Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went to the aid of a ball girl in his match, gently helping her off the court in the third set when she became ill before finishing off a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win over Omar Jasika.
Advertisement
Konta and Zheng are scheduled first on Court 8, at 11am (Midnight, GMT).
Meanwhile, Konta eased past China’s Saisai Zheng 6-2 6-3 to move into the third round of a major tournament for only the second time, after she reached the last 16 at the US Open a year ago.
Federer, who is a four-time victor of the Australian Open (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010), has yet to be challenged in Melbourne and has yet to drop a set in this tournament. Australian star Nick Kyrgios was fined the second most behind Venus, a $3,000 amount for an audible obscenity in his first round match.
“My first one I think”, she said.
She may not be as tall or as powerful as Konta but Zheng plays with some good court smarts and speed, so Konta will need every ounce of her concentration and iron will, from the deliberate serving action to calming her nerves should she find herself in that position once more.
“It’s been going very well for me, and I hope to keep it up as long as I choose to play tennis”, the 17-times grand slam victor told reporters after recording his 299th victory at a grand slam with the win against the 27-year-old Ukrainian.
Dominant world number one Serena Williams added a rare around-the-net shot to her repertoire Wednesday as she steamrolled Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on her way into the Australian Open third round.
“As much as I love it now, I’m just not sure what my excitement level will be in 20 years’ time from now”.
Searching for his first Australian Open title in five years, Federer was untroubled by the Dolgopolov’s unorthodox tactics.
“It’s the least I expect to be in the third round of a Slam, obviously, so I’m pumped up, playing well, feeling good”.
“But there’s always a danger, you know”.
Federer found himself rarely troubled by Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov, hitting 39 winners on his way to a 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 victory in an hour and 33 minutes.
Other seeded players joining in the third round included No. 6 Tomas Berdych, No. 7 Kei Nishikori, 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, No. 14 Gilles Simon, No. 15 David Goffin, No. 19 Dominic Thiem and No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut.
Asked if she would do it again, Williams said, “Oh, God, no. I reacted and I didn’t think”.
No. 13 Roberta Vinci beat Irina Falconi 6-2, 6-3 to advance, and is a potential fourth-round rival for No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-2 in a match featuring two former Wimbledon finalists.
Advertisement
Kateryna Bondarenko earned one of her biggest wins since returning from retirement after having a baby in 2013, beating two-time major victor and No. 23-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 7-5.
