And that’s all from me. Thanks for reading. The blog will be back tomorrow morning. Bye.
Rafael Nadal beats Dudi Sela 6-1, 6-0, 7-5
It’s not in the class of Wawrinka’s backhand, but Sela’s is still a dangerous weapon, and he uses it to good effect on the first point, making it 15-0 with a lovely pass. Nadal hits back with a forehand down the line to make it 15-all, before a point has to be replayed because of an errant line call. Which is a good thing, because it turns out to be a treat, Sela dragging Nadal forward with a drop shot and then embarrassing himself with a lob. 30-15. Nadals turn up the power, though, to make it 30-all and stands two points from victory - one point when Sela sends a tired slice into the net. Sela misses a first serve and his second looks like a gimme - but Nadal punches a forehand wide. He has another chance when Sela nets a backhand. A lengthy rally ensues, but the longer it goes, the more you fancy Nadal, and so it proves when he dips into his big bag of gigantic forehands and chucks one past Sela. Nadal is through to the fourth round and will play Kevin Anderson next.
Third set: Nadal* 6-1, 6-0, 6-5 Sela (*denotes server): Sela swats a brilliant backhand from left to right for 0-15 and, bizarrely, the prospect of him winning this set isn’t so bizarre, especially when Nadal wonks a forehand wide to make it 0-30. Nadal makes it 15-30, but Sela is in the zone and earns two break points by outwitting Nadal at the net! Nadal is starting to sweat, a little more urgently when a forehand clips the top of the net ... but lands on Sela’s side. What a let-off. What a slice of lock. It’s 30-40 and Sela loses his focus at the wrong moment, walloping a backhand past the baseline to make it deuce. Sela grabs another opportunity as he stings a forehand down the line, but Nadal serves well to save a third break point, and then fires an ace past Sela to earn game point. Sela ends up drilling a backhand wide. Nadal holds. Just.
Third set: Nadal 6-1, 6-0, 5-5 Sela* (*denotes server): Sela is troubling Nadal with loop and spin. It’s been a struggle for him to read Sela in this set. Sela holds thanks to a gossamer volley.
Third set: Nadal* 6-1, 6-0, 5-4 Sela (*denotes server): Nadal holds. Sela will serve to stay in the match.
Third set: Nadal 6-1, 6-0, 4-4 Sela* (*denotes server): Sela holds with consummate ease as Nadal plonks a backhand wide. Couldn’t he have played like this from the beginning?
Updated
Third set: Nadal* 6-1, 6-0, 4-3 Sela (*denotes server): Hang on a minute. Has the real Dudi Sela turned up? An awkward slice down the line puts Nadal in bother and suddenly the Israeli has two break points. Rod Laver Arena wakes up to check what’s going on, but they throw the duvet back on once Nadal saves both with a big serve and a smash. Deuce. In the end, Nadal emerges unscathed thanks to two well-judged volleys. But he’s being posed a few more problems than he might have anticipated before this third set began.
Third set: Nadal 6-1, 6-0, 3-3 Sela* (*denotes server): A string of careless errors from Sela hands Nadal two break points. And he doesn’t really need gifts when he’s in this form. Sela saves one with an ace, then the second when Nadal wafts a backhand long, and a cracking drop volley makes it three straight points from the Israeli. He caps off the recovery with a piercing backhand winner.
Third set: Nadal* 6-1, 6-0, 3-2 Sela (*denotes server): Sela manoeuvres himself into a 15-30 lead but Nadal responds with a gentle, well-placed ace and then makes it 40-30 with a forehand. He holds.
Third set: Nadal 6-1, 6-0, 2-2 Sela* (*denotes server): I inadvertently found myself whistling some show tunes during that game as Sela showed great resolve to hold to 30.
Third set: Nadal* 6-1, 6-0, 2-1 Sela (*denotes server): Nadal continues to trouble the lines and holds to love. He is a man transformed from the heaving mess that struggled past Tim Smyczek on Wednesday.
