Australian Open Day 3 live coverage: Nick Kyrgios impressive, Ebden ousted in second round
Grigor Dimitrov outlasted American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 8-6 in the fifth in what was nearly the upset of the tournament.
Welcome to live coverage of Day 3 of the Australian Open from Melbourne Park. Latest scores are on the right, for readers on desktop, and commentary is below. Five Australians play today, including Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova. Top seed Rafa Nadal and No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki also feature.
Key events
• Caroline Wozniacki saves match points in a thrilling comeback win
• A 15-year-old rookie knocks out Aussie Olivia Rogowska
• The women’s favourite advances after a scare
11.42: Dimitrov survives somehow
Grigor Dimitrov has survived an epic scare from American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald who took him to the brink as the world No.3 eventually prevailed 4-6 6-2 6-4 0-6 8-6.
McDonald picked relentlessly on a breaking down Dimitrov backhand as he sought to claim the upset in a tournament that has been full of them but a couple of poor shot choices ultimately cost him the match - the biggest mistake, what should have been a wining volley that he hit straight to Dimitrov.
Had he have beaten the Bulgarian it would have been great news for Nick Kyrgios who is in the same 16th of the draw.
11.24pm: Ebden ousted
Matthew Ebden is out of the Australian Open after a straight sets loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov. The Ukrainian victorious 7-6 6-3 6-4 after breaking the Aussie to take the match. Dologpolov will next face Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
10.57pm: Ebden on the brink
Matthew Ebden is in a huge hole, down two sets to love against Ukraonian veteran Alexandr Dolgopolov he might be hard pushed to find a way back into the match.
10.45pm: Dimitrov stretched to five sets
Grigor Dimitrov is on the brink of being another victim at the Australian Open. The Bulgarian world No.3 was up two sets to one but just got bagelled in the fourth by American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald, setting up a huge fifth set.
World No. 186 bagels World No. 3 in 22 minutes!
— #7TENNIS 🎾 (@7tennis) January 17, 2018
Get ready for a fifth set between 🇺🇸 Mackenzie McDonald and @GrigorDimitrov. #AusOpen
Watch LIVE on the screens of Seven and on the #7Tennis app: https://t.co/rHeId6I4CQ pic.twitter.com/k377xmJ2Uy
10.10pm: Ebden goes down a set
Nfter trouncing John Isner in round one Matthew Ebden is having a tougher time with the ungamely Alexandr Dolgopolov. Losing the openiong set to the Ukrainian in a tiebreak.
9.41pm: I was freaking out: Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios says he felt the pressure trying to close out Viktor Troicki.
“It was a strange one; it was tough with a lot of things going on,” Kyrgios said.
“I know that Vik is a fighter and I knew I had to stick to my guns. “He broke me back when I was serving for the match and I started freaking out and I just kind of tried to hold serve and tried to work it out in the breaker. “I got lucky but it was tough match and I am happy to get through.”
9.31pm: IN THE FACE
A lot of tennis players have probably dreamed of smacking the umpire with a ball Viktor Troicki achieved it.
Poor James😩😂 #Kyrgios #Troicki #Keothavong #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/6jU0eAIlPh
— Mike (@mrenzaero) January 17, 2018
9.24pm: Goerges gone in upset
Julia Goerges who was considered by many an outside chance in the women’’s draw is gone as her 15 match winning streak that included titkles in Moscow, Zhuhai, China and Auckland has been beaten by French upset queen Alize Cornet.
Cornet is no stranger to upsetting players higher ranked than her at the slams and has done it again puting the 12th seed out 6-4 6-3.
next for the tour veteran is either Daria Gavrilova or Elise Mertens in a quarter of the draw that only contains one other seed, Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina.
9.16pm: Commanding Kyrgios conquers Troicki
He wasn’t always calm as crowd noise, a heckler and a helicopter conspired to annoy him but Nick Kyrgios reigned supreme again on Hisense Arena.
