Well, that’s your lot. But what a day it’s been. Andy Murray and Johanna Konta are both through to week two, as are Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils, David Ferrer and John Isner. The big shock of the day came in the women’s draw, where Garbiñe Muguruza, the third seed, was defeated in straight sets by Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic. And Ana Ivanovic is out, losing in three sets after her coach, Nigel Sears – who is Andy Murray’s father-in-law – collapsed in the stands midway through her three-set defeat to Madison Keys. Thanks for reading and commenting, and don’t forget to check back in tomorrow, when Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will all be in action. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!
Tomic plays Murray next. He’s never beaten Andy before, and it’s hard to see him troubling the Scot with this kind of up-and-down performance. True, he clobbered 48 winners – but he also made 33 unforced errors, and long rallies are not his forte. Nevertheless, asked by courtside interviewer Jim Courier about his prospects, Tomic replies: “I need to play the tennis I’ve been playing for the past month and really take it to him.” We shall see.
Game, set and match Tomic!
Third set: Tomic 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 Millman
As errors begin to creep into the Millman game, he falls 0-40 behind to bring up three match points for Tomic. The 16th seed only needs the one. A deep backhand return elicits a short ball from Millman, and Tomic slots away a forehand courtesy of the net cord. That’s tough on the older man, but he can look back with pride on his run in Melbourne.
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Third set: Tomic* 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 5-2 Millman
As we pass the two-hour mark, Tomic moves within a game of the second week. It wasn’t a wholly convincing showing on serve from the 16th seed, but it was enough.
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Third set: Tomic 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 4-2 Millman*
Not to be outdone, Millman secures a quick hold of his own. Even so, the outcome is in the hands of Tomic now.
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Third set: Tomic* 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 4-1 Millman
With the break in the bag, Tomic speeds to 4-1 in the blink of an eye. He’s won 79% of first service points in this set, which more or less matches his performance on serve throughout the match. It’s been about the only constant in the younger man’s game.
Third set: Tomic 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 3-1 Millman*
Tomic has fashioned a career out of flattering to deceive, and he’s not about to change now. One moment he’s wellying forehand winners, the next he can barely find the court. Still, he makes good on his shotmaking here, breaking Millman – whose spectacular court coverage on one point was a sight to behold – with some devastating return play. That, you fear, could be that.
Third set: Tomic* 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 2-1 Millman
An unsuccessful challenge from Millman on game point confirms another Tomic hold. The pattern of the match continues, with little to choose between the two men despite Tomic’s two-set lead.
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Third set: Tomic 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 1-1 Millman*
Millman hits back with a solid hold of his own, pointing to his head as if to signal to Tomic that he’s not yet beaten mentally. The question is, who is he trying to convince – himself or his opponent?
Third set: Tomic* 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 Millman
With the finish line coming into view – albeit still a way off – Tomic begins the third set confidently on serve.
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Tomic wins the second set tiebreak 7-4!
Second set: Tomic 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) Millman
Tomic looks lackadaisical at the best of times, so it can be hard to tell whether he’s struggling in a match or simply biding his time. The manner in which he goes about claiming the tiebreak doesn’t really shed much light on that conundrum. Although he eventually wins it with something to spare, there’s an obvious lack of conviction about his play in the opening few points. Millman somehow manages to fall behind regardless, but claws his way back into the breaker and, at 4-5 with two points on serve to come, has a real opportunity to square things. Instead, he loses both and Tomic makes no mistake, claiming the set at the first time of asking with a sturdy serve. It’s hard on Millman, who finds himself two sets down despite rarely having been outshone by his more feted opponent.
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Second set: Tomic* 6-4, 6-6 Millman
A double fault at 40-0 is the only sign of vulnerability from Tomic, who clinches an impressive service game to 15 with a deep first delivery. We’re into a tiebreak.
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Second set: Tomic 6-4, 5-6 Millman*
Millman greets another successful service game with a determined look to his box and another fist pump. If he can win the next game, it’ll raise the roof.
