Australian Open 2015 Results: Day 3 Scores and Day 4 Bracket Predictions
It was a breeze for some and a scare for others, but the top names who squared off in Day 3 action at the 2015 Australian Open found their way through to the round of 32 one way or another.
A catastrophic early loss almost came the way of women's No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, but she battled back through two match points to win a 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 thriller over fellow Russian Alexandra Panova. Right afterward, men's No. 2 Roger Federer had a similar scare against Simone Bolelli, who won the opening set, but Federer rallied back to win it in four.
Those tests were nothing in comparison to the near catastrophe from Rafael Nadal, whose game looked to be falling apart against unheralded American Tim Smyczek. One set away from a shocking upset, Nadal rallied for a five-set win.
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Things weren't so complicated for the likes of No. 6 Andy Murray, No. 7 Eugenie Bouchard and others who were able to cruise to easy victories. But even in this early stage of the tournament, winning is all that matters.
The tests get tougher heading into the start of the third round on Day 4, so let's take a look at the notable final results from Day 3 before looking ahead to Thursday.
| No. 2 Roger Federer def. Simone Bolelli | 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 |
| No. 3 Rafael Nadal def. Tim Smyczek | 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-5 |
| No. 6 Andy Murray def. Marinko Matosevic | 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 |
| No. 7 Tomas Berdych def. Jurgen Melzer | 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-2 |
| No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov def. Lukas Lacko | 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-3, 6-3 |
| Bernard Tomic def. No. 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber | 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(6), 7-6(5) |
| No. 24 Richard Gasquet def. James Duckworth | 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 |
| No. 2 Maria Sharapova def. Alexandra Panova | 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 |
| No. 3 Simona Halep def. Jarmila Gajdosova | 6-2, 6-2 |
| No. 7 Eugenie Bouchard def. Kiki Bertens | 6-0, 6-3 |
| No. 10 Ekaterina Makarova def. Roberta Vinci | 6-2, 6-4 |
| No. 14 Sara Errani def. Silvia Soler-Espinosa | 7-6(3), 6-3 |
| No. 21 Shuai Peng def. Magladena Rybarikova | 6-1, 6-1 |
Note: Complete Day 3 results available at AusOpen.com
Day 4 Bracket Predictions
Serena Williams Inches Toward Top Form in Another Win
In Serena Williams' opening-round win over Alison Van Uytvanck, she easily closed it out in two sets despite missing a lot of shots she's known to make and allowing a late rally from her overmatched opponent. It was clear she wasn't in top form, though she had no trouble winning.
With no time to waste, expect her to take steps in that direction in the second round against Vera Zvonareva in Thursday's match.
Although she won her first set in Round 1 against Van Uytvanck 6-0, Williams faced a big test in the second set, tied 4-4 at one point. her opponent was taking over the set, but the top seed didn't back down, powering through and showing a great deal of emotion, as Australian Open showed on Twitter:
That was perhaps the biggest statement Williams could make in the opening round. While she's in control of making and missing shots, the one thing she can control better than anything else is the spirit of the match—and it got her through to the next round without much of a hiccup.
Channeling that same fire, Williams will come out intent on setting the tone against a dangerous Zvonareva. The Russian has beaten Williams three times in 10 meetings, but win No. 4 against the all-time great won't come with Williams chasing Grand Slam No. 19
More Djokovic, More Problems for Kuznetsov
No player is easier money early in Slams than Novak Djokovic, and it just so happens that he feels right at home in Melbourne—where he's won three of the last four titles.
He showcased his early-round dominance in Round 1 with a straight-set drubbing of Aljaz Bedene on the second day of play and is set to do so again versus youngster Andrey Kuznetsov in Thursday's second-round bout.
Although he's just 23 years of age, Kuznetsov has appeared in 10 Slam events. He failed to make it past the second round in any of them until 2014, when he broke through into the third round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Having not played against Djokovic yet in his career, Kuznetsov is in for a rude awakening against the Serbian superstar. He'll be able to hang with Djokovic's service but will be suffocated by his forehand. Djokovic will exhaust his opponent after just three sets as he chases him around the court with accurate winners.
Defending Champ Wawrinka Blasts Romanian Qualifier
Amid all of the hype surrounding Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal, it's easy to forget about Stan Wawrinka. And what a shame that is.
In fact, Wawrinka should be the one player we don't forget about over the next couple of weeks Down Under. After all, he broke through in the 2014 Australian Open, defeating three-time winner Djokovic in the quarters and winning his first-ever Slam title.
If his opening-round win wasn't enough to draw attention his way, perhaps another showing against Marius Copil will do the trick.
Although he came from qualifying, Copil has been red hot, having lost only one set in four victories. But Wawrinka is energized and ready for a deep run, and his combination of a powerful serve and accurate placement will have Copil out of answers as Wawrinka cruises to another straight-set win.
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