Updated
Third set: Nadal 6-1, 6-0, 1-1 Sela* (*denotes server): What a stat this is.
Last time Federer lost in 3rd RD in a Major on hard courts was on Jan. 20, 2001. George W Bush took office that day.
— Chris McKendry (@CMCKENDRY_ESPN) January 23, 2015
Third set: Nadal* 6-1, 6-0, 1-0 Sela (*denotes server): What’s this? 0-30 on Nadal’s serve? Surely not! Is a rousing comeba... ah, wait, 30-all. But then! A break point for Sela! But then. An angry smash from Nadal. But then! A forehand into the net from Nadal! But then. A missed forehand return from Sela. And Nadal holds. Well, that was fun while it lasted. A bit of tension! What a treat!
Rafael Nadal wins the second set 6-0; he leads 6-1, 6-0
This is brutal. Sela is trying everything, but to no avail, and it’s quickly 0-30. Nadal just has so much time to do whatever he likes and he is executing everything with such perfection. A wonderful forehand down the line makes it 0-40 - three set points - but, amazingly, Sela saves all three with some intelligent serving, mixing it up with serve and volley tactics and a couple of drop shots. They go to deuce. Sela knocks a backhand long to present Nadal with a fourth set point, but he saves it with a smash. Saving a fifth set point is too much to ask, though. Nadal romps a forehand into the corner and Sela probably just wants to go home now. Unfortunately for him, he’s still got to take a few more punches to the jaw.
Updated
Second set: Nadal* 6-1, 5-0 Sela (*denotes server): A scampering Sela flashes a cross-court forehand past Nadal, but it drops just wide. Sela sees the funny side of it, smiling and asking in mock bewilderment if he can’t just have won point. Nadal smiles. But he’s not actually going to let him have it. He likes that point too much. He likes all the points. They’re his points and Sela can’t have any, no matter how nicely he asks.
Second set: Nadal 6-1, 4-0 Sela* (*denotes server): Nadal launches a backhand down the line for a 15-30 lead and you sense that another break is on the way. A whipcrack Nadal brings up two break points and Sela wilts. This is mighty stuff from Nadal. He’s playing like the Nadal of old.
Second set: Nadal* 6-1, 3-0 Sela (*denotes server): Nadal is far too powerful for Sela. This is a towering performance from the Spaniard, who is looking more like his former self at the moment than the gasping Nadal we saw against Tim Smyczek on Wednesday.
Nick Kyrgios beats Malik Jaziri 6-3, 7-6, 6-1
Nick Kyrgios sets up a fourth-round encounter with Andreas Seppi, the conqueror of Roger Federer, after a confident victory over Malik Jaziri. The 19-year-old is on a roll.
Updated
Second set: Nadal 6-1, 2-0 Sela* (*denotes server): Sela goes up 30-0. But it doesn’t matter. Nadal steams back to 30-all and then earns a break point with an outrageous forehand pass. He was running backwards as he hit it. Ludicrous. Even Uncle Toni is nodding and it’s enough to cow Sela into submission; a double-fault gives Nadal the break.
Second set: Nadal* 6-1, 1-0 Sela (*denotes server): Nadal is in cruise control. He holds to 15 at the start of the second set. Sela mopes back to his chair with his head bowed. This is not going to plan for the Israeli. Perhaps they could pipe some Hava Nagila around the stadium to rouse him.
Rafael Nadal wins the first set 6-1
Sela is serving to stay in the first set here and, to his relief, he quickly has a 15-0 lead. But Nadal comes roaring back to win three consecutive points, earning two set points with a whooshing cross-court backhand. He only needs one, a forehand looping out of a forlorn Sela’s reach and landing right on the baseline sealing the first set in Nadal’s favour in 28 serene minutes. That was very impressive.
