors.

He’s a very quiet guy, and very calm on the court. He plays serve-volley tennis which you don’t see a lot nowadays and he’s improved so much over the last few months. His brother, Alex, is one of the best players in the world right now and they train together all the time. Their parents coached them so whenever I was playing with Mischa, when Alex was only tiny he would be on the side of the court with a racket in his hand.

There’s quite a different age gap between them and me and my brother but it’s always nice to have your family around you and to have someone who understands what it’s like to be a professional athlete – the stresses and everything you go through – it definitely helps.

‘Djokovic deserves a break’

Everyone was surprised by Novak Djokovic’s exit in Melbourne, for sure. But out of the last few Grand Slams he made the final of the US Open, the third round at Wimbledon and won the French Open. Every single player on the tour, bar one or two, would sign up for those results. When you compare it to what his standards are, he’ll probably be disappointed. But if you compare it to every other tennis player in the world, his last 12-18 months have been phenomenal.

I think everyone needs to give him a bit of a break. It is hard to keep up the intensity week after week, that’s why everyone has been so impressed by the group of players at the top of the game over the last few years.

The same guys have been there for the last 10 years because their performances in the major events have been incredibly consistent. They’re always in the finals and semi-finals. So when it doesn’t happen once, everyone is really surprised and shocked.

But I think the players themselves are a lot more understanding, as we know how difficult it is and how incredible the consistency has been over the last few years. It’s almost inevitable it will drop off at some point.

• Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport’s Caroline Chapman

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Australian Open 2017: Andy Murray beats Sam Querrey to reach round four

Top seed Andy Murray made short work of American Sam Querrey to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open.

The Briton, 29, won 6-4 6-2 6-4 on the Hisense Arena, the third show court at Melbourne Park.

Murray, who hopes to finally win the title after finishing runner-up five times, goes on to face Germany’s Mischa Zverev, the world number 50.

Fellow Briton Dan Evans takes on Australian 27th seed Bernard Tomic later on Friday.

“I felt better and better as the match went on in terms of my movement,” said Murray, who had turned his ankle during his previous match.

“I was a little bit hesitant maybe at the beginning. It was a little bit sore but I was moving well at the end, so that was very positive.”

• Live scores, results and order of play
• Champion Kerber cruises into last 16
• Feature: Has Djokovic’s desire burned itself out?
• How to follow the Australian Open on the BBC

Murray makes no mistake

Querrey was the man who upset then world number one Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last summer, but Murray made sure he did not fall victim to another shock after the Serb’s surprise defeat by Denis Istomin on Thursday.

With six-time champion Djokovic out, Murray is a clear favourite among many observers to finally land the third leg of the career Grand Slam.

Querrey gave the Scot plenty to think about in the early stages of their third-round match, attacking the net and hurrying the top seed, but a first-serve percentage of just 57% was not enough to keep Murray at bay.

The American missed a fleeting chance with a break point in game eight and Murray immediately took advantage, getting the break himself in the next game with a beautiful lob.

He took a firm grip on the match with a run of six out of seven games, easing through the second set with two more breaks.

Murray punched away a winner to break at the start of the third set but there was a flurry of resistance as Querrey reeled off three straight games to lead 3-2.

There was no sustained comeback, however, as Murray once again turned up the pressure with his return of serve to break for a fifth time on his way to a comprehensive victory.

“Sam, especially in the first set, was hitting a huge ball,” added Murray.

“There was a key moment at 3-4 when I saved a break point and then managed to break the next game and had the momentum after that.”

Wawrinka through in tough section

Murray will start as a strong favourite against Zverev, but there is plenty of danger lurking on the Scot’s side of the draw.

Former winner Stan Wawrinka, the US Open champion, is through to the last 16 after a 3-6 6-2 6-2 7-6 (9-7) win over Serbia’s Viktor Troicki.

The Swiss, a potential semi-final opponent for Murray, will play Andreas Seppi next after the Italian beat Belgian Steve Darcis 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-2).

Should Murray get past Zverev on Saturday he could face a daunting quarter-final against four-time champion Federer, seventh seed Berdych or fifth seed Kei Nishikori, with Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko the outsider in that section.

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Raonic Defeats Muller In Australian Open 2017 Second Round

Raonic Defeats Muller In Australian Open 2017 Second Round

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