Australian Open – Round Two Round Up
After a first round that saw high profile exits in both the men’s and women’s singles, the top seeds were even more determined than ever to keep their Australian Open dreams alive as the tournament entered round two.
Men’s Singles
Rafael Nadal was the biggest name of the five seeds to fall at the first hurdle but there were no such surprises in the second round. The top four seeds of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka all booked their places in round three with straight sets victories. The only two seeded players to be knocked out in this round were Jack Sock (#25) and Jeremy Chardy (#30) who realistically weren’t tipped to become Australian Open champion anyway.
Fernando Verdasco, conqueror of Nadal in round one, exited the tournament with a whimper as he lost to Israeli Dudi Sela. In fact, of the five players that knocked out seeds in the first round, only Federico Delbonis has made it through to the third round and will take on 14th seed Gilles Simon.
The big story on day four of the Australian Open for home fans was former world number one Lleyton Hewitt calling time on his career after a straight sets defeat to eighth seed David Ferrer. The 2005 Finalist fought valiantly until the end but the Spaniard finally got the victory to call game, set and match on a long and successful career for the Australian.
Women’s Singles
After the first round exits of second seed Simona Halep and eighth seed Venus Williams, as well as the other ten seeds that said goodbye early, the lower ranked players were chomping at the bit to cause their own Australian Open surprise.
Five more seeded players exited in round two, with number six seed Petra Kvitova being the highest ranked. She lost in straight sets to Daria Gavrilova, who has made it through to the third round for the first time ever. The other four seeds who suffered defeat were Timea Bacsinszky, Elina Svitolina, Jelena Jankovic and Sabine Lisicki.
The five remaining top eight seeds all made sure of their places in round three with straight sets victories. Serena Williams led the way as she kept the defence of her Australian Open title alive and was followed into the last 32 by Garbine Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber.
The two women that caused the biggest shocks of the first round also both made it through to the third round. Shuai Zhang and Brit Johanna Konta both comfortably won their matches in straight sets to stay in with a chance of becoming surprise Australian Open champions.