Updated
First set: Nadal* 5-1 Sela (*denotes server): Contest (noun):
1.a race,conflict,or other competition betweenrivals, as for a prize.
2.struggle for victory or superiority.
3.strife in argument; dispute: controversy: Their marriage was marred by perpetual contest.
I’m not sure Nadal and Sela are having a marriage marred by perpetual contest.
First set: Nadal 4-1 Sela* (*denotes server): In the other match that’s still to be finished, Nick Kyrgios is up two sets and a break against Malik Jaziri. At this rate, mind you, Nadal might finish before them. Sela really needs to get into this match, else it will be over before he’s remotely warm. Happily for him, Nadal is generous enough to allow him to clamber wheezingly on to the scoreboard with a love game.
First set: Nadal* 4-0 Sela (*denotes server): Nadal is having fun out there. Isn’t he supposed to be tired? Sela looks despondent already, unable to hide his disappointment when he knocks a lame backhand into the net. Nadal seals a breezy hold with his first ace of the match.
First set: Nadal 3-0 Sela* (*denotes server): Sela looks like he is flailing at 0-30, but he steels himself and drags it back to 30-all with some intelligent play. But Nadal is playing so well. He picks Sela off with a forehand pass to earn a break point and then blasts a forehand down the line to seal the double-break. This one might not go five sets.
Kevin Anderson beats Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6, 7-6
A day to forget for the Frenchman, but a fine win for Kevin Anderson, who rolls into the fourth round thanks to that big serve of his. Is it any surprise he won two tie-breaks?
Updated
First set: Nadal* 2-0 Sela (*denotes server): Nadal doesn’t look weary at all. He consolidates the break by holding to 15, flicking a glorious low backhand from right to left to make it 40-0 and then sealing the game with a crunching forehand.
Nick Kyrgios is two sets up against Malik Jaziri after winning the tie-break in the second set. He leads 6-3, 7-6.
First set: Nadal 1-0 Sela* (*denotes server): It’s Dudi Sela to open the serving. He must be nervous. He doesn’t seem settled and a wild forehand past the baseline gives Nadal a 0-30 lead, before another jittery miss gives Nadal three break points. But then Sela wakes up. He saves the first with a beautiful one-handed backhand down the line and saves the next two as well to bring it to deuce. A Nadal boulder forces a fourth break point, but Sela knuckles down to bring it back to deuce again as Nadal sends a return long. Nadal then rips into a forehand volley, however, to earn a fifth break point and this time there’s no reprieve for Sela as the sliding Israeli slices a Nadal volley into the net. The perfect start for Nadal.
I’ll be doing game-by-game coverage of Rafael Nadal v Dudi Sela shortly. Because that’s the kind of guy I am.
A smooth forehand from Kyrgios brings up two set points. But Jaziri saves both with an ace and then a forehand winner to make it deuce, before holding for a 6-5 lead.
Next on Rod Laver Arena: Rafael Nadal. But will it be a weary Rafael Nadal or a refreshed Rafael Nadal? Dudi Sela will be hoping it’s the former.
Maria Sharapova beats Zarina Diyas 6-1, 6-1
Bang on the hour mark, Sharapova double-faults to make it 30-all. Is the comeback on? No. Diyas misses a return to give Sharapova her first match point and that’s all she needs, booting her Kazakh opponent out of the Australian Open by sending her third ace of the match down the middle. That took 61 minutes.
Maria Sharapova breaks again. Move along, nothing to see here. She leads 5-1 and will serve for the match. No drama this time.
Zarina Diyas is being made to suffer for her impertinence at the start of the second set. Two consecutive breaks for Sharapova puts her in a commanding lead.
Kevin Anderson wins the second set 7-6; he leads 6-4, 7-6
Richard Gasquet is staring down the precipice. The No24 seed loses the second-set tie-break 7-3 and trails Kevin Anderson by two sets. Now would be a good time for Gasquet to discover some fight.
