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From around the world

Bryans Begin Bid For Seventh Melbourne Crown

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

Bryans Begin Bid For Seventh Melbourne Crown

Jan182017

Fourth seeds Kontinen/Peers also advance

Third seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan made a speedy start at the Australian Open on Wednesday as the men’s doubles draw action kicked off. The six-time champions did not face a break point to beat the all-French duo of Paul-Henri Mathieu and Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-0 in 43 minutes.

Fourth seeds and reigning ATP Finals champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers fired seven aces to defeat Santiago Gonzalez and David Marrero 7-6(1), 6-4. They next face Marcos Baghdatis and Gilles Muller, 6-1, 6-4 winners over Cheng-Peng Hsieh and Tsung-Hua Yang.

Fifth seeds Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov and Gerald Melzer, while No. 9 seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers, a new team for 2017, won 6-3, 6-4 over Malek Jaziri and Stephane Robert. Dodig/Granollers next play Robert Lindstedt and Michael Venus, 7-6(6), 7-6(2) winners over Andre Begemann and Jan-Lennard Struff.

Other seeds to advance to the second round: No. 11 seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau defeated Philipp Petzschner and Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(5), 7-6(3), fifteenth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas beat Thomaz Bellucci and Maximo Gonzalez 6-4, 7-6(4) and Dominic Inglot and Florin Mergea, the No. 16 seeds, advanced 6-2, 7-5 over home hopes Luke Saville and Jordan Thompson.

Aussies Matthew Barton and Matthew Ebden scored an upset in front of their home crowd, a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 12 seeds Vasek Pospisil and Radek Stepanek.

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Nishikori's Dream Selfie

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

Nishikori's Dream Selfie

Jan182017

Japanese star picks a certain Florida neighbor

If given the chance for a dream selfie, some ATP World Tour pros might opt for pictures with other famous athletes, such as David Beckham or Kobe Bryant.

But not Kei Nishikori. Who would Nishikori want to take a selfie with?

“Mickey,” he said on Wednesday after his second-round win against Jeremy Chardy at the Australian Open.

You May Also Like: No Drama For Kei This Time

“Who is that?” the reporter asked.

Nishikori, apparently befuddled by the question, simply repeated his one-word answer. “Mickey,” he said.

The reporter still did not understand, though. “What’s Mickey famous for?” the reporter asked.

“Disney World,” Nishikori said to laughs.

To be fair, the Japanese star should know Mickey Mouse and other Disney World characters better than most. Nishikori trains at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, which is about 160 kilometers from Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Watch Now: Off-Season Training With Nishikori

Nishikori will hope to be the star of his third-round match on Friday. The 27-year-old faces Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko, who beat Dudi Sela of Israel 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Moet and Chandon off-court news

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Kyrgios, Cilic Suffer Early Exits In Melbourne

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

Kyrgios, Cilic Suffer Early Exits In Melbourne

Jan182017

Local hope and former Grand Slam champion are upset

Andreas Seppi silenced Australian supporters on Hisense Arena when he saved one match points in a comeback victory over local No. 14 seed Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open on Wednesday night.

World No. 89 Seppi fought back from an 0-2 sets deficit and saved one match point at 7-8, Ad-out, in the deciding set to triumph 1-6, 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2, 10-8 in three hours and 12 minutes. It was his fifth comeback from 0-2 sets down and his first win over Kyrgios, who had previous beaten Seppi at the 2014 US Open and 2015 Australian Open (8-6 in the fifth set).

Seppi now challenges Steve Darcis, a 6-3, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 winner over Diego Schwartzman.

Just five days on from appearing his first ATP World Tour final, Briton Daniel Evans recorded the biggest win of his career in beating World No. 7 Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Evans, who is currently at a career-high No. 51 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 in just under three hours, hitting 29 winners to Cilic’s 55 winners. It was the first time Cilic had lost to a player ranked as low as Evans at the major since falling to No. 126-ranked Ilija Bozoljac as a qualifier in 2007.