The 22-year-old Australian produced peerless tennis to easily account for tricky world No.55 Viktor Troicki 7-5 6-4 7-6 in a complete performance, where he only faltered while serving for the match the first time before closing it out in a tiebreak.
Sure there were the usual arguments and distractions but in 2018 it appears to be a different Kyrgios. The distractions aren’t as big a focal point nor are the arguments with the chair as explosive yet.
In winning the match in short order Kyrgios banged down 17 aces and 38 winners but most impressive were his percentages on serve: 72 per cent first serves in for an 84 per cent win rate on his first ball.
One can only imagine what he might say post-match about the heckler.
9pm: Dimitrov drops opening set
Is an upset on the cards? The third seed has dropped the opening set of his match to American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald on Rod Laver Arena. If the unlikely was to happen a McDonald win would open up the draw dramatically for Nick Kyrgios, if he can beat Viktor Troicki.
SHOCK ALERT?
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) January 17, 2018
World number 186 McDonald has taken the opening set against third seed Dimitrov! pic.twitter.com/E8BvF8irdB
8.30pm: This is how well Kyrgios is going
Kyrgios (🎥Eurosport) pic.twitter.com/Byo5g1c4FD
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) January 17, 2018
8.20pm: Kyrgios in control
Nick Kyrgios has produced all kinds of tricks to go up two sets to love on Viktor Troicki and lead 7-5 6-4.
The Australian sucked Troicki in as he faked a drop shot which he then hit for a slice forehand winner and continued to control the Serbian, pushing him around the court and finishing off points at the net.
He was also the victim of a heckler in the crowd, who was ejected by the chair umpire and stadium security as he shouted at Kyrgios before running up the stairs and being ejected.
That heckler was specualted on social media outlets to be social media prankster Jamie Zhu, who didn’t necessarily get the fired up reaction from Kyrgios that he wanted.
The Aussie is in control and looking good to book a thrid round match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
7.50pm: Kyrgios off to a flyer in acefest
Nick Kyrgios has taken the opening set of his second round match with Viktor Troicki.
The Aussie young gun pressured Troicki in the opening service game of the match but couldn’t get the break.
From there the two traded aces throughout the opening set until a loose game from Troicki gave Kyrgios the break to lead 6-5 - the Aussie served it out in a set where he hit 9 aces to 7 and failed to lose a point on his first serve, going 21 for 21 as he got 66 per cent of first serves in.
7.25pm: Rafa rolls on
Rafael Nadal wasn’t as impressive as he was in round one but the man from Majorca was still far too good for Argentine veteran Leonardo Mayer.
The top seed and second favourite to lift the title advanced with a 6-3 6-4 7-6 win and will next take on Damir Dzumhur in the third round.
There are few dangers in front of Nadal until the quarters where he could play sixth seed Marin Cilic.
“He hit the ball so strong and the last couple of games was so tough and in the tiebreak I had to play my best,” Nadal said.
“Happy to be in the third round.”
7.05pm: Kyrgios gets underway
Nick Kyrgios has taken the court for his battle with Serbia’s Viktor Troicki. Kyrgios will be looking to finish the former wolrd No.12 in quick fashion to set up a clash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after the Frenchman took over three hours and 30 minutes to see off Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in five sets.
Kyrgios had three break points in the opening game but failed to convert any.
6.45pm: French Open champ Ostapenko survives
Jelena Ostapenko has surviced a scare from China’s Ying Ying Duan to make it through to the third round in the women’s draw.
The aggressive Latvian made a slew of unforced errors to bring Duan back into the match but eventually outhit her to prevail 6-3 3-6 6-4.
With Serena Williams away and Sloane Stephens out Ostapenko and Wimbledon winner Garbine Muguruza are the 2017 slam winners left in the women’s draw.
6.15pm: Marathon man Karlovic does it again
In 2017 Ivo Karlovic beat Horacio Zeballos in a five-set epic 22-20 in the fifth. The evergreen 38-year-old Corat has just done it again, outlasting Japan’s Yuchi Sugita 7-6 6-7 7-5 4-6 12-10 in a four hour, 33 minute epic on court 8.
