Top stars battle heat to advance
17 Jan 2014 5:49 AM IST
After severe temperatures forced organisers to take the rare step of suspending play and closing the stadium roofs, the timing could not have been sweeter for the long-time rivals.
Just hours after Maria Sharapova slugged through three sets in brutal heat on an open Rod Laver Arena, Spain’s Nadal stepped up with the roof closed to blitz world number 570 Thanasi Kokkinakis in less than two hours.
And Swiss Federer, playing simultaneously in a closed and air-conditioned Hisense Arena, produced a classic display as he took apart Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic in front of enraptured Melbourne crowd.
It was an armchair ride for the marquee duo, with five Australian Open titles between them, on a day when temperatures peaked at 43.4 Celsius (110.1 Fahrenheit).
Following days of players fainting, vomiting and complaining about the heat, a suspension was finally announced at 2:00 pm and the full schedule did not resume until 6:00 pm. Japan’s Kei Nishikori was one of the early players but he dispatched Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) to escape the heat in straight sets.
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made heavy weather of his first set against Brazil’s Thomaz Belluci, which was played in the blazing sun, but he steamed through the rest of the match after the Hisense Arena roof rolled shut. World number three Sharapova was not so lucky after the suspension was announced during her third set against Italy’s Karin Knapp, meaning she could not leave the court until the match was over.
Among the evening matches, eighth seed Stanislas Wawrinka battled past Alejandro Falla in four sets, and Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic thrashed Annika Beck 6-1, 6-2. British fourth seed Andy Murray finished strongly to beat French qualifier Vincent Millot in straight sets and reach the third round at the Australian Open on Thursday.
Murray, a three-time beaten finalist in Melbourne, downed Millot 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 in just over two hours. Murray was down two breaks in the final set against the 267th-ranked Millot, but reeled off the last 23 consecutive points to get a double break and serve out for the match.
The Scot ran through the first two sets but encountered stiffer resistance from the French left-hander, who won his first Grand Slam match in the opening round against American Wayne Odesnik.
‘I’ve been in the final here three times and this is the tournament I love and I want to try and win,’ he said after advancing. Top seed Nadal admitted he was ‘very glad’ to play under the stadium roof after his campaign accelerated with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory against willing but outgunned local hope Kokkinakis.
A serve-volleying Federer showed distinct shades of his new coach, Stefan Edberg, as he overwhelmed Kavcic 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) win in one hour 47 minutes.
Elsewhere 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki, newly engaged to golfer Rory McIlroy, said she had belief she could win her first major title after a hot-and-cold 6-0, 1-6, 6-2 win over America’s Christina McHale.
Polish fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska was another of the senior women’s players to go through, beating Olga Govortsova 6-0, 7-5.
Just hours after Maria Sharapova slugged through three sets in brutal heat on an open Rod Laver Arena, Spain’s Nadal stepped up with the roof closed to blitz world number 570 Thanasi Kokkinakis in less than two hours.
And Swiss Federer, playing simultaneously in a closed and air-conditioned Hisense Arena, produced a classic display as he took apart Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic in front of enraptured Melbourne crowd.
It was an armchair ride for the marquee duo, with five Australian Open titles between them, on a day when temperatures peaked at 43.4 Celsius (110.1 Fahrenheit).
Following days of players fainting, vomiting and complaining about the heat, a suspension was finally announced at 2:00 pm and the full schedule did not resume until 6:00 pm. Japan’s Kei Nishikori was one of the early players but he dispatched Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) to escape the heat in straight sets.
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made heavy weather of his first set against Brazil’s Thomaz Belluci, which was played in the blazing sun, but he steamed through the rest of the match after the Hisense Arena roof rolled shut. World number three Sharapova was not so lucky after the suspension was announced during her third set against Italy’s Karin Knapp, meaning she could not leave the court until the match was over.
Among the evening matches, eighth seed Stanislas Wawrinka battled past Alejandro Falla in four sets, and Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic thrashed Annika Beck 6-1, 6-2. British fourth seed Andy Murray finished strongly to beat French qualifier Vincent Millot in straight sets and reach the third round at the Australian Open on Thursday.
Murray, a three-time beaten finalist in Melbourne, downed Millot 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 in just over two hours. Murray was down two breaks in the final set against the 267th-ranked Millot, but reeled off the last 23 consecutive points to get a double break and serve out for the match.
The Scot ran through the first two sets but encountered stiffer resistance from the French left-hander, who won his first Grand Slam match in the opening round against American Wayne Odesnik.
‘I’ve been in the final here three times and this is the tournament I love and I want to try and win,’ he said after advancing. Top seed Nadal admitted he was ‘very glad’ to play under the stadium roof after his campaign accelerated with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory against willing but outgunned local hope Kokkinakis.
A serve-volleying Federer showed distinct shades of his new coach, Stefan Edberg, as he overwhelmed Kavcic 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) win in one hour 47 minutes.
Elsewhere 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki, newly engaged to golfer Rory McIlroy, said she had belief she could win her first major title after a hot-and-cold 6-0, 1-6, 6-2 win over America’s Christina McHale.
Polish fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska was another of the senior women’s players to go through, beating Olga Govortsova 6-0, 7-5.
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