The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsAndy Murray is through to the second round of the Australian Open as the current world number one overcame a below par display to defeat llya Marchenko 7-5 7-6 6-2.
In the opening set, Murray started slowly and was broken in the first game of the match, but swiftly hit back to level the scoreline. The Brit was too solid for his lower ranked opponent and broke again for a 3-1 lead, as he had appeared to have found his range. Despite his inconsistent tennis at times, Marchenko did well to reduce the deficit and at 5-3 down with Murray serving for the set, the Ukrainian broke back with a backhand winner down the line. Marchenko continued to show great attacking play but Murray stood firm to move 6-5 ahead and eventually the Brit clinched the set when his opponent pushed a forehand wide.
As the second set unfolded, Murray’s wayward shot-making and his opponent’s relentless hitting saw the Brit under pressure and Marchenko fully capitalised, striking a forehand winner to claim the early break and go 2-1 up. The Ukranian quickly held for a 3-1 lead but eventually Murray clawed his way back to 4-4, at times having to absorb Marchenko’s fierce groundstrokes before extracting the error. The Ukrainian though remained a threat and he held the rest of his service games to force a tie-break. In the tie-break, Murray established an early lead and despite his opponent’s resistance, the world number one closed it out with a huge forehand groundstroke to gain a two set lead.
In the third set, Murray looked to build on his momentum and at 1-1, the Brit was gifted the break when Marchenko missed a volley. As the world number one had improved his level, the Ukrainian was unable to find the sparkling form from the previous two sets and his erratic shot-making was ruthlessly punished. Murray gained the double break and continued to serve magnificently to open up a commanding 5-1 margin. Even though Marchenko managed to force his opponent to serve for the match, Murray wrapped up the hard-fought win to secure his spot in the next round.
In the second round, the world number one will play Andrey Rublev.
However, there was more British success as Johanna Konta, Dan Evans, and Kyle Edmund all progressed in straight sets. Also, Heather Watson advanced by beating home favourite Sam Stosur 6-3 3-6 6-0, but there were early exits for Aljaz Bedene and Naomi Broady.
Meanwhile, the men’s defending champion Novak Djokovic navigated past the dangerous Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-1 7-6 6-2, whilst Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic comfortably moved through to the next round. 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka needed five sets to overcome Martin Klizan and Kei Nishikori was also victorious in a deciding set, as Roger Federer continued his comeback from injury with a 7-5 3-6 6-2 6-2 victory over Jurgen Melzer.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams opened her account for a record 23rd grand slam singles title by brushing aside Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-3, as Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, and Garbine Muguruza all notched straight sets wins. Angelique Kerber though endured a tough start to the defence of her title as she battled past Lesia Tsurenko 6-2 5-7 6-2, whilst Agnieszka Radwanska similarly needed three sets to advance. However, the biggest upset came when Simona Halep, who appeared to be suffering with a knee injury, lost 6-3 6-1 to Shelby Rogers.
