- Easy wins for Federer, Murray; - Date-Krumm oldest winner
MELBOURNE — Serena Williams refused to let a painful tumble divert her from her quest for a sixth Australian Open title Tuesday as Roger Federer and Andy Murray progressed almost untroubled toward their goals on day two at Melbourne Park. Serena picked herself up to complete a resounding 6-0, 6-0 victory over Edina Gallovits-Hall, a ruthless dominance that world No. 1 and defending champion Victoria Azarenka was unable to replicate as she progressed to the second round. Swiss Federer beat Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 to embark on his campaign for an 18th major title after Briton Murray had steadied his Grand Slam nerves with a controlled 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Robin Haase. After an underwhelming opening day of the tournament Monday, the sheer wealth of talent on display on the show courts almost ensured a better day two under the sunny skies at Melbourne Park. There is no bigger personality in tennis than Serena, who is chasing a third successive Grand Slam title after wins at Wimbledon and the US Open, and the American almost inevitably hogged the spotlight. Rampaging toward victory, the 31-year-old turned her ankle after hitting a forehand and lay prone on the court for a couple of dramatic minutes — immediately recalling her fall at Brisbane last year that ultimately ended her 2012 Melbourne campaign. “It was definitely a lot of pain,” she said. “Also a little bit of the memory, as well. So it was definitely a little bit of both. But also at the same time trying to gather myself together and trying to make sure that I can continue.” She was soon back up, ankle strapped, to complete the rout and said nothing would stop her from taking to court for her second round tie against Spain's Garbine Muguruza. While Serena is pursuing her 16th Grand Slam title, Murray is hoping to bag his second after his triumph at the US Open last year and he made short work of Dutchman Haase. “There's nerves in the build-up,” the third seed said. “You just got to try and focus and play solid, not make too many silly mistakes. I did a good job of that today.” Federer, a four-time champion in Melbourne, easily negotiated what had been billed as potentially difficult tie against young French shotmaker Paire. “I'm obviously very happy with this first-round match, so total control,” he said. “He can be a tricky opponent but I guess his playing style doesn't disturb me that much overall.” Federer remained on a third-round collision course with Australian Bernard Tomic, who delighted the home crowd with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win over Argentine Leonardo Mayer. Women's top seed Azarenka was forced to come back from 3-0 down in the second set in her 6-1, 6-4 victory over Romania's Monica Niculescu. After only two seeds fell in the entirety of day one of the tournament, women's seventh seed Sara Errani and 12th ranked Nadia Petrova departed in quick succession Tuesday. While Errani's 6-4, 6-4 loss to Carla Suarez Navarro was not a huge shock, 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm's 6-2, 6-0 victory over Petrova earned her a place in the record books as the oldest winner of a women's singles match at the tournament. The upsets remained thin on the ground in the men's draw with top 10 players Juan Martin del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet all easing into the second round. “Of course I'm very happy to win today, but I don't play for the record. Even when I'm losing, I'm still enjoying it. Of course, every time I lose, it's mental, it's tough,” she said. “But still I'm enjoying playing. Forty-two, it's just a number.” Date-Krumm's upset was also the harbinger of an excellent start to the tournament for Japan, with all six of the country's players going through to the second round. Wu Di, the first Chinese to play the main men's draw at a Grand Slam in the professional era, had a less successful outing but enjoyed it nonetheless. “Even though I lost, I can see hope ahead of me,” he said after his 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Croatia's Ivan Dodig. Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki looked like she might also be on her way home but the 10th seeded Dane battled back from a set down to beat German Sabine Lisicki 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. — Agencies