Second set: Tomic* 6-4, 5-5 Millman
Tomic draws level again, but it takes a successful challenge at deuce to do so. Perhaps disappointed after coming within a whisker of a set point, Millman seems to suffer a loss of concentration on the next point, scooping a forehand long following a probing exchange of backhands.
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Second set: Tomic 6-4, 4-5 Millman*
The Tomic forehand may be faltering, but his backhand looks to be in fine nick. At 40-30, he treats a Millman first serve with brutal contempt, slamming a backhand winner down the line. Millman, though, simply refuses to lie down. Unperturbed when the up-and-down Tomic flicks a forehand for a winner on game point, he works his way back to another before slotting away a volley. It moves him within a game of the set. Excellent play from the older man.
Second set: Tomic* 6-4, 4-4 Millman
With Tomic apparently suffering a sudden loss of faith in his forehand, Millman senses blood. He opens up a 15-40 lead with some hefty hitting from the back. Tomic saves the first break point with a brave foray into the forecourt, but he screws a forehand into the alley on the next to relinquish the edge in this set. There’s life in this yet.
Second set: Tomic 6-4, 4-3 Millman*
Having lost just two points in his first three service games of the set, Millman is finally broken. It’s a Tomic forehand, slapped hard and low, that does the decisive damage. That’s a real blow for Millman.
Second set: Tomic* 6-4, 3-3 Millman
The Tomic serve has been arguably the most impressive shot on show so far, and it’s no surprise when a 10th ace sets him on course for another convincing hold.
Second set: Tomic 6-4, 2-3 Millman*
Millman shows delightful touch, sealing his service game with a finely judged drop shot that the flat-footed Tomic can only watch and admire. He likes that, does Millman, pumping his fist in delight as he edges ahead once more.
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Second set: Tomic* 6-4, 2-2 Millman
Despite seeing his opponent conjure a lovely half-volley winner off a ferocious forehand down the line, Tomic saunters to another relatively untroubled hold.
Second set: Tomic 6-4, 1-2 Millman*
With a wave of the fist, Millman forges ahead once more courtesy of a comfortable hold. Much of the support he is enjoying here stems, you suspect, from the fine sportsmanship he showed against Diego Schwartzman in the opening round after the Argentinian collapsed with cramp. Some players would simply have backed off, preserving their focus while waiting for their opponent to either recover or retire. But Millman rushed to help the stricken Schwartzman, endearing himself to the home crowd in the process.
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Second set: Tomic* 6-4, 1-1 Millman
Tomic races into a lead in his opening service game of the set, but Millman is fighting for every ball now and forces it back to deuce. It proves a fruitless quest, however, as Tomic sees out the game with some forceful hitting.
Second set: Tomic 6-4, 0-1 Millman*
An excellent start to the second set from Millman, who pounds down some penetrating serves to clinch a love game. There’s a spring in his step and it looks like he’s determined to consign that opening set to history. There’s no reason why he can’t, either. While Tomic is raising his game in fits and starts, there’s not a whole lot between the two so far.
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Tomic wins the first set!
First set: Tomic* 6-4 Millman (*denotes server)
Some aggressive hitting from the back carries Millman to 0-30, but Tomic fires down consecutive aces to pull level. Another big serve from the 16th seed brings up set point, and he clinches the opener at the first time of asking after the best rally so far, clinching a nip-and-tuck exchange with a flicked half-volley.
First set: Tomic 5-4 Millman* (*denotes server)
Muted, did I say? When Tomic narrowly misses after attempting to blast a forehand winner at 15-40, a meaty roar goes up. It doesn’t seem to help Millman too much, what with Tomic sealing the break on the next point and all, but it’s another reminder of where the crowd’s loyalties lie. Tomic to serve for the set.
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First set: Tomic* 4-4 Millman (*denotes server)
This match marks a perceptible change of tempo after the Murray-Sousa clash. Neither player really relies on power, and it’s making for some nice rallies. It’s yet to scale the heights, though, and with the stands gradually emptying as the night session draws towards a close, the atmosphere out on Rod Laver arena feels a bit muted. None of that appears to worry Tomic, however, as he draws level with some good serving.
