After a day of dirt deluges, deciding-set arm-wrestles and defeats for the remaining Brits in the singles, it’s time to wrap up the blog. But spare a thought for poor Elina Svitolina and Lauren Davis, who are only five games into their match at 11.35pm Melbourne time, with Svitolina, the fifth seed, leading 3-2. Thanks for your company today, Tumaini will be back tomorrow, when the highlight should be Naomi Osaka v Coco Gauff round II. Hopefully these will keep you going in the meantime. Bye!
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Nadal speaks:
First time playing in the evening here, different conditions. Tough match, I lost a lot of opportunities on the break points. But I found a way to win the second set and I played more relaxed in the third. For her [the ballgirl] it was not a good moment. She’s super brave. The ball was straight on her head.
Nadal defeats Delbonis 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-1
Nadal is looking the best he has all match. Serving for it, he races to 15-0, 30-0, 40-0, but he must already be thinking about the handshake when he makes a mess of the next point. Lightning doesn’t strike twice though, and Nadal completes victory on the second match point. He shakes hands with Delbonis – before once again checking on the ballgirl. A convincing end to what had been an unconvincing match for Nadal. But it’s enough to put the 2009 champion into the third round and a meeting with fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
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Nadal decides it’s time to do something about that, breaking for 3-1. Could that kickstart a sprint through the third set? Quite possibly, because he holds for 4-1 and then zips to 15-30 on Delbonis’s serve. Nadal then cracks a ball into the cheek of a ballgirl – and then gives her a kiss to apologise. Maybe the pain was worth it. It doesn’t distract Nadal, who bags a second consecutive break for 5-1. Meanwhile Karen Khachanov is bent over on Court 3, sucking for air, after a draining 10-8 final-set tie-break win over Mikael Ymer. Khachanov plays Kyrgios next.
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Nadal is 1/18 on break points tonight.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 23, 2020
When they'd talked about him trying to equal Federer here, I didn't realize that was what they meant. #AusOpen
There are two matches currently taking place, just an hour short of midnight in Melbourne ... but there’s still one yet to start, Elina Svitolina v Lauren Davis, who are walking on to Margaret Court. How hard it is on them. Meanwhile Khachanov and Ymer are embarking on a fifth-set tie-break – it’s the first to 10 remember – while Nadal, serving first in this third set, is 6-3, 7-6, 1-1 against Delbonis.
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Speaking of Kyrgios, he said of his mid-match ranting at his box: “I was being a bit of dickhead to them and I apologised as soon as I got back into the locker room.”
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It’s all going on. There’s been a quick turnaround on Margaret Court, where Stan Wawrinka is taking in the applause of the crowd after charging from a break down to win three games on the spin and see off Andreas Seppi 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Taylor Fritz has come back from the brink, defeating Kevin Anderson 6-2 in the fifth from two sets behind to set up a meeting with another five-set survivor Dominic Thiem, and Yulia Putintseva has recovered from the disappointment of being broken when serving for the match to take out last year’s semi-finalist Danielle Collins 7-5 in the third.
Taylor Fritz comes from two sets down to beat Kevin Anderson 4-6, 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 23, 2020
FIVE American men (Fritz, Isner, Paul, Querrey, Sandgren) in the third round of #AusOpen, the most of any country, and the most for the US since 2008.
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Nadal edges the second set against Delbonis 7-6
Nadal puts more daylight between him and Delbonis with an ace for 5-2 and then fires a forehand into the net for 5-3. Delbonis pulls off a winning volley, 5-4. But the odds are stacked against the Argentinian because Nadal has two points on serve to take the set. And that the top seed does. He has a two-set lead but he’s been made to work for it.
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Delbonis gets the tie-break under way, and takes the first point on serve. Elsewhere, Andreas Seppi has struck first in the deciding set against Stan Wawrinka and leads 4-3, while Danielle Collins has saved match point to break Yulia Putintseva back for 5-5. The cheers on Rod Laver bring my attention back to Nadal though, where a perfectly measured lob gives him the first mini-break for 3-2. They change ends with Nadal 4-2 ahead ...
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Gasps as Nadal makes a complete hash of the smash on the opening point. His wife winces. But he quickly makes amends, winning the next three points – make that four – as Delbonis hits long on game point. It’s tie-break time!