Bernard Tomic beats Sam Groth 6-4, 7-6, 6-3
Focused, mature and classy. Bernard Tomic is into the fourth round after beating his fellow Australian, Sam Groth. He served superbly. “I’d like to thank the Fanatics for supporting me,” Tomic says, giving them a wave. He’s going to need plenty of that support in his next match, because he’s earned himself a meeting with Tomas Berdych, who beat him in 2013 and 2014 at Wimbledon.
Updated
Maria Sharapova hits back immediately. Diyas was only ahead for a minute or two and they’re back on serve in the second set.
Maybe there is no problem. Kyrgios is on his feet again and the second set has started.
A worrying sight for Australian fans on Margaret Court Arena as Nick Kyrgios takes a medical time-out before the second set. I’m not sure what the problem is. I’m not a doctor.
You can never quite trust Maria Sharapova to get through her matches without some kind of drama. She stormed through the first set but her serve lets her down in the first game of the second set and Zarina Diyas breaks for 1-0.
Nick Kyrgios wins the first set 6-3
The young Australian saves a break point with a booming ace down the middle. Then he has to save another after a fine Jaziri volley. His serve gets him out of trouble again and he earns a set point with another ace, taking it with ... another ace that zooms down the middle like Road Runner skipping through the desert.
Maria Sharapova wins the first set 6-1
Zarina Diyas is looking a bit befuddled at the moment. She’s been blown away in no time at all.
Nick Kyrgios breaks for a 5-3 lead in the first set against Malik Jaziri. The Tunisian saved two break points, but not a third and Kyrgios will serve for the first set.
Sam Groth is fading fast. Bernard Tomic has a 3-1 lead in the third set and he can spy the fourth round in the distance.
“You don’t play everyday on a centre court, in front of a full stadium, against Roger Federer. But I was very calm.” Andrea Seppi: a master in understatement.
Zarina Diyas will be feeling a bit better now. She holds at last. But there’s still work to do given that Sharapova leads 4-1.
By the way, we must give some credit to Andreas Seppi. It’s easy to get swept away talking about Federer, but there was a bloke on the other side of the net. It’s certainly the biggest win of the Italian’s career and not one that was obviously coming. It’s not like Seppi is a new prodigy on the block - he’s 30, he’s the world No44 and he’s never been past the fourth round in any slam before. The closest he’d come to a result like this before was when he led Novak Djokovic by two sets in the fourth round of the French Open in 2012, but he couldn’t see it through. This time, however, he did.
Updated
Maria Sharapova is in a hurry on Rod Laver Arena. Does she have somewhere to be? She’s broken Zarina Diyas twice already and leads 3-0.
Bernard Tomic wins the second set 7-6; he leads 6-4, 7-6
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 9-8 Groth (*denotes server): And this time there’s no escape for Groth! Tomic serves accurately into the corner and the return goes long! This match is Tomic’s to lose. But what a weird tie-break that was.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 9-8 Groth* (*denotes server): Groth nets a backhand! Tomic has a third set point.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 8-8 Groth* (*denotes server): Groth bangs down what he thinks he has an ace - only for the umpire to call a let! He can’t believe it. The margins are so fine. But he doesn’t let that affect him and roars as Tomic nets a return.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 8-7 Groth (*denotes server): Tomic finds the pass down the line to earn a second set point.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 7-7 Groth (*denotes server): This is incredible! Tomic double-faults! Does no one want this set? I’ll have it.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 7-6 Groth* (*denotes server): Tomic punishes Groth with a cracking forehand return on a second serve. Now he has set point!
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 6-6 Groth* (*denotes server): Groth double-faults on set point!
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 5-6 Groth (*denotes server): Groth charges to the net and Tomic ends up flicking a backhand wide! It’s set point!
