Konta’s copybook was blotted as Williams put up some resistance to break when her opponent was serving for the match, but as with the first set Konta came good at the second attempt.
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Seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open finalist, advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Austin Krajicek and No. 6 Tomas Berdych beat Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 to advance along with No. 15 David Goffin and No. 19 Dominic Thiem.
Fifth seed and last year’s runner-up Sharapova cruised into the third round with a 6-2, 6-1 rout of unseeded Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the opening match at Rod Laver Arena.
But as Sharapova served for 5-0, Sasnovich started finding her range in returning serve and a misjudged forehand from the Russian allowed her back into the set at 1-4.
The Aussie-born Brit reached the fourth round of her last Grand Slam at the US Open where she beat Garbine Muguruza and Andrea Petkovic on a 16-match unbeaten run, And the 24-year-old also beat world No. 2 Simona Halep last year.
“It all started here – this is where I played my first Grand Slam right on this court and I’m still going, it’s such an honor”, said Williams, who has a 70-9 win-loss record at Melbourne Park since her debut in 1998. Her older sister, seven-time major victor Venus Williams, was fined $5,000 on Wednesday for skipping a mandatory news conference following her first-round exit the previous day.
Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko shocked 23rd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova as she continues her comeback after having a baby in 2013.
“Yeah, I watch it every day”, deadpanned Williams, when asked if she had seen a recording of the match. She reached the tournament second week as a qualifier in 2008, but had only won two matches here since. The Eighth Seed struggled a lot on serve and was not able to move around the court with the Brit making the most of it. Breaking the Venus thrice in the second set, Konta completely dominated the set, hitting 10 winners with just 3 unforced errors.
“She was definitely a tricky opponent but it was a good match for me to play someone like that”.
“It’s always great support from Michael”.
On the men’s side, second-seeded Andy Murray opened the tournament with a convincing 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Alexander Zverev of Germany.
“I didn’t really settle”.
She next plays American Lauren Davis with her early trouble-free performances a confidence boost after her late 2015 season was wrecked by injuries. “He’s a very nice guy outside of the court – on the court he’s very tough”.
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Federer, who is trying to extend his record number of Grand Slam crowns to 18, then dismantled his 35th-ranked practice partner Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.