5-5, 30-30 ... and the pressure gets to Delbonis, as he hands Nadal a break point. But the Argentinian regains his composure and drills down an ace. Deuce. Nadal has won only one of 18 break points. And the world No 1 pays for the profligacy as Delbonis holds. The underdog has earned himself at least a tie-break in this second set.
Nadal, having dropped only five games in the opening round against Hugo Dellien, has conceded five games in the second set against another South American clay-courter, Federico Delbonis, and must hold serve at 4-5 to prevent this match becoming one set all. There’s a sniff of danger for Nadal at 15-30 but an assured overhead gets him back to 30-all. Nadal nudges ahead for 40-30, but Delbonis dispatches a forehand volley for deuce. The Argentinian just isn’t going away in this set. But he does eventually back down in this game. It’s 5-5.
“Maybe the Australian Open is a far stretch for Rublev,” replies Johan Denis, “but I can imagine myself a hell of a quarter-final between two very hot Russians ... and I also believe outside the Big Three Medvedev has the best chance now, and not a small one.”
I’ve given up attempting to force down my late breakfast, so I’m fully focused on the tennis, and here’s a quick summary from around the grounds, where three men’s matches are going the distance: Stan Wawrinka has predictably been taken to a fifth in his tussle Andreas Seppi, who’s claimed the fourth set 6-3; Kevin Anderson has surrendered a two-set lead against the American Taylor Fritz (understandable from Anderson, who’s playing his first event since Wimbledon last year); and Karen Khachanov and Mikael Ymer are locked at two games all in their decider. And there’s one women’s match still on court, with the time approaching 10.30pm in Melbourne: the American 26th seed Danielle Collins, a semi-finalist last year, trails 4-2 in the third against Yulia Putintseva.
A report for your perusal. It’s the second consecutive year there’ll be no British player in the third round of the singles. How Andy Murray is missed.
Nick Kyrgios has reached one slam fourth round since 2016. This is clearly his best chance to do so in some time.
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) January 23, 2020
So another encouraging performance from Kyrgios, who was very focused for the most part against a potentially tricky, experienced campaigner. It’s clear how much Kyrgios is enjoying his tennis at the moment, and he now awaits the winner of the Karen Khachanov v Mikael Ymer match ... and possibly Nadal after that. Khachanov and Ymer have just entered a fifth set, which could be to the benefit Kyrgios, who probably hopes they continue to take lumps out of each other into the night. And Nadal is now 6-3, 2-2 up on Delbonis. Kyrgios is one of three Australian men into round three, joining Alexei Popyrin and John Millman.
Nick reigns supreme 🙌@NickKyrgios holds firm against Gilles Simon, def. the Frenchman 6-2 6-4 4-6 7-5 and reaching the third round at the #AusOpen for the fourth time.#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/LsSeFKzPDf
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2020
A contended Kyrgios says:
It’s epic. You guys are awesome. That’s why I request playing on this court. I definitely lost my way in the third set and could have gone to a very dark place in the fourth but I somehow pulled it away. I’m just happy to get through, that could have been very interesting if it had gone to a fifth set. I’m not thinking ahead, there are a lot of Aussies still in the draw, but I’m taking it one match at a time.
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Kyrgios defeats Simon 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Kyrgios seems to have recovered his focus after launching that post-third set missive at his box. And right on time, he secures a hard-earned break right at the business end of the fourth set to lead Simon 6-5. So he’s serving for the match. 15-0, 30-0, 40-0, three match points. But he’s a bit too keen to pull the trigger, 40-15. A huge second-serve ace settles matters – his 28th ace of the day – but this was not only a performance of power, he showed real variation. Kyrgios lets out a roar, shakes hands with his opponent, before jumping in to the air and throwing his sweat bands into the stands.
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David Goffin is limping to the net to shake hands with Pierre-Hugues Herbert after outlasting the Frenchman over three hours and five sets, 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 1-6, 6-3. The Belgian doesn’t look happy, though it’s unclear whether that’s because of how he’s feeling physically or because he’s just put out his good friend.
