SCRAPE THROUGH
Rafael Nadal (Spa x1) bt Taro Daniel (Jpn) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; Leonardo Mayer (Arg) bt Yuichi Sugita (Jpn) 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; Viktor Troicki (Srb) bt Stefano Travaglia (Ita) 7-6 (8/6), 7-5, 6-0; Aleksandr Dolgopolov (Ukr) bt Tomas Berdych (Cze x15) 3-6, 6-1; 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, David Goffin (Bel) bt Guido Pella (Arg) 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3; Gael Monfils (Fra) bt Donald Young (USA) 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5; Damir Dzumhur (Bih) bt Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (Ger) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1; Andrey Rublev (Rus) bt Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) 7-5, 76 (7/3), 6-3; Roger Federer (Sui) bt Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; Feliciano Lopez (Spa) bt Fernando Verdasco (Esp) 6-3, 62, 3-6, 6-1; Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger) bt Santiago Giraldo (Col) 6-2, 6-1, 3-0 - retired; John Millman (Aus) bt Malek Jaziri (Tun) 6-1, 7-6
“That was hard to watch,” said Federer. “But this was probably the best match we have played against each other.”
Top seed Nadal, the 2010 and 2013 champion, was rocked by New York-born Daniel in the first set.
But Daniel, who has never beaten a top-10 player, paid the price for his all-out assault as Nadal prevailed to book a third round date with Argentine lucky loser Leonardo Mayer.
“All the matches are difficult but especially here as everyone wants to play their best and if you don’t play your best it will be very difficult,” said Nadal, who recovered from a set and break down.
He saw room for improvement after converting six of 11 break points. (7/1), 6-1; Roberto Bautista Agut (Spa) bt Dustin Brown (Ger) 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3); Juan Martín Del Potro (Arg) bt Adrián Menéndez (Spa) 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3); Adrian Mannarino (Fra) bt Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-2; Dominic Thiem (Aut) bt Taylor Fritz (USA) 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
Karolína Plísková (Cze) bt Nicole Gibbs (USA) 2-6, 63, 6-4; Zhang Shuai (Chn) bt Risa
“I didn’t play very well but I will work hard to find better feelings because I know I can do much better,” he said.
Andrey Rublev became the second teenager to make the third round when he stunned Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Rublev, just 19 and the World No 53, joins 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov of Canada in the last 32 at a Grand Slam event for the first time.
However, 19-year-old Taylor Fritz of the United States was unable to join Rublev and Shapovalov in the next round when he lost 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem.
Thiem saved 16 of 18 break points he faced in a stalwart defensive display. Ozaki (Jpn) 6-0, 6-3, Jennifer Brady (USA) bt Barbora Strycová (Cze) 6-1, 6-1; Monica Niculescu (Rom) bt Ana Bogdan (Rom) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) bt Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) 7-5, 6-2; Coco Vandeweghe (USA) bt Ons Jabeur (Tun) 7-6 (8/6), 6-2; Lucie Safarova (Cze) bt Nao Hibino (Jpn) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2; Kurumi Nara (Jpn) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Elina Svitolina (Ukr) bt Evgeniya Rodina
Also going through to the last 32 was 2009 champion Juan Martín Del Potro, the 24th seeded Argentine, who saw off Spanish qualifier Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Belgian ninth seed David Goffin beat Guido Pella of Argentina 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in a marathon 4hr 12min match.
A record was set when American Shelby Rogers and 25thseeded Australian Daria Gavrilova played out the longest ever women’s singles match.
Their 3hr 33min clash saw Shelby win 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5).
Their second-round tie went past the previous longest of the 3 hours and 23 minutes it took Johanna Konta to beat Garbine Muguruza in the second round two years ago.
Russian eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 champion, saw her outside chances of taking the World No 1 ranking end when she lost to Japan’s Kurumi Nara 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Svetlana is the fifth of the top eight seeds to lose before the third round after Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, defending champion Angelique Kerber and Johanna Konta also exited.
World No 1 Karolina Pliskova, the 2016 runner-up, downed American qualifier Nicole Gibbs 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
She was joined in the third round by fourth seed Elina Svitolina, one of the pretenders to her top ranking, and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Ukraine’s Elina reached the last 32 for a third successive year by breezing past Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina 6-4, 6-4.
Ostapenko, the 12th-seeded Latvian, made the third round for the first time with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. AFP (Rus) 6-4, 6-4; Shelby Rogers (USA) bt Daria Gavrilova (Aus) 7-6 (8/6), 46, 7-6 (7/5); Elena Vesnina (Rus) bt Kirsten Flipkens (Bel) 6-4, 6-4; Madison Keys (USA) bt Tatjana Malek (Ger) 6-3, 6-4, Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) bt Sorana Cirstea (Rom) 6-4, 64; Darya Kasatkina (Rus) bt Christina McHale (USA) 7-5, 6-3; Kaia Kanepi (Est) bt Yanina Wickmayer (Bel) 6-4, 6-2; Naomi Osaka (Jpn) bt Denisa Allertová (Cze) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. AFP