MELBOURNE // Andy Murray looked every bit the world No 1 as he gave a Russian teenager Andrey Rublev a lesson in grand slam tennis to reach the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 win on Wednesday.
The Briton was troubled only briefly by a rolled ankle after taking a nasty tumble in the third set on Rod Laver Arena and raced on to a meeting with American Sam Querrey in one hour, 37 minutes.
Five times a losing finalist at Melbourne Park, Murray had laboured through his opening-round victory over Illya Marchenko in the full heat of the opening day of the tournament.
Wednesday’s performance was of a far higher calibre and he delighted the crowd by sending Rublev chasing around the court with a series of deft shots to set up match point, which he converted when the qualifier went long.
Good Evans
Britain’s Dan Evans claimed the biggest victory of his career when he stunned world No 7 Marin Cilic at the Australian Open. Evans, 26, came from behind to beat the Croatian former US Open champion 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 and reach the third round, equalling his best grand slam performance.
It was only Evans’ second win against top-10 opposition, after he defeated eighth-ranked Dominic Thiem this month in Sydney.
Evans, whose first-round victory over Facundo Bagnis was his first win at the Australian Open, will next play either Australia’s Bernard Tomic or Victor Estrella Burgos.
Evans, ranked 51, only broke into the top 100 last year but he reached the third round at both Wimbledon and the US Open in what became a watershed season. “To come through in the last match point was pleasing for me,” he said.
“I struggled with the shade on the court and his pace on the ball was coming through pretty quick, but when the sun went down I got into the match.”
Seppi gets his revenge with win over Kyrgios
Italian Andreas Seppi avenged a five-set loss two years ago with an epic victory to dump wayward home hope Nick Kyrgios out of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
In a madcap match played in a charged atmosphere, 14th seed Kyrgios looked in command with a two sets lead before a familiar meltdown in the third set changed the complexion of the contest.
The 89th-ranked Seppi, who saved a match point, advanced to a third-round match with Belgium’s Steve Darcis with a 1-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 10-8 win in three hours, nine minutes.
Kyrgios won a five-set scrap with Seppi on the same Hisense Arena court in 2015, taking their fourth round match 8-6 in the fifth set.
“Maybe it was meant to be,” Seppi said of avenging his 2015 loss to the 21-year-old Australian. “It was a tough match and I couldn’t get into a rhythm and fell 2-0 sets behind. I kept fighting and started to play well in the important moments.
“I was concentrating on my game and not worrying about he was doing. It was important to keep going and to stay focused.”
Keber celebrates birthday with win
Defending champion Angelique Kerber celebrated her 29th birthday with a gritty win at the Australian Open on Wednesday – and was rewarded by fans serenading her on centre court.
The top seed beat 89th-ranked fellow German Carina Witthoeft but the Round 2 win was far from gift-wrapped and Kerber had to overcome a second-set stutter before taking it 6-2, 6-7, 6-2.
As an impromptu rendition of “Happy Birthday” rang out, Kerber, who will next play Czech Kristyna Pliskova, said she was still getting to grips with being world No 1.
“To have this pressure is a privilege. It’s completely new for me, but I’m doing well. I’m just trying to enjoy it,” she said.
Kerber joined Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova in Round 3 as the grand slam tournament-winning veterans enjoyed smooth progress in sunny conditions on Day 3.
Cilic crashes out
Dan Evans came from set down to upset seventh seed and former US Open champion Marin Cilic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The gutsy world No 51, who reached his first ATP Tour final in Sydney last week, set up a contest with Australia’s Bernard Tomic or Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos.
Ranked in the high 700s only a couple of years ago, Evans was grinning from ear to ear after recording the biggest win of his career in a shade under three hours on Court Three.
Croatian Cilic, who won his sole grand slam crown at Flushing Meadow in 2014, mixed 55 winners with 69 unforced errors and was able to convert just three of 19 break points during the match.
Evans scored his first ever win over a top-10 player as recently as last week, beating Austria’s Dominic Thiem en route to the Sydney final.
Federer beats late surge
Roger Federer did not have things all his own way as he got past spirited American qualifier Noah Rubin to reach the Australian Open third round in a tough three-setter on Wednesday.
The 17-time grand slam champion, seeded 17, fought back from a break down in the final set to win 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 and will next face long-time rival Tomas Berdych.
Federer, 35, had his service broken for the first time in the final set and the 200th-ranked Rubin was serving to take it into a fourth set before the Swiss hero clawed back to force a tiebreaker.
His big-match experience and composure was enough to pull him through and take the match in 2hr 4min on Rod Laver Arena.
