AO2018: Quick hits day 2

Take a bow, former Australian Open champions. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova all moved into the second round at Melbourne Park, restoring order after a string of seeds stumbled on day one.

Statement wins came from Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova – the AO2016 champion easily accounting for countrywoman Anna-Lena Friedsam to record her 10^th straight match win of 2018. Sharapova brought back memories of 2008, when she won in Melbourne, with her 6-1 6-4 win over Tatjana Maria.

Djokovic’s service action has been adapted to help with an elbow injury but his overall form seemed as smooth as ever with his 6-1 6-2 6-4 dismantling of Donald Young. And while Wawrinka dropped a set against Ricardas Berankis, a successful comeback since undergoing knee surgery mid-2017 now seems on track for the 2014 men’s champ.

And Federer was simply the Roger we know, the No.2 seed and defending champion hitting 41 winners and 12 aces in a 6-3 6-4 6-3 win over Aljaz Bedene. If there was any awkwardness, it was after the one hour, 39-minute encounter when Hollywood superstar Will Ferrell appeared to interview him on court.

Alluding to his fluid play and footwork, Ferrell enquired if Federer was in fact a silky gazelle.

“Don’t they get eaten at the end?” the Swiss laughed.

Having easily booked a second-round with Jan-Lennard Struff, there seems no danger for Federer of that.

"Roger, would you describe your game as a silky gazelle?"

Anchorman hits @rogerfederer with the hard questions… ????#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/l6gAphIqKh

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2018

Win of the day: 

It hurts to see Petra Kvitova bundled out so early but we have to give Andrea Petkovic her due. The endlessly popular German battled her heart out to secure a 6-3 4-6 10-8 victory over the No.27 seed. Played over an enthralling two hours and 52 minutes, it was Petkovic’s first win over Kvitova since 2011. Kvitova, returned to the Australian Open just over a year after she was seriously injured in an attack in her Czech Republic home, warmly embraced the world No.98 Petkovic, who moves on to meet Lauren Davis and will be desperate to progress beyond the third round of a major for the first time since 2015.

It will be a long way home for…

Milos Raonic. You couldn’t fault the effort that the Canadian invested into a return from the calf injury that saw him skip the 2017 US Open then shut down his season early. After arriving in Melbourne well before Christmas to prepare for the Australian Open, the former world No.3 lost to Alex De Minaur early in Brisbane and exited to Lucas Lacko at the first hurdle of the AO. Lacko’s 6-7(5) 7-5 6-4 7-6(4) victory came despite 36 aces from the Canadian, an AO2016 semifinalist who hasn’t lost in the first round of a Slam since the 2011 French Open. Some tough rebuilding begins.

What we’ve learned:

Alexander Zverev may be world No.4 and a recent winner over Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, but he’s still your basic 20-year-old. Even as the winner of more than USD $6 million prize money and with his own apartment in Monte Carlo, the family dynamic is as mundane as ever when the German travels with brother Mischa and parents Alexander Snr and Irina. “At home nothing changed. My brother still makes fun of me. My mom is still there. Dad is still there,” said a smiling Zverev after his straight-sets win over Thomas Fabbiano. “My dog doesn’t even realise who I am, so, you know, nothing changes at home.”

Stat of the day:

145: Total winners hit in Lacko v Raonic. A staggering 80 of them coming from the vanquished Raonic.

Quote of the day:

“I love what I do. I’m a competitor and that’s why I continue to do it … The moment I don’t have that anymore will be the moment I don’t play.” – Maria Sharapova returns with a winning attitude, and a win, at the Australian Open.

We’re looking forward to:

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Denis Shapovalov. Tsonga, of course, is the 2008 runner-up and No.15 seed. Shapovalov, just 18 years old, is playing the main draw of the Australian Open for the first time and is ranked No.50 in the world – you’d expect an easy win for the Frenchman if not for the fact that the flashy teen upset Tsonga en route to the fourth round of the US Open and has wins over Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal. Similarly athletic and flamboyant in play but aged 16 years apart, it’s the ultimate cross-generation test.