Rafael Nadal won the final two sets to narrowly escape a second-round contest with Tim Smyczek, beating the American qualifier 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-5 to advance into the third round of the Australian Open. Nadal got off to a quick start as he broke Smyczek in the fourth and eighth games to win the…
In one of the best matches of the tournament in either draw thus far, second-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova saved three match points to escape with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory over fellow Russian Alexandra Panova at the Australian Open. Sharapova got all she could handle from the 25-year-old qualifier, and seemed to be on the…
Rarely do you see two former world number ones play each other so early in a Grand Slam tournament, but Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka each took care of their first-round tests at the Australian Open to set up a fantastic second-round matchup between the two. Wozniacki took on young American Taylor Townsend in her…
Top-seeded Serena Williams got off to a good start in Melbourne Tuesday as the American routed Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck 6-0, 6-4 to advance at the 2015 Australian Open. Serena was not the only American woman to come out on top though, as eight other Americans, including her sister Venus, pushed through into the second-round…
World number one Novak Djokovic faced no problems in his opening round match Tuesday. The Serb knocked off Slovakian qualifier Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to move into the second-round of the Australian Open. It was the first meeting between the two and Bedene showed some things that Djokovic was impressed with. “He did surprise…
Last year, Stan Wawrinka announced himself to the tennis world by going all the way in Melbourne to capture the first Grand Slam title of his career. He kicked off his defense of that title on Tuesday as the Swiss cruised past Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to advance into the second-round. “The first…
Rafael Nadal looked impressive in his Australian Open first-round match, rolling past Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Day 1 in Melbourne. Nadal has struggled in his recent matches following an injury-laden second half of 2014, and entered the Australian Open with some question marks. The Spaniard looked extremely sharp against a tough first-round…
On a day that saw a number of seeded women bow out of the Australian Open, second-seeded Maria Sharapova and third-seeded Simona Halep displayed their dominance with convincing wins. First up was Halep who quickly showed that she was over whatever stomach illness had caused her to withdraw from the Sydney International last week. The…
After a dominant first set, fifth-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic saw her Australian Open run come to an end at the hands of Lucie Hradecka. The Czech qualifier stormed back from a one set deficit to upset Ivanovic 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 and move on in Melbourne. Ivanovic cruised through the first set in 21 minutes. She…
“All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed,” Irish playwright Sean O’Casey once said. Sloane Stephens was 19-years-old on Quarterfinal Day of the 2013 Australian Open. On one of the most renowned stages of the sport, she faced the biggest moment of her young tennis career. It did not help that…