Australian Open 2015: Day 3 Results, Highlights and Scores Recap from Melbourne
Rafael Nadal was pushed to the brink in his Round 2 match with Tim Smyczek, eventually emerging as the victor in a a draining five-set encounter. The Spaniard—who was 2-1 down in the match—looked to be struggling with fitness issues throughout, but he showed remarkable fortitude to advance.
Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova were also given scares in their respective Round 2 matches. Federer—a four-time winner of this event—lost the first stanza against Simone Bolelli before going on to win in four sets.
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Sharapova looked to be romping to another comfortable victory when she took the first set of her clash with Alexandra Panova inside 30 minutes. But her compatriot roared back into contention in the second before Sharapova saved two match points in the decider to eventually book her place in Round 3.
Andy Murray kept British hopes alive in the competition after a routine straight-sets victory over Marinko Matosevic. The two-time Slam winner looked eminently unflustered throughout his clash with the Australian, dropping just six games on his way to victory.
Here’s a look at the results from a jam-packed Day 3 in Melbourne:
| (2) Roger Federer | 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 | Simone Bolelli |
| (10) Grigor Dimitrov | 6-3 6-7 (10-12) 6-3 6-3 | Lukas Lacko |
| (14) Kevin Anderson | 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) | Ricardas Berankis |
| Joao Sousa | 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 1-0 ret | (32) Martin Klizan |
| (6) Andy Murray | 6-1 6-3 6-2 | Marinko Matosevic |
| (24) Richard Gasquet | 6-2 6-3 7-5 | James Duckworth |
| Viktor Troicki | 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-0 | (26) Leonardo Mayer |
| Marcos Baghdatis | 6-1 6-4 4-6 6-0 | (20) David Goffin |
| (7) Tomas Berdych | 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 6-2 | Jurgen Melzer |
| (3) Rafael Nadal | 6-2 3-6 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-5 | Tim Smyczek |
| Bernard Tomic | 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) | Philipp Kohlschreiber |
| Yanina Wickmayer | 6-4 4-6 6-4 | Lara Arruabarrena |
| Caroline Garcia | 6-3 6-4 | Stefanie Voegele |
| (14) Sara Errani | 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 | Silvia Soler Espinosa |
| (2) Maria Sharapova | 6-1 4-6 7-5 | Alexandra Panova |
| Lucie Hradecka | 4-6 6-3 6-2 | Polona Hercog |
| (22) Karolina Pliskova | 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 | Oceane Dodin (Fra) |
| Irina-Camelia Begu | 7-5 6-4 | Katerina Siniakova |
| Julia Goerges | 6-3 4-6 6-2 | Klara Koukalova |
| Yaroslava Shvedova | 6-2 7-6 (8-6) | Monica Puig |
| (10) Ekaterina Makarova | 6-2 6-4 | Roberta Vinci |
| (21) Shuai Peng | 6-1 6-1 | Magdalena Rybarikova |
| Carina Witthoeft | 6-3 6-0 | Christina McHale |
Nadal Pushed All the Way
Nadal won a five-set epic against Smyczek to book his place in Round 3, but it was clear all is not well for the 14-time Grand Slam winner.
It looked to be business as usual for the Spaniard as he romped to an opening set win, but the American came roaring back into contention. He took the second set to level things up before moving into a 2-1 lead after an emphatic tie-break win in the third.
As noted by sports writer Graham Ruthven, the Spaniard looked to be struggling with fitness:
But the Spaniard has proven himself to be a fighter throughout his distinguished career, and he hit back at Smyczek in the fourth. Suddenly he looked to have an extra spring in his step, as noted by tennis writer Ben Rothenberg:
He took the fourth set to level the match and set up what proved to be an engrossing final set. With so much at stake, both players clung on throughout to hold serve until the 11th game of the set, but Nadal conjured up a few moments of magic to seize the initiative.
