Australian Open 2015 Results: Day 2 Scores and Day 3 Bracket Predictions
Tuesday's action at the 2015 Australian Open marked somewhat of a return to normalcy as the first round wound to a close, with almost all of the seeded favorites advancing rather easily.
Such wasn't the case on opening day, when No. 5 Ana Ivanovic and No. 9 Angelique Kerber on the women's side both went down. But those who waited until Day 2 to get going obviously got the memo, and the results certainly reflect that.
No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki did get tested early against USA's own Taylor Townsend, but closed her out late with a 7-6, 6-2 victory. Her potential quarterfinal opponent also took care of business, as top-seeded Serena Williams dominated 20-year-old Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck in the night cap.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
As for the men's, No. 1 Novak Djokovic and defending champion No. 4 Stan Wawrinka showcased their dominance in straight-set wins—proving a possible semifinal rematch might be an inevitability.
Let's go ahead and look at all of the high-seeded scores from Day 2, and look forward at Day 3 as the round of 64 gets underway.
| No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. Aljaz Bedene | 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 |
| No. 4 Stan Wawrinka def. Marsel Ilhan | 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 |
| No. 5 Kei Nishikori def. Nicolas Almagro | 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-2 |
| No. 8 Mios Raonic def. Ilya Marchenko | 7-6(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 |
| No. 9 David Ferrer def. Thomaz Bellucci | 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 |
| No. 12 Feliciano Lopez def. Denis Kudla | 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 |
| No. 13 Roberto Bautista Agut def. Dominic Thiem | 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(5) |
| Alejandro Gonzalez def. No. 16 Fabio Fognini | 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 |
| No. 17 Gael Monfils def. Lucas Pouille | 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 |
| No. 19 John Isner def. Jimmy Wang | 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 |
| No. 1 Serena Williams def. Alison Van Uytvanck | 6-0, 6-4 |
| No. 4 Petra Kvitova def. Richel Hogenkamp | 6-1, 6-4 |
| No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki def. Taylor Townsend | 7-6(1), 6-2 |
| No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska def. Kurumi Nara | 6-3, 6-0 |
| No. 11 Dominika Cibulkova def. Kirsten Flipkens | 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 |
| Madison Brengle def. No. 13 Andrea Petkovic | 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 |
| Timea Bacsinszky def. No. 15 Jelena Jankovic | 6-1, 6-4 |
| No. 18 Venus Williams def. Maria Torro-Flor | 6-2, 6-2 |
| Victoria Azarenka def. Sloane Stephens | 6-3, 6-2 |
Note: Tournament results courtesy of the Australian Open official site.
Day 3 Predictions
Roger Federer Keeps on Rolling
Unseeded Italian Simone Bolelli entered this year's Australian Open hoping to get past the second round for the first time in now five career visits. He wasn't done any favors by drawing the great Roger Federer in Round 2.
The second-seeded Swiss superstar began his tournament in the Down Under with a hard-earned straight-set win over Yen-Hsun Lu, and he looks primed to make a run to the final in a half of the bracket containing Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
Along with his first Grand Slam title since 2012, he's also trying to distance himself in many respects from some of the greatest ever, as ESPN Tennis showed:
"No one in the Open Era has more #AusOpen match wins than Federer. Second on that list? His coach, Stefan Edberg. #ESPNTennis
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 19, 2015"
Federer should have no trouble getting past an overmatched Bolelli on Wednesday. He's a perfect 2-0 against the Italian, and has never lost a set to him although they haven't faced off since 2009.
Few players in all of men's tennis—if any—had a more consistent 2014 season than Federer, but he knows better than anyone how it also ended without a Slam title. As he continues to chase the ever-elusive No. 18, Federer won't blink against his early opposition.
Maria Sharapova Continues Early Dominance
It remains to be seen whether top-seeded Serena Williams is going to bring her best to the Down Under, but No. 2 Maria Sharapova looks locked and loaded for a run at her first Aussie Open title since 2008.
She began with a high-flying opening-round performance against Petra Martic, drubbing her 6-4, 6-1 in a straight-set victory. She goes up against another fellow Russian in the second round, facing the unheralded Alexandra Panova.
Panova was bounced in qualifying in Brisbane for her tune-up action, and she has looked shaky at times in qualifying in Melbourne with two victories that went the distance. Meanwhile, Sharapova seems to have her mind right and sounds ready for a deep run, per the tournament's Twitter:
Early-round matches like this are the ones that used to trip Sharapova up over the last few years, but she moved closer and closer to her form of old throughout the 2014 season. If that's any indication of how she comes into this second-round matchup, Panova stands no chance.
Andy Murray Dismantles Marinko Matosevic
One of the toughest draws for any notable men's contender doesn't have Andy Murray shaken entering play at the Australian Open.
He showed that with a straight-set drubbing of Yuki Bhambri, winning 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. Most importantly, he was flying around the court and making the eye-popping shots that have made him one of the best in the world.
Entering his second-round affair against Marinko Matosevic, however, he stands as Great Britain's only chance of a title at the Down Under even after one round as New York Times' Ben Rothenberg noted:
Matosevic will certainly be up for the challenge, but it's hard to see him channeling enough emotion after putting everything into a five-set opening win against Alexander Kudryavtsev. Not only will he have to bounce back from that emotional win, but he'll be doing so against a surging Murray.
The Brit is a perfect 2-0 for his career against Matosevic, and the underdog doesn't stand a legitimate shot if Murray plays anything like he did in Round 1.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