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First set: Tomic 3-4 Millman* (*denotes server)
Plucky play from Millman, who finds himself 15-40 down but recovers with an ace before drawing an error from Tomic. He follows up with a lovely forehand winner, but then gets caught at his feet by a deep return. Millman survives another break point when Tomic drives narrowly wide, and he makes the most of the reprieve by wrong-footing his compatriot with a penetrating forehand.
First set: Tomic* 3-3 Millman (*denotes server)
Taking a leaf out of Nick Kyrgios’s book – which, let’s face it, is not always the best idea – Tomic complains to the umpire that he can hear music. Kyrgios was rattled by the raucous din of Kevin Pietersen and company over at the nearby MCG. Not sure what the problem is tonight, but it doesn’t seem to trouble Tomic unduly as – raising his game noticeably – he seals an easy hold.
First set: Tomic 2-3 Millman* (*denotes server)
Some fine serving from Millman carries him to a secure hold. He looks to be relaxing into this.
First set: Tomic* 2-2 Millman (*denotes server)
Better and better from Millman, who gets back on level terms after an unsuccessful challenge by Tomic. You have to wonder what the home crowd makes of Tomic, a former Orange Bowl winner whose failure to make more of his talent has been a source of frustration to many observers. Certainly Millman seems to be receiving the stronger support so far.
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First set: Tomic 2-1 Millman* (*denotes server)
Millman steadies the ship with a more confident service game. That should encourage the 26-year-old Queenslander, who can be forgiven a few nerves given that, going into this event, he had just a single victory to his name in a major.
So far, so Tomic. Living up to his “Tomic the Tank Engine” moniker, he motors away with the opening two games, holding to love after a shaky start by Millman.
There’s still one more match to go, and it promises to be a belter. Lleyton Hewitt may have disappeared into the south-eastern sunset, but life goes on for Australian tennis. And the final match on Rod Laver arena is brimming with domestic interest as 16th-seeded Bernard Tomic takes on fellow Aussie John Millman. Ranked 95 in the world, Millman is contesting the third round of a slam for the first time after beating Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, the world No38, in the previous round. Only a year ago, he was recovering from shoulder surgery for the second time in his career and ranked outside the top 1,000. Tomic, on the other hand, once hailed as the next great hope of Aussie tennis, is widely regarded as one of the game’s great underachievers. On paper, at least, it’s a match of fascinating contrasts; let’s see what unfolds.
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Madison Keys beats Ana Ivanovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4!
A dreadful forehand error by Ivanovic at 30-30 – racing on to a short ball that was just begging to be put out of its misery, she hammered the ball wide and long – brings up a match point for Keys. The Serb saves it with a wonderful backhand winner, and safely negotiates another a couple of points later, but Keys is not to be denied. A third opportunity to seal the match in her sights, Keys makes her way to the net behind a trademark big serve and angles off a volley that the scrambling Ivanovic can barely get a racket on. Unsurprisingly, Ana leaves the court immediately, doubtless eager to find out how her coach Nigel Sears is doing after collapsing during the match.
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After reaching 40-0 with some typically forthright hitting, Ivanovic is stopped in her tracks. Keys runs down a drop shot attempt, replying with a short ball of her own that the Serb can only scrape back weakly. The American hammers away the resulting overhead, and is soon pounding a forehand winner to give Ivanovic further cause for concern. Ana holds on for 5-4, but Keys will now serve for the match.
Let’s turn our attention now to Rod Laver arena, where Ana Ivanovic has been reeled back in by Madison Keys. The American, who trailed 3-1 at one stage, has just clobbered a massive forehand to seal a hold. It’s her fifth game in succession, and she now leads 5-3.
Andy Murray beats João Sousa to reach the last 16!
Murray serves out the fourth set to complete a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. Sousa leaves the court to warm applause, and how well he acquitted himself. The Portuguese served better than we thought he might, and some of his baseline play was nothing short of exquisite. But Murray recovered well after losing his first set of the tournament and remains a strong bet to reach a fifth final in Melbourne.
