Friday 23 January 2015 04:52, UK
Andy Murray kept his unbeaten record over Australian players intact with a dominant 6-1 6-3 6-2 win over Marinko Matosevic to advance to the third round of the Australian Open.
Murray improved to 10-0 against players from Australia with the win and advanced to meet Portugal's Joao Sousa, who advanced after Slovakian Martin Klizan retired in the fourth set of their second round encounter.
The Scot broke the erratic Matosevic's serve seven times and controlled the match with the Australian committing 49 unforced errors to Murray's 12.
"I love Aussies, I get on well with a lot of the players from Australia and it's just luck, I had no idea that was the case," sixth-seeded Murray said of his record.
"But I'm sure in the next few years with the players the Aussies have got coming through, some fantastic young players, I am not sure if I am going to hold on to that record for much longer."
World No 3 Rafael Nadal overcame a bout of body cramp to defeat American challenger Tim Smyczek in five gruelling sets under the lights on Rod Laver Arena.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion and 2009 winner down under looked to be heading out against the world No 112 Smyczek before showing phenomenal guts and determination to fight back.
The Spaniard survived to seal a dramatic 6-2 3-6 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-5 victory in over four hours of action and he will now take on unseeded Israeli Dudi Sela in the third round.
"It was a little bit humid today. I felt very tired after the first set and through the whole match," Nadal said. "I don't know what was going on. I had some cramps around the body in different places so that says I was not in perfect shape. It's not normal after an hour."
World No 2 Maria Sharapova saved two match points on the way to a dramatic 6-1 4-6 7-5 victory over her little-known fellow Russian Alexandra Panova in Melbourne.
"I was dwelling too much on my mistakes, what I was doing wrong, not really being in the present, something that I'm really usually good at," Sharapova said.
"At that point when you're behind and you feel like you're making a lot of errors, you don't feel like you have a good rhythm, I just really tried to take it a point at a time, think positively and change my thought process. When other things aren't working, maybe the mental side of things will help you out. I think in the end maybe that's what did."
Did you know .... Sharapova had not lost to an opponent ranked lower than 150 at a Grand Slam since Alla Kudrytseva beat her at Wimbledon in 2011.
Roger Federer breathed a sigh of relief after surviving an early deficit and an injury scare to reach the third round.
Federer lost the opening set of his second-round match to Italy's Simone Bolelli before calling the trainer to Rod Laver Arena for what initially appeared to be a blister on the little finger of his right hand.
I don't know. It felt like a bee stung me. I never had this pain before - it was disturbing me.
The Swiss star looked decidedly uncomfortable and ushered away a nearby television cameraman - "Do you need to be so close?" - but recovered his composure to eventually secure a 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory.
Asked about the injury, second seed Federer added: "I don't know. It felt like a bee stung me. I never had this pain before - it was disturbing me. I knew taping it wasn't the right thing so I just wanted to speak to the trainer. Thankfully it wasn't as bad at the end."
Did you know ... Federer has always made the third round in 16 attempts in Melbourne and has reached the semi-final stage for the last 11 Australian Opens.
Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov remains on course to face Murray in the last 16 after beating Lukas Lacko in four sets, he now faces Marcos Baghdatis, who knocked out 20th seed David Goffin of Belgium.
There were also wins for Czech ace Tomas Berdych, South African Kevin Anderson and France's Richard Gasquet, the latter pair facing each other in the third round.
Rising Australian younger Nick Kyrgios advanced with a four-set win over big-serving Ivo Karlovic.
In the evening session, seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard demolished Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens 6-0 6-3 with one of the most one-sided displays seen so far at this year's season-opening Grand Slam. And world No 3 Simona Halep breezed past Jarmila Gajdošová 6-2 6-2.
Serena and Venus Williams withdrew from the women's doubles competition before the first round action got underway. Tennis Australia, which handles all of the withdrawals for the tournament, were unable to give a reason why the 13-time Grand Slam and three-time Olympic champions were unable to play their match against 11th seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shedova.
While the searing 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) heat of last year has yet to materialise in Melbourne, temperatures still reached 33C today.
Sam Groth came through the all-Aussie battle against Thanasi Kokkinakis 3-6 6-3 7-5 3-6 6-1. The world No 82 holds the record for the world's fastest serve at 163.4 mph (263 km/h). His fastest serve today was just a mere 143 mph (230 km/h).
Berdych popped the question at the beach. And his now-fiancee, Czech model Ester Satorova, has tweeted a picture of the ring.
The couple announced their engagement at the Australian Open, where the 29-year-old Berdych said he had proposed during a holiday late last year.
"It was simple," said the seventh-ranked Berdych, when asked for details about the proposal. "It was after dinner on the beach." His fiancee offered a bit more colour ...