Nadal wins the first set 6-3 against Delbonis
“This year I count on Thiem, Medvedev or Rublev to take a slam,” emails Johan Denis. Can you see it happening in Australia, Johan? I think Dominic Thiem’s best opportunity will always be the French Open, Daniil Medvedev certainly has a chance this tournament, possibly the best of anyone outside the Big Three, and Andrey Rublev has been the player of 2020 so far, but is it too soon for the 22-year-old to do it over two weeks of best-of-five tennis? Back to current matters, and Nadal takes the first set 6-3 on his fourth set point.
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It took 20 minutes to get to 1-all between Nadal and Delbonis but 20 minutes later it’s 5-2 Nadal, with Delbonis serving to stay in the set. But I’m a little bit distracted/disgusted by my late breakfast. It looked quite nice when I whizzed it together in the Nutribullet at 6am this morning, but it’s now turned into an unappealing sludge not dissimilar in appearance to that which covered the courts in Melbourne earlier. Hopefully Nadal can do the business quickly so I can escape for an early lunch. The top seed hears my plea, bringing up two set points on Delbonis’s serve, but then upsets me by missing both. Delbonis digs deep for 5-3.
Wawrinka – the man who defeated Nadal in the 2014 final – wins the third set, 6-3. In fact Wawrinka’s still the last major winner outside the Big Three, after his US Open victory in 2016. That’s 12 straight slams for tennis’s great triumvirate. And so far there’s no real sense that this tournament will witness a significant shift in the natural order. Do feel free to get in touch with your title picks or any other musings, either via email or tweet @KatyMurrells.
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Nadal decides he’s had enough of messing around, and holds in a fraction of the time it took Delbonis to do the same. It’s 2-1 Nadal early on. Wawrinka is ripping through the third set against Seppi, leading 4-6, 7-5, 5-2. Further afield, Kevin Anderson, the two-time grand slam finalist who is playing his first event since Wimbledon, is in charge against Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 4-2 ahead; Karen Khachanov, the dangerous but inconsistent Russian, is two sets to one up against the young Swede Mikael Ymer; the usually steady Belgian David Goffin was two sets to the good against Pierre-Hugues Herbert but is now into a fifth; and the American Danielle Collins is a set down to Yulia Putintseva.
Delbonis holds!
Settle in, folks. @FedeDelbonis is hanging in against fellow lefty Nadal. He saves SIX break points to hold for 1-1 in the first.#AO2020 | #AusOpen | @channel9 | @espn pic.twitter.com/45OEy62iqT
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2020
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Kyrgios still leads the match, by the way, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6.
Kyrgios concedes the third set 6-4 to Simon
Fifteen minutes gone on Rod Laver, and they’re still only in the second game, with Nadal 1-0 up on serve. Nadal, once again wearing a florescent pink sleeveless number, is blinding me but not Delbonis who is holding firm at deuce. The seventh deuce of the game. An eighth deuce predictably follows. So time to tell you that it’s not going all Nick Kyrgios’s way on Melbourne Arena, where, from 4-2 up in the third, he’s dropped four games in a row to concede the set 6-4 to Gilles Simon. Apparently his box told him to “stay tough”, which didn’t go down too well.
“Absolutely flying colours,” was the response. “So creative. So creative. So creative. Out of all the things you could say: ‘Stay tough.’ Thanks, man. Thanks. That’s what I get on every break point. Wow. Wow. Wow. ‘Stay tough,’ yep. That’s good, that’s good. Shit. Shit.”
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Perfect timing from Stan Wawrinka, breaking at the end of the second set to level against Andreas Seppi 4-6, 7-5. This one could go the distance. Seppi has played some of the best matches of his career at the Australian Open, stunning Roger Federer in 2015 and reaching the fourth round four times, and Wawrinka is not quite the Wawrinka of old, who won the title in 2014. Though of course the Swiss deserves huge credit for his return from injury. If his body holds up, he can still do some damage here.
Game on 💪@stanwawrinka returns serve against Andreas Seppi to level things up on Margaret Court Arena. The fifteenth seed takes it 7-5.#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/9n4y8f6hFT
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2020
Verdasco is still capable of pulling off a result, and could make life difficult for Zverev. And from one Spanish bull to another, because Rafael Nadal is now under way on Rod Laver against Federico Delbonis. The Argentinian is also a left-hander who prefers playing on clay but that’s where the similarities end: Delbonis has never been beyond the third round of a major, while Nadal is going for slam number 20 here, which would draw him level with Roger Federer’s record. So the GOAT may not be the GOAT for much longer.
