Five takeaways from Day 6 at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia – Three rounds down, four to go at the Australian Open. This is when things start to get rather interesting, isn’t it?
The second batch of third-round matches were played Saturday at Melbourne Park, as a dramatic scene unfolded on the sidelines during the Madison Keys-Ana Ivanovic match and Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka marched a match closer to a semifinals showdown.
Here’s what happened while you were sleeping on Day 6 of the Australian Open.
Nigel Sears collapses during match
There were bizarre scenes that played out inside Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night when halfway through the Keys-Ivanovic match, Ivanovic’s coach, Nigel Sears, who is also Andy Murray’s father-in-law, collapsed on his way out of the stadium, after saying he felt unwell. The match was delayed for more than 45 minutes, but as the players made their way back out onto court, word spread that Sears was responsive and alert after being taken away on a stretcher. In the end it was Keys who walked away the winner, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and into the fourth round.
Murray played simultaneously, winning his match in four sets over Joao Sousa and then being ushered off the court without doing a perfunctory post-match on-court interview. He was greeted by his mother Judy off court, then left immediately to go to the hospital in which Sears had been taken. None of Murray, Ivanovic or Keys did post-match press conferences, instead issuing statements about their matches.
Trash-talking-less Wawrinka goes through
Wawrinka had little to worry him on or off the court Saturday, rolling through big-serving Lukas Rosol 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(3) to book a spot in the fourth round. The No. 4 seed revealed his voice had been raspy for the last few days because of a cold, but said that it wasn’t impacting his play at all. “If I can talk,” Wawrinka told Jim Courier on court, “I talk too much (expletive), so it’s better I couldn’t.” That drew plenty of laughs.
Azarenka reveals her musical muse
There was nothing funny about the way No. 14 seed Victoria Azarenka played, the two-time champion here winning in fine form 6-1, 6-1 over teenager Naomi Osaka. After the win, she said her current go-to pre-match song was of the mellow variety, Ed Sheeran’s “Lay It on Me.” She’ll amp it up again for a fourth-round battle against Barbora Strycova, who she’s beaten in the last two Australian Opens.
Isner kicks on
John Isner is once again the last American man standing, as he won a tight four-set match against Feliciano Lopez while compatriot Steve Johnson was bounced out by No. 8 seed David Ferrer. Isner outdueled the No. 18 seed 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4 to make his first fourth round here since 2010. Ferrer, meanwhile, lost just six games against Johnson, meaning he’ll get Isner next, holding a 6-1 advantage in their head-to-head.
Muguruza out, Raonic moves on
The day started with an upset, No. 3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza knocked out by Strycova 6-3, 6-2 in straightforward fashion. Milos Raonic, the No. 14 seed, won in straight sets as well, then dedicated his win to the victims of the Canadian shooting in Saskatchewan. Elsewhere, winners included No. 7 seed Angelique Kerber, Ekaterina Makarova, Gael Monfils, Zhang Shuai, Annika Beck, Johanna Konta and Andrei Kuznetsov.
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