Wawrinka, Nishikori show no mercy
MELBOURNE (AFP) — Defending champion Stan Wawrinka and Japanese star Kei Nishikori showed no mercy in powering through to the Australian Open second round Tuesday as unseeded dark horse Victoria Azarenka won her grudge match.
Wawr inka stunned Rafael Nadal to win his maiden Grand Slam at Melbourne Park in 2014 and is keen to repeat the heroics again this year.
The Swiss fourth seed got his title defence off to to a solid start with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 mauling of Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan, while fifth seed Nishikori battled past Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in straight sets.
World number one Novak Djokovic and counterpart Serena Willaims open their Melbourne accounts later Tuesday, as do women’s fourth seed Petra Kvitova and men’s eighth seed Milos Raonic.
Roger Federer, Nadal and Maria Sharapova all played Monday and easily progressed.
The big-serving Wawrinka had few problems with the 100th-ranked Ilhan with five service breaks while fighting off two break points on his serve.
“It was great to be back on Rod Laver Arena again, it brings back so many memories from last year,” he said.
“It was such an amazing two weeks last year so it was great to come back here and I am pleased with my game in general and I’m excited to start again.”
Nishikori, who lost to Marin Cilic in last year’s US Open final and is widely tipped as a future major champion, showed his mettle to beat Almagro 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2.
The Spaniard is a former world number nine and the Japanese star said it was a good workout.
“Obviously it was a really tough, tough first match. He could be seeded player, and I know he was injured, but still was tough match,” he said. “It was a little bit windy, so we both didn’t play maybe 100 percent. But I was getting more balls, especially third set, and I played much better in the third set.
Enticing rematch
Azarenka is a two-time Australian Open champion but came into the tournament ranked just 44 after an injury-marred 2014 and a battle with depression.
But she showed why she is regarded as the most dangerous unseeded player as she downed American Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2 to set up an enticing second round encounter with eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki.
Azarenka and Stephens have history, with the Belarussian former world number one controversially defeating her in the 2013 semi-final with the help of a lengthy medical timeout, which angered the fans.
She needed no such tactics on Tuesday, leaving little doubt that she wants a third Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park after triumphing in 2012 and 2013.
“You’ve got to win seven matches to win a title and this was a great first round for me to really test my game,” the 25-year-old said.
“I’m happy with what I did... Sloane’s a tricky opponent who has big weapons so I tried to stay aggressive and take every opportunity and control the game. I really had to stay focused and composed.”
Denmark’s Wozniacki, another former world number one, had a tougher assignment against Ameri- can teenager Taylor Townsend, who made her work hard for a 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 win.
Other seed4s progressing included Dominika Cibulkova, who lost in last year’s final to the now-retired Li Na. On the men’s side, 16th seeded Italian Fabio Fognini was a casualty.