“I have played out here many, many times, that’s my advantage maybe,” Federer said of his first meeting with the 20-year-old American, a Wimbledon junior champion three years ago. “I did see a bit of Noah going into this match. He’s been around for a couple of years now.
“It’s great to get to see a few matches now. Yeah, plays well. Great fighter. Great legs. Aggressive on the ball.
“My serving kept me in the match today and happy I got through somehow.”
It was Federer’s second win against a qualifier at this year’s Open after he defeated experienced Austrian Jurgen Melzer in four sets on Monday.
Federer is coming off an injury-hit 2016 following knee surgery which forced him to miss the Rio Olympic Games.
The Swiss great also dropped out of the world’s top 10 for the first time in more than 14 years in November, and did not qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time since 2001.
He said he likes the way things are coming together at the year’s first major tournament, but he knows he will have to lift his game against the 10th-ranked Tomas Berdych, whom he will meet in Round 3.
“It’s super-early in the draw. The court plays fast, he’s caused difficulties for me in the past on faster courts,” Federer said of Berdych.
“I know what he’s got. I don’t need to tell you where he’s beaten me. Then again I’ve played him here, played him on many occasions, as well, when it went my way.”
Wawrinka: Norman ‘final piece of puzzle’
Stan Wawrinka says bringing Magnus Norman on board as coach was the “final piece in the puzzle” that helped transform him from underachiever to grand slam champion.
The Swiss, who crushed American Steve Johnson 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Australian Open, had never been beyond the quarter-finals of a grand slam event before the pair teamed up in April 2013.
Since then, Wawrinka has won three major titles and established himself inside the world’s top five.
“He’s the one who came to add the last piece of the puzzle, I would say,” Wawrinka said. “He arrived when I was probably ready to be where I am right now, and he showed me the way.
“He’s a big part of my success, that’s for sure, because since he arrived I am a completely different player [although] my success now is also because of everything I have done for 15 years.”
Victorious Bouchard says forget about past
Eugenie Bouchard said she wanted to forget her troubled past and look to the future on Wednesday as her return to form gathered pace with an impressive win at the Australian Open.
Bouchard, 22, on the comeback trail after her high-flying career plunged into a tailspin, came through a testing tiebreaker against tricky Chinese Peng Shuai to win 7-6, 6-2 and reach the third round.
Bouchard became one of the most bankable assets in women’s tennis in 2014 when she stormed to the Wimbledon final as well as the semi-finals of the Australian and French Opens.
But the confident, charismatic Canadian then saw her career nosedive in 2015 and her ranking slump. She also suffered concussion after slipping and falling in the locker-room at the US Open.
Bouchard says she has now rediscovered her motivation. “I have learned a lot about the ups and downs of tennis, that that is how life goes sometimes,” she said. “I have learned how to better handle the pressure.”
But Bouchard said she is also keen to put the past behind her as she targets a return to the top 20, from her ranking of 47.
“I’m not thinking about the past anymore, I’m tired of thinking and talking about it,” she said. “There’s no point looking back. For me, it’s only about the future. The first goal is to get back into the top 20. I don’t know when, though.”
Nishikori and Tsonga are through
Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori marched into the third round alongside former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, with both winning in straight sets.
Nishikori was extended to five sets in his first-round win over Andrey Kuznetsov, but he found the going a little easier in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Jeremy Chardy.
However, he said he had not completely clicked into gear, complaining of “up and down” form after he was broken three times by the 72nd-ranked Frenchman.
“It was too much up and down, too many service breaks for me, but it’s great to win in straight sets,” said Nishikori, who had his serve broken three times by Chardy. “I am hoping to get my ranking up and I played much better than I did in the first round.”
Nishikori, who believes he is due a first major win this year, next plays either Lukas Llacko or Dudi Sela, with Tomas Berdych potentially awaiting in the fourth round.
France’s Tsonga, who is seeded 12th and was runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2008, beat Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to go through.
Venus continues to progress
In the women’s draw, 36-year-old Williams continued her smooth progress when she beat qualifier Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 to set up a meeting with China’s Duan Yingying.
“I don’t know anything about her. I have never seen her play. Zero, like zero,” Williams said of Duan.
Williams, the oldest player in the women’s draw, pulled out of the doubles competition with her sister Serena as a precaution to rest a sore elbow.
Russia’s Kuznetsova thrashed Australian wildcard Jaimee Fourlis 6-2, 6-1 to set up a third-round clash with 31-year-old Serb Jelena Jankovic.
* Agencies
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