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 5-5 Groth (*denotes server): A long rally ends with Groth netting a forehand.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 4-5 Groth* (*denotes server): Groth loses his nerve, too anxious with a forehand volley that goes miles long. “No!” he cries.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 3-5 Groth* (*denotes server): Groth wrongfoots Tomic with a forehand into the corner. Support is growing for him.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 3-4 Groth (*denotes server): A brilliant passing backhand from Groth forces Tomic to net a volley!
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 3-3 Groth (*denotes server): Groth is wayward with a return.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 2-3 Groth* (*denotes server): Tomic tries to pass with a backhand but Groth is too firm at the net. His volley is excellent.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 2-2 Groth* (*denotes server): Serve. Smash. Pump fist.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 2-1 Groth (*denotes server): A big Tomic serve down the middle is too strong.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic* 1-1 Groth (*denotes server): Groth puts a forehand into the net.
Second-set tie-break: Tomic 0-1 Groth* (*denotes server): Tomic misses with a forehand pass.
Tomic holds. It’s tie-break time.
On Rod Laver Arena, Maria Sharapova and the talented young Kazakh, Zarina Diyas, will be duking it out shortly, while Nick Kyrgios will be in action against Tunisia’s Malik Jaziri on Margaret Court Court Arena shortly.
Sam Groth has the grizzled, frowning look of a stubborn man and he’s determined to drag himself back into his match against Bernard Tomic. He’s 6-5 up in the second set and it’s down to Tomic to hold.
Here’s what Roger Federer had to say in full.
Q. You didn’t look quite comfortable out there today, especially the first two sets. Was something special going on or just a bad day?
ROGER FEDERER: Just a bad day, yeah. I mean, I wish I could have played better, but clearly it was tough losing the first two, you know. Had chances to get back into it. I let it slip, I mean, both times in some ways. I guess I won the wrong points out there today. I knew how important that second set tiebreaker was, so clearly that hurt, losing that one. The end wasn’t pretty, you know. It wasn’t easy to play with the shadow. But it was the same for both of us. Just a disappointing loss, you know.
Q. Did you have a chance to make a volley on the very final point?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, I guess maybe if he hits it normally, maybe yes. But the way he hits it you think, This can’t possibly land in. You kind of go and you’re there and you’re like, No, I’m going to let it go. As you’re telling yourself that, you look behind you and you already know it’s done, so... Because he was also running into the sun, so I have to cover cross-court just in case. That’s where everybody goes. I don’t know. Ask him how he felt hitting it. It’s clearly a big blow because I actually hit my forehand pretty good.
Q. You never lost a set with him. Was it surprising the way he played? Do you think Seppi played his best ever?
ROGER FEDERER: Against me, you mean?
Q. Yes.
ROGER FEDERER: Possibly so. We had some good matches in the past. He hits a good ball, forehand and backhand, so I knew that on a quicker court where he gets more help on the serve it was potentially going to be more tricky. And I felt for some reason yesterday and this morning it was not going to be very simple today. Even in practice I still felt the same way. I was just hoping it was one of those feelings you sometimes have and it’s totally not true and you just come out and you play a routine match. Yeah, it was a mistake. And I know the strength of Seppi, especially after he beat Chardy, who I know can play very well. I was aware of the test and was well-prepared. Just somehow couldn’t play my best tennis today. It was definitely partially because of Andreas playing very well.
Q. What was your feeling in practice this morning?
ROGER FEDERER: I don’t know, maybe rhythm was missing. But I feel like that very often and then, you know, I come out and play a good match. Sometimes you feel too good and then you play a horrible match. I mean, the practice to me doesn’t mean a thing anyways. But I was aware that this could be a tough match, so I wasn’t mistaken this time around.
