Talking points from day three of the Australian Open

ROGER Federer wasn’t himself on Wednesday, deviating from his usual playbook to vent his obvious displeasure.

Federer did it tough against Noah Rubin.

ANDREAS Seppi upset Nick Kyrgios on another eventful day at the Australian Open.

The Italian came back from two sets down to stun the Aussie in a five set thriller, while Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka all enjoyed wins.

Bernard Tomic avoided succumbing to the same fate as Kyrgios, holding off a late rally from Victor Estrella Burgos to move through to the third round.

Here are all the talking points from day three at Melbourne Park.

ROGER FEDERER’S UNCHARACTERISTIC RESPONSE

Federer wasn’t hitting his backhand as crisply as he normally does.

Roger Federer battled through a tough third set in which he lost his rhythm to overcome 20-year-old Noah Rubin from America 7-5 6-3 7-6.

The Swiss was rusty, chunking balls off the frame and mistiming shots he normally makes look easy. It was far from the vintage Fed Express we’ve become used to admiring for years.

It’s not really that surprising, given he only recently returned from a six-month injury lay-off. But his reaction to his own poor form was a shock, as the No. 17 seed uncharacteristically made his displeasure known after a succession of botched shots.

"Can't put a fucking ball in the court," mutters Federer as he goes down 0-3 to Rubin in third. Still edgy despite two-set lead. #AusOpen

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 18, 2017

Asked post-match what he was so frustrated by, Federer said he was angry at himself for not being able to execute the way he wanted.

“I was just not, you know, doing what I was trying to do,” Federer said. “I was hoping to play better at times. I think you can always do better. It’s one of those sports like golf, you can always leave frustrated.

“In tennis, you can always feel, ‘Ah, I could have always played a little bit better’.

“Sometimes it’s not going to be pretty. Sometimes it’s just going to be a fight. Today that’s what I thought it was for me.

“I was hoping to play better offensive tennis, and I struggled with that a little bit at times.”

But such is his class he didn’t need to play at 100 per cent to advance through to the third round.

Rubin failed to take advantage of his break point opportunities in the third set and Federer — who admitted he was struggling to move fluently as the match wore on — made him pay, ending the dejected youngster’s Australian Open campaign.

But Federer’s mood was much brighter before the match got underway. Both players were at the net with the umpire preparing for the coin toss, and with them was a young boy who looked to be of primary school age.

The umpire then put the youngster on the spot, telling him to pick his favourite player between Federer and Rubin, because that person would get to call.

It was quite funny to watch the boy go silent for a few seconds, not expecting the question, before finally choosing the Swiss maestro. He then yelled out “Roger Federer” in the most booming voice he could muster while the coin was in the air, leaving nobody in any doubt as to who he was barracking for.

Federer found the episode pretty funny, laughing and almost forgetting what he actually called when he had to repeat it to the umpire after the coin dropped. For the record, he called correctly and opted to receive.

KYRGIOS LOSES THE PLOT

Kyrgios had nowhere to hide.

A spectacular mid-match implosion against Andreas Seppi robbed Nick Kyrgios of a chance to advance deeper into his home grand slam.

Seemingly doing it easy when up two-sets-to-love, Kyrgios lost the plot midway through the third, copping a one-point penalty for two code violations — one for an audible obscenity and one for racquet abuse.

That was the beginning of the end for the Aussie. Seppi won the third set 6-4 then raced through the fourth 6-2. Kyrgios was dejected and constantly traded words with his camp in the stands. His body language was telling — you didn’t see a smile for the last two sets.

He came back in the fifth, hitting harder than his opponent. The Italian broke to take a 6-5 lead but Kyrgios broke straight back to level it up once again.

In the face of a boisterous pro-Kyrgios crowd, Seppi showed admirable mental strength to block everything out and eventually claim the fifth set 10-8.

“You can’t believe it,” commentator Basil Zempilas said at the end.

“We saw ... the weird, wonderful and bizarre world of Nick Kyrgios,” Hamish McLachlan added.

Speaking after the match, Kyrgios blamed his physical conditioning for letting him down.

“Poor management, I guess. I think I didn’t have the best preparation. It’s on me. Did a couple things in the off-season that I’m probably not going to do next time. It’s on me, I guess. My body’s not in good enough shape. You live and you learn.”

Kyrgios’ mind was just as much a problem for him as his ailing body, and he said he’d have to look at finally getting a coach to help him with a part of the game he seems ill-equipped to deal with on his own.

“The coach is always a question mark for me. I think that’s one area where I obviously need to start taking a bit more seriously. I mean, I don’t think there’s anyone in the top 100 without a coach except for me. That needs to change,” Kyrgios said.

