TIME ZONES, BE damned — here’s all the latest from day two of the Australian Open.
In the men’s
- British lionheart Andy Murray opened proceedings in the Rod Laver Arena with a straight sets win against Robin Haase 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.
- Something something “Swiss roll” something something — Roger Federer was never in any danger as he beat France’s Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-3, 6-1.
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his all-French battle against Michael Llodra 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.
- Sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro beat Conor Niland’s old buddy Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
In the women’s
- Defending champ and top seed Victoria Azarenka opened her defence with a 6-1, 6-4 win against Monica Niculescu of Romania.
- It was all too easy for Serena Williams who bounced back from an early injury scare in a 6-0, 6-0 win against another Romanian, Edina Gallovits-Hall.
- Eighth seed Petra Kvitova dumped out former French Open winner Francesca Schiavone in three sets 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
- Caroline Wozniacki completed a good day for the Wozzilroy’s when she came from a set down to beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Your GB update from the Daily Mail
How much alliteration can you cram into one headline?
They’re missing the word “brave”, “gutsy” or “spirited” in their Laura Robson headline though.
Seed shocks
No major shocks in the men’s but some of the lower seeds are dropping like flies. Alexandr Dolgopolov — ”Dolgo” to me, you and his buddies — and Tommy Haas were the two highest profile casualties.
In the women’s, seventh seed Sara Errani is out after a straight sets defeat to Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain while 12th seed Nadia Petrova also suffered a first-round defeat.
Best of the pics
Serena Williams gets acquainted with the Plexicushion after going over on her ankle (Rob Griffith/AP/Press Association Images)
Gerrup outta that: Tsonga celebrates (Rob Griffith/AP/Press Association Images)
Fade to black: Federer serves to Paire (Andy Wong/AP/Press Association Images)
In other news
She might be the defending champion but security officials at the Australian Open were none the wiser, asking to see Victoria Azarenka’s pass despite her picture being plastered on a wall nearby.The Belarusian top seed, who beat Maria Sharapova in the final last year, is also the world number one, with every Open champion honoured by having their portraits in the walkways under Rod Laver Arena.
Asked Tuesday if it was nice to walk around the corridors and see pictures of herself, Azarenka said: “Yeah, I mean, those pictures are going to be here for a while. That’s kind of great feeling to have.
“The other day the security guy, I was walking, and he’s like, ‘You got your pass?’,” she added. “There was my picture! I said, ‘There is my pass. There it is’.”
She quickly added: “But I love the security. They are so strict here. They are really making sure nobody gets in. It’s incredible.”
