Sharapova And Williams Make Third Round

Serena Williams fires a forehand around the post in her second-round match at the Australian Open.

Simona Halep (Wuhan Open, September 2015): Konta’s second-round opponent in China was two-time Australian Open victor Victoria Azarenka and the Briton advanced when her opponent retired with a leg injury when trailing 6-4 1-0.

Elsewhere Roger Federer beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 while Maria Sharapova won 6-2, 6-1 against world number 105 Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Asked, by an Italian journalist, if she’d watched a replay of that match, Williams gave a touchy response: “Yeah, I watch it every day”.

Hewitt, who has already been named Australia’s Davis Cup captain, announced previous year that the Australian Open would be his final tournament. “To win against a top-two player, I’m so happy, so excited”.

“It’s the least I expect to be in the third round of a Slam, obviously, so I’m pumped up, playing well, feeling good”.

This time, Verdasco rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the last two sets, and came from a break down in the fifth to win in 4:41 and reach the second round.

But the 35-year-old American, who was seeded eighth in her 16th appearance at Melbourne Park, fell in her opening match to a player making her tournament debut.

Murray will next play Samuel Groth, who beat Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (6), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

When Johanna Konta found out she was playing Venus Williams in the first round of the Australian Open, she thought to herself, “I just hope I stay out there more than an hour”.

“I don’t think it’s going to be easy, ‘” Serena said.

Sixth seed Petra Kvitova is also safely through after she cruised past Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-3 6-1, but Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens both crashed out.

Konta, who was born in Sydney and represented Australia until 2012, returned to the same court where she practised as a youngster to beat Williams 6-4 6-2.

The extended break raised questions about Williams’ form and meant she hadn’t elaborated much publicly on the cell phone incident, which happened in November while she dined with a friend at a San Francisco restaurant. “Like a year ago the third round was the end for me, so I hope to go further this time”.

Madison Keys had a slow start in her return to Melbourne Park, but advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over Zarina Diyas.

She made the most of her opportunities and sealed the match with an ace for a routine victory in one hour exactly.

“If you want to win a Grand Slam, you’re probably going to have to beat Serena”. So I definitely will be ready for that.

But Davenport couldn’t travel fulltime with Keys because of her family and commentating responsibilities, so Keys is now working with former ATP player Jesse Levine. It was his 299th match win at a major. He lost in the third round in his first two trips to Melbourne Park in 2000 and ’01 and again last year – in between he won the title four times and lost one final during a run of reaching the semifinals or better in 11 straight years.

Sharapova’s match on Rod Laver Arena was one of only three that began on schedule – the other two were also in stadiums with covered roofs – after light rain delayed play for just over an hour on outside courts.

“I did when I was younger, and I was awful at it. I know what I’m good at, and I know things I’m not gonna excel at”.