“I’ve got to start taking it more seriously. Pre-season is an important part of the year. You build foundations for the rest of the year. Yeah, it’s on me.”

‘I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS EVERY INTERVIEW’

Venus Williams’ smile disappeared after one question from Craig Willis.

It was inevitable after such an energetic performance in her second-round win over Stefanie Voegele at the Australian Open that Venus Williams would get asked about transcending the generations in tennis.

The 36-year-old, seven-time major winner played the first of her record 73 Grand Slam tournaments at the French Open in 1997. Back then, she got to play against the likes of Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova.

Against the 26-year-old Voegele at the Australian Open on Wednesday, Williams mixed up her game, clearly not intent on relying only on the kind of power game that helped her make a mark on the sport. She won 6-3, 6-2, hitting 24 winners and getting five service breaks.

“I have to talk about this every interview,” a clearly unimpressed Williams said in reply to what has become a regular post-match question to the oldest player in the women’s draw here. “I’ve played some of the greats.

It's #Venus into 3R singles. 1R doubles starts today with sister #Serena #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/FncGAoqXru

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2017

“It’s an honour and privilege to start that young,” she added, laughing, “and play this old.”

Soon after, tournament officials announced Venus and sister Serena, winners of 14 grand slam doubles titles, had withdrawn from the pairs competition at this year’s Australian Open.

Venus cited an elbow injury as her reason for pulling out. The duo’s most recent doubles slam was at Wimbledon last year.

THAT’S GOT TO HURT

I thought we were teammates... That wouldn't tickle 😳😅 #7TENNIS pic.twitter.com/bYi1cpjJEh

— #7TENNIS 🎾 (@7tennis) January 18, 2017

Radek Stepanek was caught in the firing line during doubles action at Melbourne Park.

The Czech was caught flush by a serve from partner Vasek Pospisil in their match against Aussie duo Matt Barton and Matt Ebden.

Stepanek immediately clutched his left arm and dropped his racquet to the ground as he cried out in pain. He hobbled off to his player’s chair, where he received treatment briefly. After a short break the 38-year-old was able to continue.

It turned into a painful afternoon for Stepanek as he and Pospisil were sent packing in straight sets, 6-2 6-4, ending their campaign.

NO MORE ‘TWO MINUTE NOODLES’ FOR AUSSIE HOPES

Aussie pro, John Millman

Whether it’s through the gruelling rounds of qualifying or a wildcard berth, the Australian Open offers local hopes on the fringe of the grand slam scene a chance to compete with the game’s elite.

Not only it is a chance to compete against the world’s best, but there’s serious financial gain available as well.

John Millman knows what it’s like to toil on the cusp of the professional circuit, fighting for rankings points and precious grand slam berths. He’s not part of the Australian Open this year, pulling out with injury, but ranked 84th in the world, he would have found a place in the main draw.

Millman is confined to commentary duties at Melbourne Park, observing the young Aussies left in the men’s tournament.

Two of those names are familiar. Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic sit closer to the top of the men’s tour — holding lucrative endorsement deals with Nike and others.

But the likes of Alex De Minaur, Andrew Whittington and Jordan Thompson aren’t as fortunate.

It’s a struggle that Millman knows well, and he told Triple M Brisbane’s Marto and Ed Kavalee for Breakfast that the $80,000 in prizemoney afforded to a second round loser can actually have significant career implications.

“It just allows you to do this tennis thing a little more professionally,” Millman explained.

“When once you’d be travelling at bare minimum costs, and when I say bare minimum costs, you’re sleeping on floors, you’re eating two minute noodles every night.

“Instead of maybe sleeping on the floor at the airport in transit, you might be able to get the airport hotel and instead of chowing down a bit of Mi Goreng two minute noodles you can go out there and actually have a decent feed.”

‘THE ULTIMATE SCRABBLE MATCH’

Russia's Natalia Vikhlyantseva hits a return against compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

We’re going to keep this item short so we only have to write Natalia Vikhlyantseva and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s names a couple of times.

The Russian female stars did battle on Show Court Two in Melbourne today, providing plenty of quality tennis but also a challenge for commentators, journalists and graphics operators alike.

With a combined 25 consonants and 18 vowels in their first and last names, the duo are a typo waiting to happen, as American broadcaster Chris Fowler noted.

Underway now @AustralianOpen is graphics operator's nightmare match: PAVLYUCHENKOVA versus VIKHLYANTSEVA. (The Ultimate scrabble match.)

— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) January 18, 2017

For the record, Pavlyuchenkova was victorious, winning 6-2 6-2.