Murray & Konta bid for third round
| Australian Open second round: Sam Groth v Andy Murray (2) |
|---|
| Date: Thursday, January 21 Venue: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Time: Not before 0300 GMT |
| Coverage: Commentary on BBC Radio Five Live & Five Live Sports Extra, live updates on BBC Sport website |
British number one Andy Murray says he will be “ready” for big-serving Australian Sam Groth as he bids to progress to the third round of the Australian Open.
Groth, 28, who has the fastest serve in world tennis, faces Murray in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“I’ll need to return well and pass well if I want to win,” Murray said.
Compatriot Johanna Konta, the world number 47, will face China’s Zheng Saisai earlier.
The British number one, 24, is making her Australian Open debut and knocked out eighth seed Venus Williams in the opening round.
Serving a warning
Groth, ranked 67th in the world, has twice given up tennis to play Aussie Rules football, first as a 16-year-old and then the second time more seriously, when he joined Melbourne side Vermont Eagles in 2011.
Returning to tennis in 2012, he shot the world’s fastest recorded serve of 163mph and last year enjoyed an impressive season, achieving his best performance at each of the four Grand Slams.
“He’ll obviously have the crowd behind him,” Murray said. “He’s a very competitive guy so he fights extremely hard, he has a great attitude.
“He’ll make it tough for me because he has a different game style to a lot of the players now.
“It’s my first time playing him in singles, he’s a big guy. He serves big and uses serve-and-volley tactics.”
The 28-year-old beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in four sets to set up the meeting with second seed Murray.
Groth and compatriot Lleyton Hewitt were beaten by Murray and brother Jamie in a five-set Davis Cup semi-final in Glasgow last September.
“I’m hoping his wife goes into labour in the next 24 hours and he ducks back home!” Groth told BBC Scotland.
Murray has said he will leave the Australian Open if his pregnant wife, Kim, goes into labour, although she is not due to give birth until February.
Flying the flag
Konta is Britain’s only other player left in the draw after Heather Watson’s defeat on Monday.
She was born in Sydney and represented Australia until 2012.
Her first-round win over Williams was far from a one-off, with Konta adding the seven-time major champion to a list of scalps including Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Elena Makarova and Andrea Petkovic.
Konta’s best result in a major is reaching the fourth round in the US Open last year, having never progressed beyond the first round in either the French Open or Wimbledon.
Seeing double
Fed Cup captain Judy Murray will be keeping a close eye on the all-British encounter in the second round of the women’s doubles.
Britain’s number one and two Konta and Watson face compatriots Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith, who defeated China’s Chen Liang and Shuai Peng 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-2).
All four players are in Murray’s squad to travel to Israel for the gruelling Euro-Africa Zone tournament straight after Melbourne.