Aussie Open: Second Seeds Nadal, Kerber Power Through To Third Round
16th January 2019
The Spaniard, who cut short his 2018 season to have surgery on a foot injury, raced through the tie in just 116 minutes
- A dominant Rafael Nadal overwhelmed Australia's Matthew Ebden in straight sets to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday and stay on track for an 18th Grand Slam title
- The 32-year-old's newly remodelled serve only briefly came under pressure from Ebden, 31, who enjoyed vociferous home support on Rod Laver Arena before losing 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
- Second seed Angelique Kerber dominated Brazilian qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia to easily reach the Australian Open third round on Wednesday
MELBOURNE, Australia-
A dominant Rafael Nadal overwhelmed Australia's Matthew Ebden in straight sets
to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday and stay on track
for an 18th Grand Slam title.
The Spaniard, who cut short his 2018 season to have surgery
on a foot injury, raced through the tie in just 116 minutes.
The 32-year-old's newly remodelled serve only briefly came
under pressure from Ebden, 31, who enjoyed vociferous home support on Rod Laver
Arena before losing 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
The Australian forced three break points at 3-2 in the first
set, but could convert none before the second seed reeled off four games in a
row to close it out in 35 minutes.
It was one-way traffic from then on as Nadal, sporting a
trademark sleeveless shirt, cruised into the last 32.
"I played a solid match, I was happy with the way I served.
I did a few things very well," said Nadal, who next plays Australian 27th
seed Alex de Minaur. "It is an honour to play here. Was a great
atmosphere."
Nadal pulled out of his Brisbane warm-up event two weeks ago
with a thigh strain but showed no sign of the injury woes that saw him limp out
of both the Australian Open and US Open last year.
"I don't know if it's that good," said Nadal
modestly after a dominant performance. "I just came back from injury so it
is not easy to evaluate yet."
He is bidding to become the first man in the Open era, and
only third in history along with Roy Emerson and Rod Laver, to win each Grand
Slam on two or more occasions.
Unforced errors
Second seed Angelique Kerber dominated Brazilian qualifier
Beatriz Haddad Maia to easily reach the Australian Open third round on
Wednesday.
The German Wimbledon champion produced a clinical
display to advance 6-2, 6-3 in humid conditions.
"It was a tough match, she played really well and I
knew that I had to play my best tennis," the three-time Grand Slam
champion said.
Kerber shut fellow left-hander Haddad Maia out of the first
set, with the frustrated Brazilian hitting 13 winners to seven but unable to
match her opponent's consistency.
The German committed only six unforced errors to 29 and
racked up an 80 percent success rate on second serve.
Haddad Maia lifted as the second set began and Kerber had to
wait until the eighth game to go up a break, then proceeded to serve out the
match.
Kerber, a winner at Melbourne Park in 2016, will meet
Australian wildcard Kimberly Birrell next.
She was wary of the threat posed by the 20-year-old, who
will be cheered on by a wildly parochial crowd at Melbourne Park.
"I saw a bit of her match, she played really well,
she's on the third round," she said.
"She's playing at home, I'll have to play at my best
again."
Kerber is on course for a quarter-final clash with fifth
seeded American Sloane Stephens if results go as expected.
She reached the semi-finals at the season-opening Grand Slam
last year but lost to Simona Halep in a tight three-setter.