Maria Sharapova in action against Nao Hibino during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis tournament. Unfortunately for Dolgo, Federer’s service game was absolutely sizzling in their second round match.
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It was the first time the two had faced off against each other, but it’s safe to say Davis made a good impression on the five-time Grand Slam champion.
For someone who hasn’t played a competitive match in two months, there was also the added risk of being rusty, a normal thing that all professional athletes experience after a long layoff. In a match that took just 71 minutes, Sharapova advanced comfortably 6-2, 6-1.
“I think it’s 40 years on the tennis tour that doesn’t excite me, you know”, he said with a laugh.
Sharapova, a full foot taller than the 22-year-old, had been in scintillating form so far, dropping just seven games in her opening two matches, and eased herself into the match.
Her sister, Serena, didn’t offer many clues after her second-round win over Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday.
An Australian Open finalist previous year, Sharapova is a master of playing matches at her tempo.
Former No.1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki is out of the Australian Open, losing 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 to Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. “I lost a great T-shirt in Brisbane 10 days ago”, she said.
There were few signs of discomfort from the Russian veteran in Melbourne on Monday, when she nailed 11 aces and took 73 minutes to end Hibino’s maiden grand slam. That approach didn’t reach him directly, he said, and was rejected immediately.
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.
With year’s first grand slam, Australian Open 2016 taking place in the Melbourne Park, all eyes are on the highly-anticipated meeting between on and off court rivals Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
The world No. 3 will next play Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov. “I love it every time I come here”.
In the biggest upset of the day, two-time Wimbledon champion and sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Russian-born Australian Daria Gavrilova.
After allowing her opponent back into the match when her game went significantly awry, the Russian No. 5 seed was called upon to dig deep before eventually dismissing the world No. 103 with a sublime display in the final set.
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If Sharapova gets through her next match, she faces a potential quarter-final with defending champion Williams.
