Australian Open: Nadal, Djokovic, Williams, others advance to round two

The Australian Open continued with many wins as well as losses in Day 2, as tennis greats in the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic, Serena Williams, Johanna Konta and others advance to the second round of the tournament.

Nadal cruised into the second round of the Australian Open after beating Florian Mayer in straight sets.

The 30-year-old Spaniard came through a relatively tricky tie, wrapping up a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win over the German ranked No. 49.

World No. 2, Novak Djokovic took first steps to defending the Australian Open title by beating Fernando Verdasco 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in a tie that has been picked out by many as the tie of the round, after the pair’s incredible meeting at Qatar Open, where Djokovic saved five match points before winning.

It was an easy one for World No. 3 also. Milos Raonic got through to the second round after beating Dustin Brown 6-3 6-4 6-2.

David Goffin had a much tougher time against Reilly Opelka, with the 19-year-old forcing the 11th seed to five sets before the Belgian won 6-4 4-6 6-2 4-6 6-4.

Read Also: Australian Open: Murray, Federer, others through to second round

In the Women’s singles, Serena Williams kicked off her Australian Open campaign in style after negotiating a tough first-round draw to beat Belinda Bencic in straight sets.

The No. 2 seed saw off her opponent 6-4 6-3 to set up a second-round clash with Lucie Safarova.

Safarova’s advancement into the second round was far more complicated as she saved nine match points against Yanina Wickmayer. The Belgian had numerous chances to close out the match in the second set but Safarova battled back to win 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-1.

British No. 1 Johanna Konta also reached the next round, with a straight sets triumph against Kirsten Flipkens.

“It was incredibly tricky. She has the kind of game that can trouble any player,” said Konta on court after the triumph.

“I tried to play myself in to the match and I’m happy to be through. A lot has happened in the last year and I’m just enjoying playing and trying to get better every day,” she added.

Konta finished at the semi-finals in the last edition, and would hope to go one step better this year.

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