Day 3 at Melbourne Park lived up to its expectations and produced some quality tennis along with several upsets. Seeds went tumbling in what was an action-packed day of tennis. Let’s take a look at how the men fared on day 3.
Nick Kyrgios [14] vs Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi of Italy has been a giant-killer at the Australian Open. In 2015, he caused the biggest upset of the tournament when he took out Roger Federer in the third round to hand the Swiss great one of his earliest losses at Melbourne Park. In the succeeding match, Seppi played some great tennis but eventually lost to local boy Nick Kyrgios 8-6 in the final set.
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On Wednesday, the Hisense Arena witnessed a rematch of that epic encounter but this time, Seppi came out on top to win 1-6 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2 10-8 to dash the hopes of the Australians.
Kyrgios started from where he left off, two days ago. He won the first set quite comfortably, taking it 6-1. The second set was close and had to be decided in a tiebreak. Seppi, who played fairly decent tennis until then, fizzled out, losing the tiebreak 7-1 to hand Kyrgios a two sets to love lead.
The fans might have sensed an easy victory for the Aussie but that was not the case. A code violation and a third set meltdown meant that Seppi got back into the match by winning it 6-4. Kyrgios, often criticised for lack of sportsmanship on court, just didn’t compete in the fourth set, which the Italian took 6-2.
The final set was intriguing, with both players matching each other shot for shot. Kyrgios had a match point but couldn’t convert. Seppi finally broke the Aussie’s serve in the 17th game of the final set and served out the set to win it 10-8 and with that, the match and a place in the third round. The Italian will play unseeded Belgian Steve Darcis in the next round.
Bernard Tomic [27] vs Victor Estrella Burgos
Bernard Tomic, the hope of the Australians over the years, brought back some cheer when he beat Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic to move into the third round. Tomic won the match 7-5 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(5).
It was a hard-fought win for the Australian as he battled for three hours and 20 minutes. Tomic committed a lot of unforced errors, 70 in total, as compared to his 62 winners but managed to sneak through in the end. The first two sets were closely contested, with the second set being decided by a tiebreak, but Tomic came out on top on both occasions to take a two-set lead.
The third set went with serve till 4-4, when an inspired Estrella Burgos broke his opponent. He served out the set and let out a huge roar. With Tomic leading two sets to one, the home crowd began to cheer their local boy, even as the set went into a tiebreak.
The tiebreak, too, was evenly contested until 5-5, before Tomic reeled off two straight points to pocket the match and set up a meeting with Daniel Evans of Great Britain in the third round.
Marin Cilic [7] vs Daniel Evans
Daniel Evans caused the biggest upset so far when he defeated 2014 US Open winner Marin Cilic 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-3. Cilic, who has a big serve and a strong forehand, committed as many as 69 unforced errors and converted only 3 out of 19 break points in his two-hour 57-minute loss to 67th ranked Brit.
Cilic started the match well and won the first set 6-3 but Evans clawed his way back to win the second 7-5. Cilic, who struggled in his opening round as well, committed a lot of unforced errors to lose the third and fourth set 6-3. With this, Evans registered his biggest win in a Grand Slam and will meet 27th seed Bernard Tomic in the third round.
Andy Murray [1] vs Andrey Rublev
World No.1 Andy Murray dished out a masterclass on RLA, with a 6-3 6-0 6-2 victory over 19-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev. Murray dominated the entire match and came up with some amazing shots to give a centre court lesson to the teenager. The teenager showed flashes of his potential but was outplayed by the best player in the world.
Murray served well, landing 64% of his first serves and winning 77% of them. He also had an outstanding break point conversion rate as he converted 6 out of the 7 break chances that came his way. The Brit also hit 29 winners and only 22 unforced errors to cap off a good win and progress to the third round where he will meet American and 31st seed Sam Querrey, Novak’s conquerer at Wimbledon last year.
Roger Federer [17] vs Noah Rubin
Switzerland’s 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer continued his winning return on tour as he overcame American qualifier Noah Rubin in straight sets. After his four-set win over Jurgen Melzer in the opening round, Federer had a relatively better outing on the day, as he won 7-5 6-3 7-6(3).
In the first set, Rubin played well to hold on to his serve and stay right on Federer’s toes, but the Swiss eventually broke the youngster’s serve and took the opening set 7-5. The second too went the Swiss’s way as he comfortably won it 6-3.
