Sublime Johanna Konta sees off eighth-seed Venus Williams in Australian Open

Djokovic needed less than two hours to beat the teenager from South Korea 6-3 6-2 6-4, but was still constantly reaching for ice vests and water in the blistering heat on Rod Laver Arena.

“It was of course a tough match to lose after five hours and nearly 50 minutes, 40 minutes”.

Verdasco said he had watched a full replay of the 2009 semi-final about 10 times to learn from his mistakes but felt he was suffering a touch of deja vu on Tuesday.

Williams showed glimpses of her best tennis to rally from 5-0 to 5-2 in the second set but it only delayed the inevitable and 24-year-old Konta secured the upset when the former world number one netted a return.

Eighth seed Venus Williams has provided Australian Open fans with the shock of the tournament so far after she was bundled out by World No. 47 Johanna Konta of Britain here on Tuesday.

“I would say it’s a pretty s***ty start to the season”, Wozniacki said.

Murray has said he’ll leave immediately, regardless of the stage of the tournament, if his wife, Kim, goes into labor in London with their first child.

“I didn’t think it would be such a big story”, Williams said Monday.

“Definitely gives me a bit of a lift in confidence because this year I haven’t been able to play properly yet. But Kim will message my team if anything’s going on during the matches, and I’ll see what happens”.

Hsieh, a two-time grand slam doubles champion, prised three break points but the American saved them all and closed out the match with her seventh ace.

Venus Williams has been fined $5,000 by tournament organizers for skipping a news conference after her first-round exit at the Australian Open.

No. 5 Maria Sharpova, who lost to Williams in last year’s final, breezed through her first-round match 6-1, 6-3 against Nao Hibino of Japan.

She beat ninth-seeded Garbine Muguruza on the way to the fourth round of the U.S. Open a year ago and also has a win over No. 2 Simona Halep.

Andrea Petkovic (Wuhan Open, September 2015): Konta continued her impressive form at the Wuhan Open where, after winning two qualifying matches, she once again overcame German Petkovic to reach the second round.

Federer will next play Grigor Dimitrov, who has a style that has been compared with Federer’s, after the No. 27-seeded player beat Marco Trungelliti 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Milos Raonic followed up his victory at the Brisbane International with a clinical, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 first-round win over Lucas Pouille on the second day of the season’s first major.

Japanese players had a mixed day with Naomi Osaka moving into the second round, while Yuichi Sugita fell to France’s Gael Monfils. Verdaso is a 32-year-old Spaniard who plays left-handed with a two-handed backhand.

The second set was a virtual walkover as Konta broke her opponent’s spirit with some scintillating tennis.