The 26-year-old Evans is through to the third round of a major championship for the fourth time in his career and will now face Australian No. 27 seed Bernard Tomic or Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic.

He beat No. 8-ranked Dominic Thiem en route to the Apia Sydney International final last week, when he lost to Gilles Muller in the title match.

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Australian Open: Andy Murray 'played better' against Andrey Rublev

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

Andy Murray feels his performance level improved in the Australian Open second-round win over Andrey Rublev.

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'I'm excited for my talented mate Dan – and my ankle is fine'

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

2017 Australian Open
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 16-29 January
Coverage: Live radio and text commentary of every Andy Murray match on BBC Radio, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app. Watch highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January.

I’m really happy and excited for Dan Evans, who is getting closer and closer to the top of the game.

I’ve known him a long time. I first met him when we played a Davis Cup tie probably nine, 10 years ago. You spend a week together in the build-up and since then I’ve seen him a lot at various events.

He used to have a reputation of maybe not working that hard but every time I have been on the court with him, he has been fantastic.

He’s a natural competitor. Once you get him on the match court, he always tries his best and gives his best effort and I really respect that.

Away from the court, he’s a pretty relaxed guy. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and he likes to have a good time, but when he’s playing, he’s focused. He’s a very talented player.

I haven’t spoken to him loads about his tennis. He has a team around him that is doing such a fantastic job.

If he keeps doing what he’s doing, who knows where he could end up? It’s exciting to see how good he is going to be. We still don’t know what his limit is.

‘We want to inspire kids to pick up a racquet’

It’s a really promising time to be part of British tennis. A number of players are close to the top of their game and that’s really good.

I definitely think that having a number of different players, with different personalities and backgrounds and playing styles, is really positive. I hope it keeps going that way.

A lot of kids might watch tennis and hate watching me. But some might love watching Johanna Konta, or Dan, or Kyle Edmund or Heather Watson.

The more choice there is, the more role models people have to look up to and that is a really positive thing.

‘I was worried about my ankle’

There was a moment of panic when I went over on my ankle during my match against Andrey Rublev. You don’t know how bad it is until you get up and you’re also a bit shocked about going over.

Once I got up and started moving around, it was still a bit concerning because it was sore. I’m walking around on it fine now – it’s sore, but it’s OK.

For now, it’s all about icing it and keeping it elevated. I had an ice bath after the game and I’ll be keeping it cool for the next few days. It’s all good.

‘I know how teenager Rublev felt’

Facing Rublev did give me a few flashbacks to when I was first starting out.

I played Rafael Nadal when I was 19 at the 2007 Australian Open. Going out for the first time against one of the top players does influence the way you play.

I expected Rublev to come out going for his shots, because he had nothing to lose. He got off to a pretty quick start but once I settled down, I played some good stuff. He’s a good player though and definitely one to watch in the future.

Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport’s Amy Lofthouse.

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Baghdatis Gets A Chop Before Nadal Clash Australian Open 2017

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

Baghdatis Gets A Chop Before Nadal Clash Australian Open 2017

Jan182017

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Britain's Evans hopes to move on from 'dark times'

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

British number three Dan Evans believes he has come through a difficult period in his career after beating world number seven Marin Cilic at the Australian Open.

The 26-year-old caused a massive upset to beat the former US Open champion 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-3 and reach the third round.

It comes after a struggle at the end of 2016 following a heartbreaking defeat by Stan Wawrinka at the US Open.

“There were some tough times after the Wawrinka match,” he said.

“I still think about that match on the court today. It’s not easy when you had the opportunity to sort of close out the big match and then lose.

“Yeah, I’m happy it happened. But, you know, hopefully there will be no more dark times, as you put it.”

World number 51 Evans squandered a match point in the fourth set of his third-round match with two-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka in September.