Karlovic pounded down 53 aces and 110 winners in the match to go with 50 unforced errors. In doing so he ended the chances of the rising Japanese player who beat Jack Sock in round one.
Next for the Croat is fellow tour veteran Andreas Seppi and with a section of the draw where all the seeds are gone it is wide open for him to make just the second quarter-fiinal at a slam in a career that stretches back to the year 2000. The only other time he made the final eight... Wimbledon 2009.
5.58pm: Millmania has ended for another year
John Millman is out of the Australian Open, going down in four sets to Bosnian 28th seed Damir Dzumhur 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-1. That leaves Matthew Ebden and Nick Kyrgios as the only local hopes remaining in the men’s draw.
For Dzumhur the third round will likely be as far as he goes as Rafael Nadal is his likely next opponent and the world No.1 is in ominous form.
5.20pm: Tsonga ‘tired but happy’
One-time Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has ended a three-match losing run in five-setters and reversed his loss to Denis Shapovalov in straight sets in the second round at last year’s US Open.
“I’m tired, but really happy,” Tsonga said. “I did a big fight today. “It’s not easy against these young guns, they go for everything, but I just continued to fight.” It extended Tsonga’s record at the Australian Open to 36-10 after he was runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the 2008 final.
Shapovalov quickly jumped out of the blocks, breaking misfiring Tsonga in the fourth game on the way to taking the opening set in 34 minutes.
Tsonga picked up his game and levelled one set all with a service break in the sixth game.
But the Canadian teen hit back, taking the third set with some sensational shot-making, including a running backhand winner on break point and then breaking again in the sixth game.
Tsonga stayed alive and took the match into a fifth set decider in a resolute tiebreaker.
Shapovalov began the final set strongly, breaking Tsonga in the second game and then holding off break points in the following game.
But Tsonga would not yield and broke Shapovalov as he attempted to serve out the match, breaking with a cross court backhand.
Shapovalov began to falter as Tsonga stepped up the pressure and broke the young Canadian again in the 11th game to hit the front 6-5. He didn’t need a second chance as he served out strongly for the match.
5.20pm: Job ahead of Millman
Damir Dzumhur leads Australian John Millman 7-5 3-6 6-4 in a gruelling second-round battle on court three. The survivor of this encounter is likley to face top seed Rafa Nadal, who took the first set 6-3 in his match against Leonardo Mayer.
5pm: ‘That was crazy’
Caroline Wozniacki saved two match points to scrape through to the third round after being 5-1 down in the final set to Jana Fett.
Wozniacki, seeded two, teetered on the brink of becoming the latest big-name casualty in the bottom half of a draw that has become the seeds’ graveyard when Fett held two match points.
“That was crazy, I don’t how I got back the in the match. She really took her shots, she had nothing to lose,” said Wozniacki But when in sight of by far the biggest win of her career, the world 119’s nerves got the better of her as Wozniacki reeled off 10 points in a row to spark a winning run of six unanswered games.
“Experience was crucial,” said Wozniacki. “I think she suddenly realised at 5-1 what was happening and I just had to attack and take advantage of it.”
On Monday fifth seed Venus Williams, 10th seed CoCo Vandeweghe and 13th seed and reigning US Open champion Sloane Stephens all made early exits, meaning the bottom half of the draw is now wide open.
Wozniacki will continue her quest for a first Grand Slam title next against either Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands or American Nicole Gibbs for a place in the last 16.
4.45pm: Tsonga wins a thriller
Men’s 15th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has rallied from the brink of defeat to top rising star Denis Shapovalov in a classic match on Margaret Court Arena.
The Frenchman pulled out a 3-6 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 win in a seesawing contest, after trailing 5-2 in the deciding set.
Shapovalov could not close out the match, and Tsonga reeled off five straight games to power into the third round, where a meeting with Australia’s Nick Kyrgios or Victor Troicki awaits.
