Australian Open 2016 Schedule: Replay TV Coverage, Live Stream for Thursday Draw
Could this be the year that John Isner breaks through at the Australian Open?
The 30-year-old from Greensboro, North Carolina, has always cut an imposing figure on the tennis court at 6'10" and 238 pounds.
Everything about his game speaks of power, particularly on the serve. However, the 10th-seeded Isner has never gotten past the fourth round at the tournament Down Under.
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He advanced to the third round Thursday in Melbourne with his second straight impressive performance. He punished Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-2) in the second round, and it was his serve in the tiebreakers that was once again the key factor.
""@FOXSportsNews: 10th seed John Isner reaches #AusOpen third round for fifth time with 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 win over Marcel Granollers https://..."
— The Tennis Scene (@TennisScene) January 21, 2016"
Isner is almost unbeatable against all but the elite players in tiebreakers because of his ability to drive the ball hard and deep at such a tough angle. His most powerful serve of the match was measured at 139.8 miles per hour (225 kilometres per hour).
He also won his first-round match in straight sets.
Replay Viewing Info for Thursday's Draw (Day 4, Second Round)
Watch: Eurosport (UK only) and ESPN (U.S. only)
Thursday 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
On the women's side, third-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain scored a convincing 6-4, 6-2 victory over Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens.
Muguruza was able to dictate the pace on Flipkens' serve. She was able to force 12 break points, and she won five of those. Flipkens had four break points and won two of them.
The big difference came on Muguruza's ability to hit the ball with power. She hit 23 winners, while Flipkens could not come close in that category with just six.
The 22-year-old Muguruza was the runner-up at Wimbledon last year, and she would clearly like to get back to that level of play at the Australian Open.
"GSM Garbine Muguruza! A 6-4 6-2 winner over Kirsten Flipkens. Third seed moving along nicely. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/pUJBxz85NA
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) January 21, 2016"
Ana Ivanovic of Serbia registered an impressive 6-3, 6-3 victory over Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
The 20th-seeded Ivanovic is know for her ability to rally and play from the baseline. She did that in her second-round match, as she won 24 of 51 points on Sevastova's serve. Sevastova was only able to win 18 of 54 points when she was on the receiving end.
Ivanovic used her fine forehand to stroke nine winners, and she only made three unforced errors on her backhand. In comparison, Sevastova made 10 unforced errors on her backhand.
The match was delayed for about 30 minutes in the first set when a female spectator suffered a severe fall. Medical personnel attended to her before taking her away on a stretcher.
"First I felt really bad," Ivanovic told Stuart Fraser of the Daily Mail. "I was really shaking, because the sound of the lady falling was really loud. I could hear it. I stopped immediately."
The 28-year-old Ivanovic still has a long way to go recapture the past glory she had in 2008 when she was the runner-up in the Australian Open. She followed that performance by winning the French Open that year.
Ivanovic has not gone past the fourth round in any Grand Slam tournament since then.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus was also impressive in the second round, with a 6-1, 6-2 trouncing of Danika Kovinic of Montenegro.
Azarenka's serve was too much for her opponent to handle. She won 23 of 25 points that she put in play on her first serve, while Kovinic won just 15 of 30 points on her first serve.
The aggressive Azarenka, the 14th seed in the tournament, used her athleticism to dictate the pace. She went to the net 19 times and won 17 of those points. Kovinic could only get to the net four times, and while she won all of those, she didn't have the opportunity to get there with any more frequency.
"#Azarenka dishing out the goods. @vika7 into the 3R with a 6-1 6-2 win over Kovinic. #ausopen pic.twitter.com/TqTJzYOiVI
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2016"
All stats courtesy of AUSOpen.com unless otherwise noted.
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