Andy Murray eyes improvement after reaching Australian Open third round

World No. 2 Andy Murray quickly hushed parochial Australian fans baying for a major upset here on Day 4 of the Australian Open, demolishing star struck local hope Sam Groth in straight sets.

The result extends Murray’s unbeaten run against Australian players to 15 official matches and sets up a round three meeting with Joao Sousa, the 32nd seed from Portugal. At the end I was actually hitting the ball well and felt better at the end. “I don’t know”, Djokovic said. But overall, she was satisfied to get through a “complicated” match without dropping a set. First time I even practised on it today’.

“I thought I struggled”.

“I was really happy I happened to win that service game, because didn’t have much warmup and had to start serving straight up”, she said.

Murray had drawn Sam Groth in the second round, a very large server and Australian national on the men’s tour.

In his first appearance on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday, the late-blooming Australian – best known for producing the fastest serve ever recorded in tennis history – was given an unceremonious welcome by the Briton. He doesn’t just hit the sort of big serves.

He received a rousing reception throughout and Murray said he had been someone he had admired before and throughout his career. I could have done that better.

“It helps to see someone’s game. I think some positives can come from it as well, providing the appropriate people act in the right way and are proactive with whatever they are doing moving forward”.

Raonic has served 32 games in two rounds of this year’s tournament.

“He’s a good athlete and he wins”.

There will be tougher opponents to come for Murray, including Sousa, but the world number two has found his rhythm early, particularly against Groth, when he won all of the first nine games.

“It was just trying to get one more ball, just stay in it, make her win it and not give it to her”.

Eighth seed David Ferrer, who beat Hewitt in the previous round, will be bidding to reach at least the fourth round for the sixth year running when he comes up against American Steve Johnson. “I just try to focus on my execution”, Azarenka said afterwards.

Play began on time at the three covered stadiums, including a third-round match between 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine on the main Rod Laver Arena.

“There was a really good atmosphere out there”, Konta said. “It’s only the second round, so I need to rise and be ready for the next one”.

A scintillating cross-court forehand from the Scot saved a break point in the third game and then two irretrievable serves diverted another in the fifth as Sousa failed to make his strong start count.

Following Ivanovic’s comfortable win, third seed Garbine Muguruza snuck past Belgian Kirsten Flipkens in an error-riddled 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Before then, however, the world number 47 will team up with compatriot Heather Watson in the second round of the doubles on Friday, when they take on Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith in an all-British clash.

Since reaching last year’s Wimbledon final, the Spanish player has lost in the second round of the U.S. Open and now the third round at Melbourne Park. “We did a lot of prevention work for injuries, and fitness and on-court work”. “It is the only one of a tennis player that I have”.