As for the score, Kyrgios is still very much in charge, leading 6-2, 6-4, 4-2. Elsewhere, Carla Suarez Navarro has played her final match at the Australian Open. The Spaniard, who is retiring at the end of the year, has lost 6-3, 7-5 to Iga Swiatek. Svetlana Kuznetsova, who did so well in the first round against the French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova, hasn’t been able to repeat that in round two, losing 6-3, 6-1 to the feisty Italian Camila Giorgi, who’ll next play Angelique Kerber. And victory for Fernando Verdasco, the former semi-finalist coming from a set down to defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 and set up a third-round meeting with Alex Zverev.
Fun and games on Melbourne Arena, meanwhile, and this time it’s not only Kyrgios getting involved.
10 minutes later: Simon got a time violation. Simon asked the umpire if he needs to be somewhere fast: "Do you have a date?" Kyrgios shook his head and told him to serve, Simon ignored Kyrgios and mimicked picking his butt, Kyrgios and the crowd laughed.
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) January 23, 2020
Halep speaks. “It was a little bit dangerous,” she says of the match. “I lost focus. She started to play very well at the end but I’m happy I went through. I like to play under pressure, it’s more fun and excitement, but I would prefer to finish the matches when I have a chance.” Halep is then asked about her pledge to donate to the bushfire fund every time she has a pop at her coach Darren Cahill. “I owe money today for sure. He’s counting. I’m afraid to ask. But it’s a nice thing to do.” And what of her chances of becoming a three-time grand slam champion? “It would sound really nice but I’m still far to think about this title.”
Halep defeats Dart 6-2, 6-4
Halep is rattled. She looks in a rush to finish this but Dart is calmly taking her time between points and holds courtesy of a couple of wonderful winners. Halep will again have to serve for the match ...
A rally of tight angles at 30-15, and Halep eventually goes just wide. She looks at her coach Darren Cahill for confirmation of the call. 30-all. She’s screaming at Cahill after the next point because Halep plants another forehand into the net and it’s break point, 30-40. Dart, however, gets a bit too excited, going for a backhand winner with the odds stacked against her, and unsurprisingly she doesn’t make it. Deuce. Followed by Halep’s advantage, another match point to add to the one the Romanian had a couple of games ago. Dart is giving it all she has, stepping into the court and hammering away at Halep, and the Brit is rewarded for her efforts. Deuce. But it’s quickly followed by a third match point ... and Halep again blinks! Deuce. A fourth match point. And this time Dart’s forehand loops well long and with that, British interest in the singles is over. A disappointing final point from Dart but she showed quite some fight in the second set against the two-time grand slam champion and former Australian Open finalist.
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The end is seemingly nigh for Dart, but she digs out a wonderful winner while standing deep in the right-hand corner to hold for a 5-2 deficit. But Halep is now serving for the match. At 30-all, Dart has a chance as she steps into the court to put away the short ball ... but she misses. It’s 40-30, match point. Halep does all the hard work, moving from one side to t’other, before thwacking into the net. Deuce. Break point! And Halep again nets! Dart’s box - including Britain’s Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong, applaud energetically. Dart reduces her arrears to 6-2, 5-3. But is this anything more than a final flourish from the Brit?
Team @harriet_dart like what they see!
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2020
The British qualifier just broke Halep & will serve to stay in the match at 3-5.#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/GaVkKtCOTp
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Even Lleyton Hewitt is applauding. What a difference a year makes.
He's giving the Aussie crowd a reason to cheer!
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2020
Kyrgios leads 4-3 up a break.#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/bJMqiMmk7u
Kyrgios takes the second set against Simon 6-4
Dart is in serious danger now on Rod Laver. Halep hurries through another game, holding serve to love, and it’s 6-2, 4-0. But I’m a little distracted by my rumbling stomach (I could really do with some breakfast) and Kyrgios’s chattering and chuntering on Melbourne Arena, where he’s unhappy about something or other, I think he may have been pulled up by the shot clock. It matters not, though, because he soon has set point at 40-30. A 216kph serve settles matters. Kyrgios leads 6-2, 6-4 and they’ve been playing for only just over an hour.