Q. What do you think let you down the most? Was it your serving or missing those breakpoints?
ROGER FEDERER: I guess it was just an overall feeling I had today out on the court that I couldn’t, you know, really get the whole game flowing. You know, was it backhand? Was it forehand? Was it serve? It was a bit of everything. At the same time, I think I got broken in the last couple of sets. The second set also I only got broken once. I was hanging in there. Gee, what did I have, 4-1 in the breaker, 3-1 in the breaker? I don’t remember what it was. I hit a pretty good serve that I shouldn’t -- downwind I should never lose that point. So it wasn’t all bad. It’s just when it counted the most somehow it just ended up going his way. I think that was because overall I wasn’t feeling it quite as well. I had to play it a little bit passively at times when normally I would play aggressive. You know, it was just a tough match for me.
Q. When you come to reflect, do you think you made it back on top after a very grueling, very emotional Davis Cup very late in the year? Maybe this event came in a bit of a rush.
ROGER FEDERER: Not really. I was actually very happy that it was the way it went, because it allowed me to stay within the rhythm and take the break after the Australian Open. I was playing very well in practice. I was playing very well in Brisbane. I was playing great in the practice leading into the tournament. So I don’t want to say that I peaked too early, but I definitely was hitting the ball very well. I still believe I’d still be in the tournament, that I’d still have a chance to go very deep. Like I said at the very beginning of the tournament, I truly believe that. But then again, margins are small, and sometimes these things tend to happen. Clearly I’ll have a look at it, but I don’t think I did anything wrong honestly. I wanted to go to India. I wanted to go back to Switzerland for Christmas. I practiced as hard as I possibly could. Can’t do more than that. Sure, the year ended late, but one week later than normal. At the end of the day, honestly I’m confident that what I did was the right thing.
Q. The first set you played versus Bolelli, there was this little sign of alarm. You were pushed by the forehand of Bolelli a lot, and maybe today the whole match instead of just one set or not?
ROGER FEDERER: Maybe. I don’t know. I think I gave a lot of explanation. I wish I could have won the first set; then things would have been different. But I definitely wanted to go into the match, play aggressive, play the right way, play on my terms, but it was just hard to do. For some reason I struggled. Like I explained, it had things to do with Andreas’ game and with my game as well. You put those things together, all of a sudden you’re playing a match you don’t want to play. The rallies are going in a way you don’t like it. Then when I maybe needed my serve the most, it wasn’t quite there, because my baseline game wasn’t there either. It went in phases. But at least I was able to iron out things a bit and able to play much more solid at the back end of the match. But it just broke me to lose that second set. And actually the fourth, I should win it, too. Just a brutal couple of sets to lose there.
Q. Were you surprised you were playing in the morning session? Maybe the conditions might be different.
ROGER FEDERER: Who knows. I mean, it’s totally no excuse. How many times have I played night session, day session, night session, day session or day session, night session? Who cares. I think he did well. I struggled today and he took advantage of it really. I wish I believed maybe if we played at night I would have been more comfortable, but at this point who cares, right? I mean, like I’m on the plane and he’s not, so...
Q. What are you going to do next?
ROGER FEDERER: Rest, then get ready for practice really.
Q. Do you have any tournaments planned for February?
ROGER FEDERER: Dubai is my next one.
Q. Do you feel like you’re having these off days, do you feel they’re coming more often in the last couple of years?
ROGER FEDERER: Oh, no. This is a feeling I’ve had for 15 years. To me I don’t read anything into that. It’s just not the best feeling to have. It’s not like I’m playing shocking or I’m feeling shocking. It’s like one of those things you look back and maybe, Yeah, I didn’t feel so good. But if you win, you never even question it. If I were you, I wouldn’t read very much into that.
Andreas Seppi’s winner on match point was a thing of beauty. What a time to pull this out of the bag against Roger Federer.
Kevin Anderson wins the first set 6-4
So here’s Kevin Anderson, serving for the first set, and he’s quickly into a 30-0 lead, his huge serve too much for poor old Gasquet to counter. Another storming serve brings up three set points. He looks to finish it off in style with an ace but misses by inches out wide, but a strong second serve is enough to subdue an extremely meek Gasquet return. Gasquet has it all to do over on Court 2.