The third set had some twists as Rubin played extremely well to lead 5-2, only for Federer to comeback and push it into a tiebreak. The Swiss then rolled through the tiebreak to win the match.
Federer served well with 17 aces and hit 48 winners, but also committed 41 unforced errors, a number which he would have to reduce when he plays 10th seed Tomas Berdych in the third round.
Stan Wawrinka [4] vs Steve Johnson
After surviving an energy sapping five-set opener against Martin Klizan, 2014 Australian Open winner, Stan Wawrinka displayed a much better effort on court as he beat American, Steve Johnson 6-3 6-4 6-4.
It was a clinical performance from the No. 4 seed from Switzerland as he smashed 46 winners to just 25 unforced errors to win his match without any hiccups. He also won an astonishing 87% of his first serves and would look to do the same when he takes on Serbia’s 29th seed Viktor Troicki in the third round.
Kei Nishikori [5] vs Jeremy Chardy
Asian No.1 Kei Nishikori of Japan progressed safely into the third round after he got the better of Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in straight sets. After a five-set slugfest against Russian, Kuznetsov in the previous round, Nishikori had a pretty comfortable outing on Hisense Arena, where a large number of Japanese fans cheered him on.
Nishikori won the match 6-3 6-4 6-3 and will meet Lukas Lacko of Slovakia in the third round.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [12] vs Dusan Lajovic
French showman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga dropped just seven games en route to his straight sets win over Dusan Lajovic of Serbia. With his big serve doing the talking, Tsonga pelted 15 aces and hit 39 winners in his 6-2 6-2 6-3 win in an hour and 45 minutes. Tsonga next faces American and 23rd seed, Jack Sock in the third round.
Tomas Berdych [10] vs Ryan Harrison
After missing out on the final Grand Slam of 2016 due to appendicitis, Czech, Tomas Berdych made winning strides at Melbourne Park as he beat American, Ryan Harrison in straight sets to move into the third round. Berdych served very well, hitting 15 aces and winning 90% of his first serves. He also hit 36 winners and 29 unforced errors as compared to 20 winners and 54 unforced errors from the American.
Berdych will face Roger Federer in the third round.
John Isner [19] vs Mischa Zverev
Marathon man John Isner of USA couldn’t pull off another epic five-set win, as he lost to Germany’s Mischa Zverev 9-7 in the fifth set. Isner, famously known for his 70-68 win in the fifth set over Nicolas Mahut at the Championships in Wimbledon in 2010, lost 7-6(4) 7-6(4) 4-6 6-7(7) 7-9 to the 50th ranked Zverev.
The match lasted a little more than four hours, in which there were an astonishing 98 winners from Isner’s racquet, but Zverev served decently and converted his break chances to win the marathon and move into the third round where he will face Malek Jaziri of Tunisia.
Jack Sock [23] vs Karen Kachanov
American Jack Sock outplayed unseeded Russian, Karen Kachanov to win the match 6-3 6-4 6-4 to move into the third round where he will face 12th seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Viktor Troicki [29] vs Paolo Lorenzi
Serbian 29th seed Viktor Troicki overcame Italian, Paolo Lorenzi in a tough five-set match that lasted three hours and 47 minutes. The Serbian eventually won the match 6-3 1-6 7-6(3) 3-6 6-3 and will go on to face the fourth seed, Stan Wawrinka in the third round.
Sam Querrey [31] vs Alex De Minaur
American big server, Sam Querrey thrashed Australian, Alex De Minaur 7-6(5) 6-0 6-1 to move into the third round where he will face World No.1 Andy Murray.
Malek Jaziri vs Alexander Bublik
Malek Jaziri of Tunisia won against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in straight sets, with the scoreline reading 6-2 6-3 7-5 and he will face Mischa Zverev of Germany in the third round.
Lukas Lacko vs Dudi Sela
Lukas Lacko of Slovakia got the better of Israeli, Dudi Sela, 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 to move on to the third round where he will face Kei Nishikori.
Diego Schwartzman vs Steve Darcis
Belgian Steve Darcis moved into the third round with a 6-3 6-3 2-6 6-4 win over Argentinian, Diego Schwartzman and will face Italian, Andreas Seppi next.
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