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Ana Ivanovic, meanwhile, is 3-2 up in the final set against Madison Keys. Murray may be unaware of events on Rod Laver arena, but you have to feel for Ivanovic, who has been playing some fine tennis since employing Nigel Sears as her coach for a second time. She wouldn’t be human if the situation weren’t preying on her mind.
As we hit the two and a half hour mark, Murray unleashes a barrage of big shots to chalk up a love game. Just for good measure, he rounds it off with a huge ace out wide. Murray leads 4-2, and this match is surely only going one way now.
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Having thrown himself into a huge forehand – both feet leave the ground – Murray rages at himself when an error takes Sousa, who is serving at 2-2, to 30-15. All is not lost, though. Having clawed his way back to deuce, Murray clinches a lengthy baseline exchange with a lovely backhand winner. An early return secures the break, and that’s reward for some really enterprising play by the Scot. The quality of Sousa’s baseline game has forced Murray to open his shoulders, but the clock is surely ticking on the Portuguese now.
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Madison Keys has just won the second set 6-4 to square proceedings against Ana Ivanovic on Rod Laver. Meanwhile, Sousa plays one of his best points so far, holding for 2-1 with a blistering forehand winner. He’ll need to sustain that level of aggression if he’s to take this match into a fifth set, but it’s nevertheless food for thought for Murray.
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Hands on hips, Sousa looks up at his coach Frederico Marques in exasperation. And well he might, after netting an eminently makeable backhand to go 30-0 down. Things don’t get any better for Sousa from there, Murray sealing his third love service game of the match to draw level at 1-1 in the fourth.
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Serving at 30-30 in the opening game of the fourth, Sousa stabs a two-hander long to bring up break point. But the Portuguese extricates himself from the situation in quite superb fashion, driving Murray out wide on the backhand before pounding a forehand winner into the open court. He sees out the game with a penetrating body serve, but that’s an opportunity missed by Murray.
As Murray seals the third set 6-2, over on Rod Laver arena Ana Ivanovic has just been broken, leaving the battle of the big-hitters locked at 4-4 in the second set. Good to see that the Serb – who made the final in Melbourne in 2008, a few months before lifting the French Open title, her only major to date – has managed to put the uncertainty surrounding the condition of her coach, Nigel Sears, to one side for now. You can find out more about the incident in this report, fresh in from our man in Melbourne Kevin Mitchell.
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Jamie Murray has told Press Association Sport that Nigel Sears is “conscious, talking and sitting up”. Meanwhile, Jamie’s brother is 5-2 ahead in the third after a battling hold by Sousa. He’s looking far more comfortable now.
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Meanwhile, back on Margaret Court, Murray has just secured a second break to move 4-1 ahead in the third set. Sousa led 40-0 in that game, but from there Murray got the better of a series of cat-and-mouse baseline exchanges to reel in his opponent. After an erratic second set from the second seed, it’s Sousa making the bulk of the errors now. The silken start that both players made to this match seems very much a thing of the past at this stage.
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The news from Rod Laver arena is that Ana Ivanovic and Madison Keys are back on court. Play was stopped for 50 minutes, and Ivanovic leads 6-4, 1-0.
Make that 2-0 Murray, as the Scot makes good on the break with a delicious drop shot to hold his own serve. There was some fine serving along the way, too. It would seem that losing his first set of the tournament has sparked the second seed back into life. The question is, will Sousa respond?
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Murray has broken in the opening game of the third set! It wasn’t easy – in fact it took all of seven minutes – but the Scot, bristling with intensity and racing around like the proverbial gazelle, is a game to the good despite missing a break point at 30-40. After making no fewer than 16 unforced errors in the previous set, he needed that.
Positive news from Rod Laver arena, where it would appear that play will shortly resume in the match between Ana Ivanovic and Madison Keys. Hopefully that would suggest Nigel Sears is OK. Reuters have just filed this report on the incident:
The coach of Ana Ivanovic, and father-in-law of men’s world number two Andy Murray, collapsed in the stands at Rod Laver Arena during the Serb’s third round clash with American Madison Keys on Saturday, causing play to be suspended indefinitely.