He was devastated afterwards and went on to finish the year with three defeats from four matches – all against lower-ranked opposition.

But he is now into the third round of a Grand Slam for only the fourth time of his career – and the first time in Melbourne.

Kyrgios beaten as Federer progresses
Champion Kerber survives scare
Day three: All the results

No kit? No problem

Evans said the victory over Cilic was the “biggest” of his career as he joined compatriot Andy Murray in the third round.

He did it wearing shirts and shorts bought from a shop after his kit deal with Nike expired in December and was not renewed by the sports clothing company.

“I just went to the store and bought a load of clothes the other day, plain clothes,” he said.

“What was it, Sunday? Sunday or Saturday, yeah. £19.99, the shirts are.

“I think I bought about 18 shirts, something like that. I went back this morning to buy some more. They’re not the best quality, to sweat in and wash.

“I only wore one shirt today. I’m good until Friday.”

A renewed rivalry with Tomic

Evans will face Australian Tomic in the last 32, a man he beat in four sets in the second round of the 2013 US Open.

It was a win the Birmingham player enjoyed, after the world number 27’s father suggested he was not good enough to have a practice hit with his son.

“I’m not going to bother saying anything about that again. He confronted me about that. We’ll leave it at that,” he said on Wednesday.

“I’d say it’s a 50-50 match. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to playing him.”

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No Drama For Kei This Time

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

No Drama For Kei This Time

Jan182017

Tsonga also cruises through to the third round

Kei Nishikori must have learned his lesson. After playing a five-set opener in the Melbourne heat on Monday, the Japanese avoided such serious tension during his second-round match, dismissing Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours on Wednesday at the Australian Open.

Nishikori saved six of nine break points faced and made Chardy work all match long on his serve. The fifth-seeded Nishikori converted seven of 18 break points against the 29-year-old Chardy, who was trying to reach the third round in Melbourne for the third time.

Nishikori moves through to the third round for the seventh consecutive year. But the 27-year-old Shimane native has bigger targets in mind for this Melbourne visit. Nishikori will try to improve on his best showing at the Australian Open, the quarter-finals in 2012, 2015, 2016. He’ll next face Israel’s Dudi Sela or Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko next.

Australian Open 2017: Angelique Kerber makes third round

Posted: Jan 18, 2017

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.

Defending champion Angelique Kerber survived an onslaught from fellow German Carina Witthoeft to advance to the Australian Open third round.

Kerber – top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time – struggled with her serve in a second-set tie-break before prevailing 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2.

The top seed, who was 29 on Wednesday, faces Czech Kristyna Pliskova next.

Venus Williams advanced 6-3 6-2 against Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele to reach the third round for a 13th time.

Live scores, results and order of play

Venus still going strong at 36

Williams, who played her first Australian Open in 1998, is the oldest woman in the singles draw at 36 and is competing in her 73rd Grand Slam.

“I have to talk about my age every interview!” the American said. “I’ve played some of the greats.”

“It’s an honour and privilege to start that young, and play this old.”

She later pulled out of the doubles competition with her sister Serena as a precaution to rest a sore elbow.

The 17th seed has never won the title, with her best result coming in 2003 when she was runner-up to Serena.

She will next play Duan Yingying after the Chinese player beat Varvara Lepchenko 6-1 3-6 10-8.

‘Pressure is a privilege’

World number one Kerber has started the year in less-than-convincing style, going out in the last eight in Brisbane and the second round in Sydney.

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And Witthoeft, 21, posed a far more serious challenge in this meeting than in the 6-0 6-0 defeat she suffered against her compatriot at Wimbledon 2015.

After a frustrated Kerber coughed up successive double faults in the tie-break, Witthoeft’s powerful groundstrokes took the opening game of the decider against serve.

But Kerber won the next four to regain control and avoid an upset.

“To have this pressure is a privilege. It’s completely new for me, but I’m doing well. I’m just trying to enjoy it,” she said.

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