Australian Open 2016 Schedule: Replay TV, Live Stream for Wednesday's Draw
In stark contrast to the first two days of the tournament, Wednesday's second-round singles draw of the 2016 Australian Open proceeded in relatively straightforward fashion.
Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Agnieszka Radwanska and more took to the courts in Melbourne on Day 3, for the most part making easy work of their opponents.
The lone stunner of the day came in the women's draw, where unseeded Australian Daria Gavrilova knocked off No. 6 Petra Kvitova in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. The 21-year-old will go on to face No. 28 Kristina Mladenovic in the third round, who was apparently rooting for the starlet to advance, per WTA Insider:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Due to the time differences, watching the Australian Open live can be a bit tricky for those living in the United States or UK. If you're looking to catch up on the day's action, here's the replay coverage for Wednesday's action.
Replay Viewing Info for Wednesday's Draw (Day 3, Second Round)
Watch: Eurosport (UK only) and ESPN (U.S. only)
Tuesday Replay Coverage: Eurosport 1 from 2:15 p.m. GMT; The Tennis Channel from 7 a.m. ET; ESPN2 from 3 p.m. ET
Full Schedule: AusOpen.com
Roundup of Top Performers
The early session of single's matches at Rod Laver Arena came and went in quick succession. First up was No. 5 Maria Sharapova, who made it look all to easy with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Next came Williams, who made quick work of unheralded Su-Wei Hsieh on Wednesday, needing just 60 minutes to win in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. The women's top seed notched seven aces and 26 winners over the course of the match. Hsieh struggled mightily, winning just 39 percent of her first-serve points.
As ESPN Tennis notes, Williams and Sharapova are showing few signs of being hampered by recent injuries:
"Injuries? What injuries? @serenawilliams and @MariaSharapova have no idea what you're talking about. #AusOpen https://t.co/iLIBf0DZjM
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) January 20, 2016"
Following Williams was third-seeded Federer, who dusted off Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6-3, 7-5, 6-1. Federer smacked 25 aces in the match, a large total for the graceful legend. Federer was classy as always in victory, complimenting Dolgopolov's tricky game.
'I'm very pleased with this win. I think it's a tough second round. My opinion [is] he's better than a lot of the guys who are ranked ahead of him," said Federer, per the Daily Mail's Mike Dickson.
Federer will take on No. 27 Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. The well-rounded Bulgarian gritted out four tough sets over Marco Trungelliti to set up the date with the legendary Federer.
Djokovic, defending champion in Melbourne and the men's top seed, needed just three sets to beat Quentin Halys in Day 3. Halys did give Djoker a bit of trouble in the third set, but Djokovic looked cool as ever in the tiebreaker and won 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (3). The Wall Street Journal's Tom Perrotta marveled at Djokovic's fluid play against Halys:
Djokovic eased to a straight-sets win over Hyeon Chung in the first round and has now won 22 straight sets, per Ladbrokes. A run to the final again looks like a strong possibility for the Serbian star, who has won this tournament five times in his illustrious career.
One of the more intriguing women's matches of the day turned out to be a pedestrian affair. Radwanska proved yet again she is in blistering form in beating 21-year-old Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-3.
Bouchard was a bit scattershot at times, with 37 unforced errors, but she is making positive strides coming back from a concussion at last year's U.S. Open and an overall poor 2015 campaign.
The bigger story is Radwanska, who is 7-0 in singles play on the year, won the Shenzhen Open earlier this month and looks to be a real threat to win the tournament, at least in tennis journalist Matt Cronin's estimation:
Ukraine's Kateryna did score a minor upset in the women's draw on Wednesday, beating No. 25 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 7-5. Shock results have cleaned out several of the lower seeds in the women's draw, perhaps paving the way for heavy hitters such as Sharapova, Radwanska and Williams to reach the late stages of the tournament.
No. 6 Tomas Berdych, No. 7 Kei Nishikori, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga No. 12 Marin Cilic and No. 29 Nick Kyrgios all impressed in straight-sets victories. Kyrgios is seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam event, and he draws Berdych in the third round.
Kyrgios' talent is overshadowed only by his on-court antics, which have already gotten him into trouble at Melbourne. Per the Sydney Morning Herald's Michael Chammas, Kyrgios received a $3,000 fine for uttering an obscenity during his first-round win over Pablo Carreno Busta.
Though he had a couple of contentious chats with the chairman in his second-round win, Kyrgios looked focused and determined for much of the match. His concentration waned a bit in the third set, but he hit a couple of beautiful winners late in the tiebreaker to seal the match.
Berdych's length and experience will prove a tough test for Kyrgios in the third round, as the young Australian looks to make the leap into the next echelon of men's tennis players.
All stats courtesy of AUSOpen.com unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