Updated
Richard Gasquet holds and Kevin Anderson will serve for the first set. The South African leads 5-4.
Roger Federer is speaking very openly about his defeat. “It just broke me to lose that second set,” he admits. And I have to admit that I still thought he was going to win when he went two sets down. More fool me, eh?
Federer continues. “I was playing well in practice, I played well in Brisbane, I’d like to say I peaked too early?” he says. “It was an overall feeling I had on the court that I couldn’t get the whole game going. I just somehow couldn’t play my best tennis today & that was also due to Andreas playing great tennis.”
Updated
It’s the first time Roger Federer hasn’t reached the Australian Open semi-final since 2003 and his earliest exit at a grand slam since his second-round defeat to Sergiy Stakhovsky at Wimbledon in 2013. He was supposed to have shaken those kind of performances out of his system, wasn’t he?
Federer believes losing the second-set tie-break was pivotal. “I knew how important that second-set tiebreaker was,” he says. “So clearly that hurt.”
Roger Federer is trying to explain what happened. “Just a bad day,” he says.
You can say that again, Roger!
He doesn’t say that again.
Updated
Tomic won 15 out of 16 first serves in that first set and didn’t face a break point. He’s playing very well. Could this tournament be the making of him at long last?
Bernard Tomic wins the first set 6-4
The crowd on Hisense Arena is both elated and devastated at the same time. They don’t know what to do. What a conundrum. On the one hand, an Australian has won a set. On the other hand, an Australian has lost a set. How awkward. It’s like parents watching two siblings going at it. They cheer when Bernard Tomic takes the first set thanks to some solid serving, but not too hard out of respect for Sam Groth. They don’t want to hurt his feelings. It could scar him for life.
Kevin Anderson, the gentle giant, has an early break against Richard Gasquet. It will be tough for Gasquet to salvage that situation against such a big server.
Here’s a quick report on Roger Federer’s defeat to Andreas Seppi. A tremor has been sent through the men’s draw.
What else is coming up today? Well, Maria Sharapova heads up the night session on Rod Laver Arena, having survived several match points in her second-round match. She faces Zarina Diyas. Then, once that’s done, it’s Rafael Nadal against Israel’s Dudi Sela. Is another shock on the cards? Nadal was almost vanquished by Tim Smyczek on Wednesday, but came through in five sets in the end. Will he have recovered in time?
On Hisense Arena, there’s another all-Aussie clash, where Bernard Tomic is taking on Sam Groth. Tomic, the favourite, has the early break in the first set. But you don’t care about that. Roger Federer is out, beaten by an Italian who had never beaten him before. Oh my! Who saw that coming? To be fair, Simone Bolelli, another Italian, took the first set off him the other day, so maybe all was not well with Federer. He fought back then, but this time there was no way back. Seppi took the first two sets and although Federer took the third, he held his nerve to win a fourth-set tie-break, winning 6-4, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.
Seppi! Federer sent packing at #AusOpen https://t.co/0gYmYkifOO
— James Dart (@James_Dart) January 23, 2015
Updated
Morning! How are you? Don’t care, actually. There are bigger things going on. Andy Murray is through to the last 16 after beating Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 and will play Grigor Dimitrov, his slayer at Wimbledon last year. But Roger Federer - hold your breath - is out, beaten in four sets by Andrea Seppi. I’ve arrived just in time to let you know. Good of us to keep our eyes on the ball, eh?