4.30pm: Wozniacki digs deep
Caroline Wozniacki saved two match points to scrape through to the third round after being 5-1 down in the final set to unheralded Jana Fett.
The Danish number two seed somehow prevailed after a titanic struggle 3-6 6-2 7-5 against the world No. 119 on a searing Rod Laver Arena in two hours and 31 minutes.
She next faces either Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands or American Nicole Gibbs for a place in the last 16.
4.15pm: Millman not delivering
Australia’s John Millman has dropped the first set against Damir Dzumhur 7-5 on show court three. The Bosnia and Herzegovina product is ranked 30th, more than 100 places higher than Millman (165).
Elsewhere, Croatia’s sixth seed Marin Cilic has advanced to the third round after a straight-sets win over Portugal’s Joao Sousa.
Cilic, last year’s Wimbledon finalist, downed the 70th-ranked Sousa 6-1 7-5 6-2 and will now play either American Ryan Harrison or Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.
3.45pm: Tsonga forces a decider
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has taken his match against Denis Shapovalov into a fifth set after winning the fourth in a tiebreak 7-4.
This is the match of the tournament so far, with both players producing exhilarating tennis. Winners are coming from some impossible places on Margaret Court Arena.
The 18-year-old Canadian won the first set 6-3 and added the third 6-1, but 32-year-old Tsonga took the second 6-3 and then snatched the fourth after an absorbing battle.
3.25pm: Kyle shows some style
Great Britain hope Kyle Edmund has crushed last year’s surprise packet Denis Istomin 6-2 6-2 6-4 in 90 minutes out on court 13.
Istomin was the man who unseated defending champion Novak Djokovic at this tournament last year in a five-set thriller.
But the Uzbek was unable to repeat his heroics today, and Edmund will now face Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili for a place in the fourth round.
Men’s 23rd seed Gilles Muller had a tougher time of it against Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri, eventually prevailing 7-5 6-4 6-7(7-5) 3-6 6-2.
Caroline #Wozniacki with a strong reply after dropping the first set.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2018
We're going three...#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/vkfImV8vm2
3pm: Denis a menace for Tsonga
Crowd favourite and 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is in trouble in his second-round match against young gun Denis Shapovalov.
Left-hander Shapovalov, ranked 50th, is considered a future grand slam champion by many good judges, and he’s showing why on Margaret Court Arena.
The 18-year-old leads Tsonga 6-3 3-6 6-1 in a high-quality match.
Denis Shapovalov is a cheat code 🔥#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/iKOttXhkAm
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2018
2.30pm: Flipped out
The women’s 19th seed, Magdalena Rybarikova, has won a wild three-setter against Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 0-6 6-2 to seal a spot in the third round. Belinda Bencic was unable to follow up on her upset over Venus Williams, falling to Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum in the second round 6-1 6-3.
Bencic, 20, was never in contention on a searing day on Hisense Arena. Often touted as a future champion after making her WTA debut at 14, Bencic again failed to live up to the hype.
For Kumkhum, it was a major achievement in her seventh grand slam main draw appearance.
She lists her best tennis memory as reaching the second round at Melbourne Park in 2013, which she must now surely revise.
“This is the best win of my career,” she said afterwards. “I kept telling my coach and family that I want to pass the second round, so I’m really happy.”
1.45pm: Favourite survives a scare
Title favourite Elina Svitolina has survived a stern test against rising Czech Katerina Siniakova to reach the third round.
Fourth-seeded Svitolina had to battle back from a set down to beat Siniakova 4-6 6-2 6-1 and set up a showdown on Friday with 15-year-old Ukrainian qualifier Marta Kostyuk.
“I think she played well in the first set but I gave her one break, so I think it was kind of my mistake,” Svitolina said.
She cranked up the heat as temperatures rose on Rod Laver Arena, relentlessly overpowering her opponent from the back of the court to take the final two sets in dominant fashion.
“I thought I was going to melt today, was struggling a bit” Svitolina admitted. “Today I had enough sun, I just want to have an ice bath and recover.”