Serving for the match, the third seed made no mistake; here's the moment Nadal sealed victory, per the tournament's official Twitter account:
But it remains to been seen what toll this game has taken on him physically. It'll be intriguing to see if Israel's Dudi Sela can capitalise when he faces Nadal in Round 3.
Federer Overcomes Early Wobble
From the outset of of his match with Bolelli, it looked as though it was going to be a very tough day for Federer. The 17-time Slam winner really struggled to settle into his insouciant groove early on in the clash and the Italian capitalised with gumption, taking the opening set by a comfortable 6-3 scoreline.
The Swiss maestro was clearly struggling with a problem on his hand during the opening exchanges and explained what the problem was after the match’s conclusion per the tournament’s official Twitter account:
Bolelli’s intensity was unabated throughout the second set, but as Federer began to click into gear, the Italian was no match for his opponent. From that point on, the Swiss was irrepressible in his work around the court and showcased his patented poise to rattle off the next three sets in succession.
Here's one particular highlight from the second seed:
The 33-year-old admitted afterwards that he was fearing the worst at one point, however, per tennis writer Ben Rothenberg:
Up next for the four-time Australian Open champion will be Jeremy Chardy or Andreas Seppi. Both players are capable talents, but—further undesirable encounters with insects avoided—Federer looks to be in good enough fettle to make it into the last 16.
Sharapova Battles Back from the Brink
It looked as though Sharapova—seeded second in Melbourne—was in one of those moods in her clash with Panova. It took the Russian star just 27 minutes to rattle off the first set for a 6-1 scoreline, and with her compatriot showcasing little resistance, this match looked poised to be over inside 60 minutes.
But Panova, perhaps feeling as though she had nothing to lose, came out swinging. The world No. 150 romped into an early lead in the second stanza before eventually taking it 6-4. Sharapova was rattled and, as noted by BBC Tennis, an upset was beginning to look on the cards:
Those suspicions were confirmed early in the deciding set in the Rod Laver Arena as Panova carried some serious momentum into the opening games. She broke Sharapova early in the stanza, and with the scoreline at 5-3, she had an incredible opportunity to beat the five-time Grand Slam winner.
But when the opportunities came about, she showed her lack of experience. Sharapova was able to save two match points against the noticeably tight underdog and, despite enduring a ropey time of things during the contest, a player of her calibre will always capitalise on those hesitations.
As noted by Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated, the Russian showed serious bottle to get back in the match:
Eventually she went on to take victory, and Panova will be left to reflect on a huge opportunity missed. Sharapova will be delighted to be alive in the tournament and, although she’s been in indomitable form in the build-up to this event, this scare should sharpen her focus with some tougher clashes to come.
Murray Makes Light Work of Home-Crowd Favourite
Local hope Matosevic proved to be no match for the might of Murray as the sixth seed coasted into Round 3 of the tournament. As we can see here courtesy of the tournament’s official Twitter account, it was an almost flawless display from the 27-year-old:
The manner with which Murray began this clash meant the result never really looked in doubt. Matosevic was roared on by a raucous home crowd, and there were signs he was trying a little too hard to make an impression. Subsequently, his game was erratic and laced with rudimentary mistakes.
That set the tone for an emphatic victory, and Murray admitted in the aftermath that the manner in which both players started was vital to the win, per BBC Sport:
"I started the match very well.
Marinko was slow at the beginning and improved as the match went on. There were tight games in the second and third sets and they could have gone either way.
But they went my way and it was a good match.
"
As we can see here courtesy of ESPN Tennis, Murray boasts quite the record when it comes to surging through the early rounds of the major tournaments:
"No.6 seed Andy Murray reaches his 27th straight 3rd round of a Grand Slam with a 61 63 62 win over Aussie Matosevic. pic.twitter.com/PARGs3NsP1
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 21, 2015"
Next up for Murray is a clash with Joao Sousa, a match he should have little problem in winning. In truth, all eyes are already looking ahead to a potential meeting between the British No. 1 and Federer in what would be a really enticing quarter-final clash.
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