Top seed Rafa Nadal continued his marauding path through the Australian Open, hammering Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the third round on Wednesday.
Channelling his early years with a sleeveless shirt, the muscular Mallorcan threw Mayer like a rag-doll around the Rod Laver Arena court for two hours and 38 minutes, pounding the World No. 52 with a barrage of top-spin bombs.
A masterful performance was blighted only by a late wobble, when Nadal was broken serving for the match at 5-4 in the decider.
But the Spaniard found an extra gear in the tiebreak, wrapping up the match with a monster serve to the corner that Mayer battled to get a racket to.
“Playing this court is always a big motivation for me,” said Nadal. “He was a dangerous opponent and I’m happy to be in the third round.”
“For my team and my family, this is our favourite tournament of the year, so I hope to stay around a bit longer,” he added.
Surprisingly, Nadal was not the prime time men’s night match on centre court, with that honour going to third seed Grigor Dimitrov, who survived a huge scare from unheralded qualifier Mackenzie McDonald.
Grigor Dimitrov...victory cry
The Bulgarian needed to call on all his experience to down the 186th-ranked American 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 8-6.
I’m very happy with the win, not because the way I played, but because the way I fought,” said Dimitrov. “It all came down to a few points here and there.”
“That was crazy, I don’t how I got back in the match,” said Wozniacki, adding that “experience was crucial”.
Former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saw off rising Canadian youngster Denis Shapovalov in a five-set thriller.
Outplayed at times by the stylish left-hander who struck 60 winners, Tsonga looked a beaten man at 5-2 down in the deciding set before he roused himself to claim an improbable victory.
It was not all dogged defence though, even if Shapovalov’s firepower often threatened to overwhelm Tsonga, who has been troubled by a calf injury.
With his back to the wall in a thrilling denouement to the three hour, 37 minute clash on a baking Margaret Court Arena, he produced some trademark fireworks of his own, including a between the legs effort that had the captivated crowd on its feet.
Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic became the oldest man to reach the third round for 40 years when he edged Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in five sets in searing heat.
Old warrior Karlovic, 39 next month, served down 53 aces as he came through 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 7-5 4-6 12-10 in four hours, 33 minutes — the longest match in the tournament so far.
In the women’s section, World No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki also struggled against little-known Croat Jana Fett.
The Dane saved two match points and rallied from 5-1 down in an epic third set to keep her dream of a first Grand Slam title alive. Fourth seed Elina Svitolina also came from a set down to overcome spirited Czech Katerina Siniakova 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Her next task is tackling 15-year-old sensation Marta Kostyuk, who became the youngest woman to reach the third round since Martina Hingis got to the quarterfinals in 1996. She beat local wildcard Olivia Rogowska 6-3, 7-5.
Her win streak at Melbourne Park is now 11 straight matches after claiming the Australian Open girls’ title in 2017 and coming through qualifying this year.
French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko also progressed, but she too needed three sets to get past China’s Duan Yingying.