Svitolina came into the tournament in top form after winning the Brisbane International warm-up event after picking up five WTA Tour titles last year, more than any other woman.
And she is eyeing a first career grand slam title after her half of the draw -- already shorn of US Open semi-finalists Venus Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe and Sloane Stephens -- saw Russian 15th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova bundled out 6-2, 6-3 today.
“Of course, after winning in Brisbane and having a great year in 2017,” she said when asked if she could win in Melbourne. “But it’s a grand slam and every opponent is determined to win.”
Andreas Seppi has advanced after a 6-1 6-3 6-4 win over Yoshihito Nishioka, Nikoloz Basilashvili beat qualifier Ruben Bemelmans 7-5 6-1 6-3, while Denisa Allertova has advanced from qualifying to round three after a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) win over China’s Zhang Shuai.
1.20pm: More on Marta Kostyuk
The 15-year-old sensation’s fairytale has continued after she beat local wildcard Olivia Rogowska.
The 6-3 7-5 win took the Ukrainian teenager’s win streak at Melbourne Park to an incredible 11 straight matches after winning the Australian Open girls’ title in 2017 and coming through qualifying this year.
If those feats are not astonishing enough, Kostyuk has now become the youngest player to reach the third round since Martina Hingis got to the quarter-finals as a 15-year-old in 1996.
Playing since the age of five and watched by mum Talina Beyko in her player’s box on Margaret Court Arena, Kostyuk said she had been used to setting new standards.
“I think I broke some records every year so I feel OK about it,” she said. In the first round she had dismantled Chinese number one and 25th seed Peng Shuai in straight sets in just 57 minutes.
The talented Kostyuk continued in the same vein against Rogowska, taking the first set in 39 minutes.
She endured a couple of wobbles in the second set, including a serve off the frame into the crowd on her first of two match points, before getting over the finish line and breaking into a massive smile.
The youngster is managed by former player Ivan Ljubicic, Roger Federer’s coach, and said she was pleased to have such experience in her corner.
“He is always helping me, telling me what was wrong, even when I win,” she said laughing. “I am lucky to have his experience.”
Her reward is a third-round clash against countrywoman and world number four Elina Svitolina or the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.
12.45pm: Rookie reigns
Rising star Marta Kostyuk, 15, is through to the third round after finishing off Australia’s Olivia Rogowska 6-3 7-5.
Kostyuk on Monday became the first player born in 2002 to win in the main draw of a grand slam when she shocked China’s 25th seed Peng Shuai in straight sets.
The Ukrainian has showed no sign of nerves in her first grand slam tournament.
Kostyuk, who entered the tournament ranked No.521, had already played six hours on court through three three-set qualifying rounds before beating Peng.
The win over Peng gave Kostyuk the distinction of being the youngest player to win a main-draw match at the Australian Open since Martina Hingis in 1996.
12.30pm: Upset alert
Women’s 15th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has lost her second-round encounter to 94th-ranked Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko in straight sets.
Bondarenko needed an hour and 14 minutes to win the match 6-2 6-3 to nab the first boilover of day three.
12pm: Aussie on the back foot
Australian wildcard Olivia Rogowska has lost the first match of her second-round match against 15-year-old prodigy Marta Kostyuk.
The Ukrainian qualifier broke Rogowska’s serve twice on the way to taking the set 6-3, and she quickly jumps ahead in the second to take charge of the match.
Kostyuk is ranked 491 in the world, while 26-year-old Rogowska is 168th.
Elsewhere, fourth seed Elina Svitolina trails world No.59 Katerina Siniakova one set to love (6-4), while men’s 10th seed Pablo Carreno Busta has advanced after Gilles Simon retired while trailing 6-2 3-0.
THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS! 😱ðŸ‘
— #7TENNIS 🎾 (@7tennis) January 17, 2018
🇪🇸 @pablocarreno91 with one of the shots of the YEAR to take the 1st set v 🇫🇷 @GillesSimon84!#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/81rgiUChaA
11.30am: Kyrgios cops a fine
Australia’s volatile Nick Kyrgios has been fined for a colourful directive to the rowdy crowd during his opening round win at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old was slapped with a $3000 penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct early in his 6-1 6-2 6-4 win over Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva in a night match on Hisense Arena on Monday.
Kyrgios was serving for a 4-1 lead in the first set on Monday night when he apparently told a member of the crowd to “shut the f..k up” during his service motion.
The 17th seed quizzed the umpire as to why he didn’t caution the crowd earlier as fans made noise during his service action.
“All you have to do is say ‘please be quiet when the player is serving’,” Kyrgios said. “If you did it the first time, he wouldn’t have done it the second time, correct? Correct?”
The chair umpire said he was reluctant to caution the crowd for a first offence. “Because I’m not going to do it after one guy (yells out),” he said.
The Australian was among six players fined a total $15,000 for indiscretions in qualifying and the main draw’s first phase at the year’s opening grand slam.
Croatia’s Borna Coric was hit with a $5000 penalty for racquet abuse during his defeat to Australia’s John Millman.
Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman and Romanian Marius Copil were fined $2000 each for the same offence.
Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik was handed two $1000 fines and American Stefan Kozlov was penalised $1000, both for audible obscenities during qualifying.
10.25am: Sally Pearson v Federer
The Australian track star has been nominated for a prestigious Laureus World Sport Award following her emotional gold medal win at the world championships last year.
Pearson is one of two Australians included in any of the eight categories, with surfing world champion Tyler Wright also acknowledged for her second world title last year.
Pearson, nominated for the Comeback of the Year award, completed one of the most remarkable fightbacks in Australian sporting history by winning the 100m hurdles in London.
After claiming Olympic gold at the London Olympics in 2012, she suffered an endless run of injuries over a three-year period that threatened to end her sporting career.
Pearson is in a hotly contested category that includes Brazilian football team Chapecoense following their tragic plane crash, and Roger Federer’s successful return from a knee injury.
FC Barcelona, who fought back from 4-0 to score a remarkable 6-5 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi and men’s 100m world champion Justin Gatlin are also shortlisted.
British distance runner Mo Farah, F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, cyclist Chris Froome, Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal, Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Federer have been nominated for Sportsman of the Year.
For the Sportswoman of the Year award, Americans Allyson Felix (track), Katie Ledecky (swimming), Mikaela Shiffrin (skiing), Serena Williams (tennis) are in contention, along with South African runner Caster Semenya and Spanish tennis star Garbine Muguruza.
The winners will be announced in Monaco on February 27.
9.40am: Heat doesn’t scare Barty
A forecast 38-degree day doesn’t scare Ash Barty, who wants her second- round match to be scheduled during the afternoon as she looks to blaze a path through the Australian Open field.
Barty can look forward to a second-round date with red-hot Italian Camila Giorgi on Thursday after overcoming Aryna Sabalenka in three sets.
“(Against Giorgi) it’s going to be important for me to move well, switch on right from the first ball, be ready to dig out some tough balls early,” she said last night. And that’s where the weather can help.
The Queensland-based Barty will embrace the opportunity to put her fitness to the test.
Put to her that no one likes those conditions, Barty smiled and said “Aussies do”.
“Absolutely. I love it. I’m from Brisbane (and it’s) nice and hot up there. 38 would be perfect,” she said.
8.40am: You stay classy, Roger Federer
If you missed comedian Will Ferrell’s hilarious interview with defending Australian Open champion Roger Federer and fellow tennis legend John “McIntosh” McEnroe last night, then do yourself a favour and watch it immediately.
"Are you a witch or a vampire?"
— #7TENNIS 🎾 (@7tennis) January 16, 2018
Will Ferrell interviewing @rogerfederer just might be the greatest thing to have ever happened. 😂😂😂#7Tennis #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/PA7yQx98Dd
Courtney Walsh 8.30am: Day 3 preview
Local fans will be hoping for a better day for Australians after a near clean sweep, with Ash Barty the only winner — and only just against an emerging talent with a promising future.