Kyrgios just got a time violation warning during his service motion. This is what he did as he protested to the umpire: https://t.co/Q9rSGz6i2s
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) January 23, 2020
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Halep still has a hold over Dart, breaking the Brit at the start of the second set and then backing that up for 6-2, 2-0. Make that 3-0. Meanwhile Simon is serving to stay in the second set of his match against Kyrgios at 5-3 down. Judging by the shorts Kyrgios is wearing he’s planning a trip to the beach when this match is done. Simon holds to 15, rounding things off with an ace, to force Kyrgios to serve the set out.
Stan is not the man on Margaret Court, where he’s shaking his head and shrugging as Seppi serves for the opening set at 5-4. And that’s from 3-0 down. And Seppi seals the set comfortably! Wawrinka slumps into his chair and sucks an energy gel. He may need a few more of those to turn this around.
Kyrgios isn’t letting up in the second set. He’s clobbered and cranked his way to a 6-2, 3-1 lead. Does the 35-year-old Simon have enough in the tank to stop the onslaught? The Frenchman does at least hold for 3-2. But Kyrgios is looking good to move a step closer to a potential fourth-round meeting with Rafael Nadal.
Halep wins the first set against Dart 6-2
It’s been blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tennis on Rod Laver, where Dart, having broken back for 1-1 after dropping her serve in the opening game, hasn’t got on the board since. It’s 5-1 Halep and Dart is serving to stay in the set at 30-all. The world No 173 digs in to hold. But she’ll now have to break Halep if she’s to inconvenience the former world No 1 for any longer in this set. Halep hurtles to 30-0. She’s got her game face on and is looking extremely focused. That said, she then prods a simple forehand long – followed by a routine backhand! 30-all. Dart has Halep on a piece of string on the next point, and is rewarded with a break chance! 30-40. But Halep then does what grand slam champions do, seeing off the danger and securing the set from her second advantage when Dart’s return flops into the tramlines.
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Wawrinka whizzed into a 3-0 lead against Seppi but it’s now back on serve, with the champion of six years ago 3-2 ahead. And I should have mentioned that Monfils wrapped up his win, cutting the 6ft 11in Ivo Karlovic down to size, 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4, 7-5. And speaking of giants, John Isner is through, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 against the Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo.
Kyrgios secures the first set against Simon 6-2
So what of Kyrgios and Wawrinka? Kyrgios’s match has belatedly appeared on Eurosport with the Australian leading the 35-year-old Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-2 in the first set. He then biffs a backhand return down the line to secure the double break for 5-2. Melbourne Arena rises to applaud the 23rd seed, the player who Australia now loves to love. I mentioned Halep’s contribution to the bushfire relief effort but it was Kyrgios who kickstarted tennis’s response by pledging to donate A$200 for every ace he hits and he’s gained countless more fans as a result. He seems to be playing with real pride and patriotism at Melbourne Park this year. And he secures the set 6-2 after 27 minutes by cracking a forehand winner past a helpless Simon.
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Just as I was checking in on the early stages of Nick Kyrgios v Gilles Simon and Stan Wawrinka v Andreas Seppi, Dart breaks back to love! That was unexpected. Though she certainly doesn’t look weighed down by nerves as she skips around the court and breathes freely. That’s already one more game than she won against Sharapova last year.
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Halep won the toss, and will receive first. The Romanian has pledged to give A$200 to the bushfire fund every time she gives her Australian coach Darren Cahill any grief while on court. Given Halep’s tendency to vent at Cahill during matches, her wallet could be a fair bit lighter by the end of the tournament. She’s looking fairly serene right now though, attacking from 40-30 down on Dart’s serve in an entertaining opening game to break for 1-0.
So what does Dart make of today’s challenge? “It’s just another tennis match,” she says calmly. “Halep’s a great champion and it’s an opportunity to see where my level’s at. I like to keep my tactics close to my chest, so hopefully you’ll see it on the court.” We won’t have to wait much longer to find out, because they’re just finishing their warm-up ...
The night session is upon us. What a walk for Harriet Dart. Though this isn’t the first time the British qualifier has stepped on to Rod Laver Arena. She did so last year as well ... before being marmalised 6-0, 6-0 by Maria Sharapova. And is doesn’t get any easier today, because she’s up against the reigning Wimbledon champion and former world No 1, Simona Halep. Dart is the only British player left in the singles after Heather Watson’s earlier exit. No pressure, Harriet ...
