In the locker room prior to the match, Groth had betrayed his nerves at playing for the first time on Rod Laver Arena within earshot of Murray and the Scot took advantage of the big man’s unease in a one-sided first set.
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Murray has faced little resistance through two rounds.
On match point, Murray slugged an ace out wide, his 10th.
Groth is the opposite to both of them, coming forward all the time, using a lot of slice and attacking as much as possible. But he committed 32 unforced errors which led to his downfall.
“[Groth] didn’t start the match off serving that well, which helped”, Murray said.
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year, who will fly home if Kim, 28, goes into labour, added while he was excited about the birth, the timing of the Open made it “a bit more stressful than maybe it needed to be”.
It’s impossible to tip against Murray, but if Groth can keep his cool and serve strongly, he just might pinch a set off the Brit. “I just enjoy myself on the court and try to play every point like it’s my last point”.
“I think I’m feeling in the best shape body-wise, spirit-wise, everything-wise”, Azarenka said after her second-round win.
Murray has reached four finals in Australia, but never won the title.
If there is one chink in Andy Murray’s armour, it has historically been the pedestrian speed of his second serve. In Thursday’s opening match, former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic defeated Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3.
AND ELSEWHERE: Qualifier Zhang Shuai, who beat No. 2-seeded Simon Halep in the first round, plays Varvara Lepchenko. “It was a very tough match”. Very solid from the baseline.
Murray, one of the smartest tacticians in the game, dismantled Groth’s booming serve with a variety of precision lobs, ankle-high returns and unerring passing shots, aided by the Australian’s volleying errors. The world number 33 does not possess the weapons that Groth had at his disposal, but it will be a more consistent challenge for the second seed. While he won a title in Atlanta, the knock on him has been his inability to break through in majors.
Azarenka next plays Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who has reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time with a win over the 18th seed, Elina Svitolina. Verdasco fell to Dudi Sela in a surprise result that sees the Israeli into the third round at Melbourne for the second straight year and the second time in his lengthy career. “I was really shaking, because the sound of the lady falling was really loud”, she said.
YOUNG GUNS: Raonic, a 25-year-old Canadian, was a quarterfinalist here last year and made the semis at Wimbledon in 2014. He’s a big lefty server and likes fast courts.
“First I felt really bad”. Just taking care of myself.
Instead, with Fed Cup captain Judy Murray watching on, Konta was assertive when the contest was tight, starting in the third game when she had to withstand several deuces on serve but came through unscathed.
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Nicolas Mahut, Isner’s opponent in the longest match in tennis history at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, wasn’t as lucky.