A Reuters witness said that Nigel Sears was conscious and appeared to be speaking to medical staff as they treated him before he was taken out of the stadium on a stretcher and then to hospital.
Ivanovic was leading 1-0 in the second set after taking the first 6-4 when play was halted as the players went to change ends.
Television microphones picked up her talking to chair umpire Felix Torralba that she thought the person being treated was her coach.
Meanwhile, Sousa has just won the second set against Andy Murray! Holding two set points at 5-3, 15-40 on the Murray serve, the Portuguese shanks a forehand long to give the second seed some momentary respite. But at 30-40, he canes an inside-out forehand to leave Murray threshing at thin air. With an hour and 22 minutes gone, we’re all square.
It would appear that the Ivanovic-Keys match was stopped after Nigel Sears – the Serb’s coach and Andy Murray’s father-in-law – collapsed in the stands. Ivanovic was understandably distressed and left the court soon afterwards.
Meanwhile, Sousa continues to look impressive. Well, if you overlook the sitter of a drop volley he’s just missed, obviously. Still, let’s not dwell on that. Suffice to say that the Portuguese held in imposing fashion to go 3-1 up, before Murray battled to another hold after seeing a 40-15 lead hauled back by Sousa. Responding in kind, the Portuguese has just held to go 4-2 up.
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The match between the 20th seed Ana Ivanovic, who claimed the first set 6-4 against the American Madison Keys over on Rod Laver arena, has been indefinitely suspended. The details are sketchy so far, but it would appear that someone in the crowd has been taken ill. It’s a case of groundhog day for Ivanovic, whose match against Anastasija Sevastova in the previous round was interrupted in similar fashion when a spectator fell down the stairs. The Serb was pretty shaken up by that incident. I’ll update you on the situation as soon as I know more.
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Back on Margaret Court, Sousa has just missed an opportunity to go 3-0 up. After consolidating that early break in impressive style, the Portuguese failed to take advantage of some wobbly moments from Murray, who holds to claim a foothold in the set. You wonder if Sousa will have cause to regret that.
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Meanwhile, Adrian Haughey is not happy with the scheduling in Melbourne. “I had tickets to six nights in Rod Laver, a couple of good Christmas presents, with the main hope of seeing Federer at least once,” he writes. Sounds good so far, Adrian. “I was expecting it last night, but the home man got on. Kyrgios was at least entertaining – he’s such a fool – but I can’t understand the second seed being on Margaret Court tonight and the Tomic v Millman match taking centre stage. Luckily, I offloaded them and got tomorrow instead. Hoping all Australians exit early next year. I’m Irish.” In fairness, Adrian, the home crowd has been waiting for one of their own to win the title since 1976, when Mark Edmondson beat fellow countryman John Newcombe. So I can’t imagine you’ll get too much sympathy from our Aussie readers.
But what’s this? A break point for Sousa in the opening game of the second set? It is you know. Not that Murray looks unduly perturbed. The second seed makes his way into the forecourt, from where he sends Sousa scrambling forward with a deftly angled short volley. The Portuguese gets there, but Murray is on his toes and guides the ball safely back into the open court. From there, you expect him to ease ahead once again. But Sousa has other ideas, carving out another break point opportunity with a forward rush of his own before drawing an error from the second seed, who drives a backhand long. Looks like Andy has a match on his hands.
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Make that 6-2, courtesy of an error-strewn game from Sousa. What a turnaround. For a quarter of an hour or so, it looked like we could be in for quite a match. But Murray reeled off the next four games in succession, and this now looks an altogether different proposition for the Portuguese, who needs to rediscover the mental and technical equilibrium of the first four games quickly if he harbours ambitions of a place in the last 16.
Back on Margaret Court arena, Murray has drawn first blood against Sousa. Having saved a break point with an ace in the previous game, the Scot converts a break point of his own after a wild backhand error from the Portuguese. Can he consolidate the break? Yes he can. Murray races through the next game to go 5-2 up in just 26 minutes. After a slow start, he looks to have found his rhythm.