Nick Kyrgios is again the headline act, while Western Australian Matt Ebden cracks a big stage for his second round clash.
Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki are the biggest names on court today.
AUSSIE WATCH
* 23-Daria GAVRILOVA vs Elise MERTENS (Rod Laver Arena, second night match): This is a difficult outing for Gavrilova, though she does tend to produce her best form at home. The Belgian player defeated her in three sets in the Hopman Cup and was impressive defending her Hobart International title last week. It really is a tricky encounter and it is hard to tip a victor with any confidence.
* Olivia ROGOWSKA vs Marta KOSTYUK (Margaret Court Arena, 11am): Rogowska won a battle of Melburnians when edging Jaimee Fourlis in the opening round. She has been around for a long time and it was good to see her claim a win. This shapes as a fascinating clash, for she is pitted against a 15-year-old here. Kostyuk became the youngest player born this century to win a grand slam match on Monday.
* Matt EBDEN vs Alexander DOLGOPOLOV (Margaret Court Arena, second night match): The Perth resident resurrected his career in 2017 after battling persistent knee soreness and is now firmly entrenched in the top 100. He closed out an upset win over John Isner in strong fashion but faces a challenge against the talented Dolgopolov, who is capable of brilliant tennis when on. Ebden is capable of rushing the Ukrainian but it is certainly another challenge.
* 17-Nick KYRGIOS vs Viktor TROICKI (Hisense Arena, 6.45pm): The Australian hope continued his convincing form in Brisbane when a convincing winner on the opening night. Troicki is a hardened veteran who has been ranked as high as 12 in the world. But he was pushed to the brink by Kyrgios’ mate Alex Bolt in the opening round, so bouncing back will be a challenge. Kyrgios, who toppled Troicki in the Montreal Masters last year, should prove too strong.
* John MILLMAN vs 28-Damir DZUMHUR (Show Court 3, third match on): The Queenslander posted a strong opening round win over the talented Borna Coric but faces another test here against the seeded Dzumhur. The Bosnian defeated Millman in straight sets last year in Shenzhen, but it was a tight affair at a time the Australian was still building confidence on his return from injury. He loves playing at home and Dzumhur is coming off a marathon opening round. Expect more Millmania here.
AN UPSET OR TWO?
After a brilliant opening day with successes by Belinda Bencic, Ruben Bemelmans and Yoshihito Nishioka, yesterday proved solid.
Feliciano Lopez proved a bust when thrashed by Sam Querrey, but Ana Bogdan continued Kristina Mladenovic’s miserable slide when posting her maiden Australian Open win.
Hyeon Chung was en route to making it two from three when well in control against Mischa Zverev, a quarterfinalist last year, before he withdrew in the second set when unwell.
Today, an intriguing clash pits young Canadian star Denis Shapovalov against former Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The emerging talent upset the Frenchman in New York and I think he can do it again here, which could set up a fascinating clash against Nick Kyrgios.
Tenth seed Pablo Carreno Busta was tested for a period by Australian wildcard Jason Kubler on Monday and I think he may meet his match here in French veteran Gilles Simon, who started the season with a title. Their head to head is two apiece but Simon won their only clash on hard court convincingly.
Monica Puig lost her only clash against veteran Estonian Kaia Kanepi but I fancy her here, even though she will probably start favourite.
She did well when saving a match point en route to a win over Sam Stosur in her opening round and hopefully that will be the spark the Rio Olympics gold medallist needs to regain her best form.
Australian Open’s call on shock US Open mixed doubles decision
The Australian Open has made a decisive call as to whether it will follow in the footsteps of the US Open and relegate mixed doubles to a pre-tournament sideshow.
Hunter reveals comeback plan, 10 months after brutal injury struck
Struck down by a brutal injury off the back of a career-best run, an Aussie tennis ace has revealed her plans to return to the court later this month.