Monfils breaks Karlovic, literally and perhaps figuratively. The Frenchman leads 6-5 and will serve for the match.
The in-form young Russian Andrey Rublev, tipped for perhaps the top 10 this year, has just notched up his 10th consecutive win of 2020, defeating Japan’s Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Meanwhile Gael Monfils, who seems positively youthful at 33 compared to his 40-year-old opponent Ivo Karlovic, are involved in a right old battle on the 1573 Arena. It’s 5-5 in the fourth set, with Monfils leading 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4, 5-5.
Elsewhere on the women’s side, Garbine Muguruza, unseeded in Melbourne after an absolutely terrible 2019, is showing signs of remembering who she actually is after a battling 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory over the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic; Karolina Pliskova, still the receiver of tennis’s great backhanded compliment of being the best women’s player not to have won a slam, won tidily, 6-3, 6-3 against the German Laura Siegemund; the sixth seed Belinda Bencic overcame the former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 7-5 in a see-sawing match; Donna Vekic, Maria Sharapova’s conqueror, won again, this time in straight sets against Alize Cornet; the 20-year-old American CiCi Bellis, ranked in the top 50 as a teenager but now 600 in the world and playing her first grand slam event in two years after four surgeries, knocked out the 20th seed Karolina Muchova 6-4, 6-4; and the 2016 champion Angelique Kerber and the ninth seed Kiki Bertens won’t have been too popular, because they both saw off Australian wildcards in straight sets. Kerber beat Priscilla Hon 6-3, 6-2, while Bertens defeated Arina Rodionova, 6-3, 7-5.
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As touched on in the preamble, Heather Watson suffered a one-sided defeat by Belgium’s 16th seed, Elise Mertens, 6-3, 6-0. Watson is the world No 75, so there’s no shame in losing to a player significantly higher than her in the rankings, but having produced a gutsy performance against Kristyna Pliskova in the first round, she’ll be disappointed not to have shown more fight against Mertens, who she beat in Hobart only last week.
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But I digress. Five matches have been completed on the men’s side so far: Dominic Thiem was in plenty of trouble, two sets to one down against Australia’s Alex Bolt, before finishing with a flourish, 6-2, 5-7, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2; Alex Zverev secured a welcome straight-sets win, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-5 over Egor Gerasimov of Belarus; the Latvian enigma that is Ernests Gulbis, who upset the rising Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime in round one, bumped out the former Brit Aljaz Bedene also in straight sets; there’s been another win for the exciting young Australian Alexei Popyrin, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 against Spain’s Jaume Munar; while last year’s US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev got a bloodied nose – quite literally – but came through 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 against the Spanish qualifier Pedro Martínez.
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What’s happened so far, you say? Well not quite as much as expected, because of the murky torrential rain that chucked down mud and dust on Melbourne Park and the rest of the city. Plenty of quips on social media about the clay court season coming early this year ...
Only on the covered show courts did play start on time, with action on the outside courts delayed for several hours until the storm subsided and a clean-up operation involving power hoses and squeezy mops was finished. Why covers couldn’t have been put on the courts during the rain storm, who knows.
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Preamble
G’day! Or more accurately good evening, given the clock has ticked past 6pm in Melbourne and the night session begins in just over half an hour’s time when the man of the people Nick Kyrgios faces the Frenchman Gilles Simon. The match is over on the Melbourne Arena, where tournament organisers have again granted Kyrgios his wish of playing in front of the riff-raff who don’t have tickets for the two main show courts, which means Harriet Dart gets to enjoy the grander surroundings of Rod Laver. The qualifier, Britain’s sole survivor in the singles after Heather Watson was soundly beaten by Belgium’s Elise Mertens earlier, has a daunting second-round assignment against the Wimbledon champion, Simona Halep. That match is scheduled to start at 7pm local time/8am GMT, and is followed by Rafael Nadal’s rout of sorry meeting with Argentina’s Federico Delbonis. There are also two matches under the lights on Margaret Court: Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, against Italy’s Andreas Seppi and Elina Svitolina, the fifth seed, versus the American Lauren Davis. And all of this with plenty still going on in the day session. Sit tight!
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