Tennis News

In her first professional match of the season, word No. 1 Serena Williams cruised into the second round of the Australian Open with relative ease. After worrying fans with her bizarre performances at the Hopman Cup, Williams was able to rebound and advance to the next stage of the tournament, where she will come up against Russia’s Vera Zvonareva, a player she has contested frequent matches with for over a decade – including the final of the Wimbledon Championships in 2010. Williams leads the head-to-head series 7-3.

Watch the match live here: Serena Williams v Zvonareva Stream

The top seed cruised to the second round of the Australian Open with minimal resistance from Alison Van Uytvanck. Williams, who won the match 6-0, 6-4, struck 11 aces, won 86% of her first service points and hit 21 winners to close out the match in 61 minutes of court time.

“I felt okay,” Williams explained after the match. “As always, I had the jitters going out in the first match of a Grand Slam. So, yeah, it’s never super easy to be the one that everyone wants to beat. So I always have to be a little bit above. But, yeah, I felt okay. I definitely think I can improve a tremendous amount.

The American will now come up against Vera Zvonareva, who defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-3 to arrive at the intriguing encounter. She hit 3 aces, won 81% of her first service points and 6 winners to finish the match in 1 hour and 3 minutes.

This will mark the 11th time that Williams and Zvonareva cross paths on the professional tour, with Williams leading the series 7-3. The American has won four of their five most recent matches dating back to the 2007 US Open, and will likely add to that record with another win in their fourth Grand Slam encounter.

Prediction: Serena Williams in Straight Sets

Canadian No. 1 Milos Raonic kicked off his Australian Open campaign – his first ranked inside the Top 10 – with a straight sets victory and will now look to add to his quest and reach the third round with a victory over America’s Donald Young. This marks the third time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour with Raonic leading the Head to Head series 2-0.

Watch the match live here: Raonic v Young

Raonic, who was up against Illya Marchenko in his opening match in Melbourne, managed to cement his place in the second round with a straight sets win against the Ukrainian. He defeated Illya 7-6(3), 7-6(3), 6-3, hitting 30 aces, 91% of his first service points and 48 winners in the process.

“It was what I needed it to be, especially with how well I served, I probably should have stepped up and taken a few more risks on the return games. I felt at some points I got a little monotone with my game and I sort of stooped into a not-so-effective game plan especially on the return side. Other than that, it was what I needed it to be for a first round.”

The Canadian will come up against Donald Young, who eased into the second round with a four-set win against Germany’s Tim Puetz. The American hit 7 aces, won 80% of his first service points and 7 winners to close out the match in 2 hours and 13 minutes.

“I know Donald because I’m a year younger than him,” said Raonic. “He was sort of the poster boy of the way everybody sort of wanted their junior career to go. I knew him from that sense. I remember, I think it was Junior Davis Cup at the time, Key Biscayne, I was playing under-14, I would go over to watch him play against Bester and Polansky. I definitely followed because there were a lot of tags and labels on him. I definitely was aware of sort of what happened, then what he sort of went through. There’s always been a big spotlight on him.”

This marks the third time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour with Raonic leading the series 2-0. Both wins took place last season – the first at in the Washington semi-finals and the second in Basel. Young was able to snatch a set off Raonic in their most recent encounter and is more than capable of making this another tough match for the in-form Raonic.

Prediction: Milos Raonic in Four Sets

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