Updated
Jacob will be here shortly with all the latest from Melbourne. In the meantime, here’s today’s order of play:
Play starts on all courts at 11am Australian time/midnight GMT unless stated
Rod Laver Arena Lucie Hradecka (Cz) v Julia Görges (Ger), (7) Eugenie Bouchard (Can) v Caroline Garcia (Fr), Andreas Seppi (It) v (2) Roger Federer (Swi), (31) Zarina Diyas (Kaz) v (2) Maria Sharapova (Rus), Dudi Sela (Isr) v (3) Rafael Nadal (Sp)
Hisense Arena (14) Sara Errani (It) v Yanina Wickmayer (Bel), Carina Witthöft (Ger) v Irina-Camelia Begu (Rom), (6) Andy Murray (GB) v João Sousa (Por), Bernard Tomic (Aus) v Samuel Groth (Aus)
Margaret Court Arena (22) Karolina Pliskova (Cz) v (10) Ekaterina Makarova (Rus), (7) Tomas Berdych (Cz) v Viktor Troicki (Ser), Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) v (3) Simona Halep (Rom), Malek Jaziri (Tun) v Nick Kyrgios (Aus), Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) & Karin Knapp (It) v (4) Martina Hingis (Sui) & Flavia Pennetta (It)
Show Court 2 Yaroslava Shvedova (Kaz) v (21) Shuai Peng (Chn), (10) Raven Klaasen (RSA) & Leander Paes (Ind) v Simone Bolelli (It) & Fabio Fognini (It), Chris Guccione (Aus) & Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) v (6) Jean-Julien Rojer (Ned) & Horia Tecau (Rom), (14) Kevin Anderson (RSA) v (24) Richard Gasquet (Fr)
Show Court 3 Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) v (10) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul), Silvia Soler Espinosa (Sp) & Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor (Sp) v (15) Kimiko Date Krumm (Jpn) & Casey Dellacqua (Aus), Anastasia Rodionova (Aus) & Arina Rodionova (Aus) v Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) & Samantha Stosur (Aus), (13) Michaella Krajicek (Ned) & Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Cz) v Jarmila Gajdosova (Aus) & Ajla Tomljanovic (Cro)
Court 6 (16) Jamie Murray (GB) & John Peers (Aus) v Omar Jasika (Aus) & John-Patrick Smith (Aus), (8) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pak) & Nenad Zimonjic (Ser) v Pablo Carreno-Busta (Sp) & Guillermo García-López (Sp), (7) Rohan Bopanna (Ind) & Daniel Nestor (Can) v Feliciano López (Sp) & Max Mirnyi (Blr), Austin Krajicek (USA) & Donald Young (USA) v Pablo Cuevas (Uru) & David Marrero (Sp)
Court 7 Diego Sebastián Schwartzman (Arg) & Horacio Zeballos (Arg) v (14) Dominic Inglot (GB) & Florin Mergea (Rom), Alexandra Panova (Rus) & Heather Watson (GB) v (12) Alla Kudryavtseva (Rus) & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus), Coco Vandeweghe (USA) & Yanina Wickmayer (Bel) v Dominika Cibulkova (Svk) & Kirsten Flipkens (Bel)
Court 8 (6) Garbine Muguruza (Sp) & Carla Suárez-Navarro (Sp) v Klaudia Jans-Ignacik (Pol) & Andreja Klepac (Svn), Gabriela Dabrowski (Can) & Alicja Rosolska (Pol) v (2) Su-Wei Hsieh (Tpe) & Sania Mirza (Ind), (13) Julian Knowle (Aut) & Vasek Pospisil (Can) v Benjamin Becker (Ger) & Artem Sitak (NZ), (1) Sania Mirza (Ind) & Bruno Soares (Bra) v Timea Babos (Hun) & Eric Butorac (USA)
Court 19 12:00: Yung-Jan Chan (Tpe) & Marin Draganja (Cro) v (5) Cara Black (Zim) & Juan Sebastián Cabal (Col), Anabel Medina Garrigues (Sp) & Pablo Andújar (Sp) v Darija Jurak (Cro) & Ivan Dodig (Cro), Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) & Abigail Spears (USA) v Vitalia Diatchenko (Rus) & Monica Niculescu (Rom)
