Defending champion Novak Djokovic swept his way into the 3rd round of the Australian Open, as he dispatched French teenager Quentin Halys. The world no.1, at times, played some breathless tennis, which is the norm for him, and despite Halys' trying efforts, like so many before him, he had no answer to the Serbian, who will play Andreas Seppi of Italy in Round 3, the man who knocked Roger Federer out at the same stage last year.
Fedexpress in a hurry
Speaking of Federer, he is also safely through, with a commanding straight sets win over the Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, who failed to provide the stern test that some expected, with the 17-time Grand Slam champion easing through 6-3, 7-5, 6-1. Things will be much difficult in Round 3, as Federer faces Grigor Dimitrov, who pushed the world no.3 all the way in their recent Brisbane quarter-final.
No problems either for Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori who are still on course to tackle Federer and Djokovic respectively in the quarter-finals. Bosnian qualifier Mirza Basic was swept aside by Berdych, who will now play Nick Kyrgios next, whilst Nishikori overcame America's Austin Krajieck to set up a third round encounter with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Elsewhere, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin set up an eye-catching last-32 meeting (with the winner most likely getting a shot at Federer in round 4), although both got there in different ways; Thiem easing past Nicolas Almagro, Goffin losing ten games in a row and suffering a second set bagel, before overcoming Damir Dzumhur, who beat Britain's Kyle Edmund in the opening round.
Results:
Novak Djokovic (1) bt Quentin Halys 6-1, 6-2, 7-6
Roger Federer (3) bt Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 7-5, 6-1
Tomas Berdych (6) bt Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-0, 6-3
Kei Nishikori (7) bt Austin Krajieck 6-3, 7-6, 6-3
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) bt Omar Jasika 7-5, 6-1, 6-4
Marin Cilic (12) bt Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-3, 7-6
Gilles Simon (14) bt Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5
David Goffin (15) bt Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
Dominic Thiem (19) bt Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-1, 6-3
Roberto Bautista Agut (24) bt Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (26) bt Daniel Brands 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-3
Grigor Dimitrov (27) bt Marco Trungelliti, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
Andreas Seppi (28) bt Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
Nick Kyrgios (29) bt Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 7-5, 7-6
Federico Delbonis bt Renzo Olivo 7-6, 3-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2
Pierre-Hughes Herbert bt Noah Rubin 6-3, 6-4, 6-0