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Returning to earlier results for a moment, I should mention that Stan Wawrinka came through a potentially tricky test against the Czech Lukas Rosol. The Swiss won 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 and will next face Milos Raonic, who saw off Viktor Troicki in straight sets. Gael Monfils won with something to spare against countryman Stéphane Robert, and David Ferrer cantered past the American Steve Johnson 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. But there was better news for Johnson’s compatriot John Isner, who squeezed past Feliciano Lopez in four. Andrey Kuznetsov is also through, the Russian defeating Dudi Sela of Israel in four sets.
With nine minutes on the clock, Sousa brings up the first break point courtesy of some superb shotmaking. A venomous off forehand and a scorching backhand winner are among the highlights from the Portuguese, but Murray is alive to the danger. He saves the break point with some probing play from the baseline, and celebrates with a meaty cry of “Come on!” Murray wraps up the game a couple of points later with a brilliant running forehand winner, flicked almost nonchalantly crosscourt, but that was a warning shot across the bows from Sousa, make no mistake.
Sam Groth, eat your heart out: Sousa has hit back with a love game on serve, if you please. The stylish Portuguese is living up to Murray’s pre-match expectations, producing some lovely groundstrokes and covering the court with feline athleticism. This could prove tougher for Murray than predicted in some quarters.
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Meanwhile, Murray has started well against Sousa. A combination of some breezy serving and a lucky net cord on the second point sees him over the line for a comfortable hold.
There was a huge shock in the women’s draw as the third-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza, fancied by some to go all the way in Melbourne, crashed out against Barbora Strycova. The likeable Spaniard lost 6-3, 6-2 to the 48th-ranked Czech, who will next face Viktoria Azarenka, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Naomi Osaka of Japan.
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So what of earlier events? Well, it’s been a good day so far for British tennis, what with the irrepressible Johanna Konta giving Denisa Allertova a rare old run around in the first match on Hisense arena. Konta, who took down Venus Williams in the opening round, overcame the 66th-ranked Czech 6-2, 6-2 to move within one victory of becoming the first British woman to reach a grand slam quarter-final since Jo Durie made the last eight at Wimbledon in 1984. That should put a spring in Murray’s step as he shuffles on to the court behind Sousa, whose back-to-front cap routine leaves him faintly resembling a Lleyton Hewitt tribute act.
And what of Sousa, you ask? Well, the Portuguese – who extended Murray to four sets at Roland Garros last year – recently spent a week training with Rafael Nadal in Majorca, and appears to be in appropriately bullish mood about the prospect of meeting Murray in Melbourne for a third time in four years. “In Portugal we say the third is the one, so perhaps they are right,” said Sousa after seeing off the Colombian Santiago Giraldo in four sets in round two. We’ll soon see.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the night session on day six at Melbourne Park. We’ll dot the i’s and cross the t’s on results so far today in just a moment, but first let’s turn our attention to Andy Murray. The second seed will shortly be making his way on to Margaret Court arena for his third round match against Portugal’s João Sousa. Murray has won all six of his previous encounters against the 33rd-ranked Sousa, and there is every reason to suppose that the man from Guimarães could be in for further pain today. Murray, who snuffed out Sousa’s challenge at this event in straight sets last year and also in 2013, has been making serene progress through the bottom half of the draw. In seeing off the promising young German Alexander Zverev and the big-serving Aussie Sam Groth with minimal fuss and maximum aplomb, he’s spent a combined total of just three hours and 38 minutes on court. Stylistic variety has been the keynote of his campaign so far, with the world No2 adapting his game to the contrasting styles of his opponents. Looking ahead to his match against Sousa, he anticipated the need for further tinkering. “They’re three very, very different players,” Murray said. “Zverez in comparison to Sousa has a huge serve and a fantastic backhand, while Sousa doesn’t serve as well but moves terrifically well and uses his forehand more. Groth is the opposite to both of them, coming forward all the time, using a lot of slice and attacking as much as possible ... I’m aware that there’s going to be a lot of longer rallies [against Sousa] and it’s about being more solid and consistent from the back of the court.”
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