Venus rising: Kiwi cruises to doubles third round
Kiwi Michael Venus and doubles partner Tim Puetz easily progressed to the third round of the doubles at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The duo made light work of Roberto Carballes Baena (Spain) and Hugo Gaston (France) in their second round match in the men’s doubles draw yesterday, claiming a 6-1, 6-4 win.
Venus was thrilled with the performance.
“The conditions were better, not quite as windy and we had a really good first serve percentage so that set us up well at the net and took care of our service games. We both returned well and were aggressive and it worked,” he said.
Venus and Puetz will now meet Australian wildcard pairing Jason Kubler and Christopher O’Connell in the third round today.
Fellow Kiwi Marcus Daniell failed to advance, with he and partner Frederik Nielsen unable to upset the No 2 seeds, going down to Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram 6-1, 6-2.
In the men’s singles, Rafael Nadal dropped his first set of the Australian Open but recovered to defeat Karen Khachanov and reach the fourth round in Melbourne for a 15th time.
The Spaniard, who has looked sharp despite his lengthy absence with a foot problem last season, eased through the first two sets under the lights on Rod Laver Arena but Khachanov threatened to turn the match on its head when he took the third.
However, Nadal moved ahead again early in the fourth, celebrating exuberantly when he broke serve, and went on to claim a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory.
“It’s a very special week for me coming back from where I’m coming. Every single time I’m able to play here is a very special thing,” said Nadal.
“It has been without a doubt my best match since I came back. It’s a lot of energy in my pocket to keep fighting every single day.”
He was joined in the fourth round by second seed Daniil Medvedev and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who advanced yesterday.
Medvedev cruised through in straight sets against Botic van de Zandschulp, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, while Tsitsipas needed an extra set to beat mercurial Frenchman Benoit Paire, triumphing 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-4.
US Open champion Medvedev was unsettled by the booing and jeering when he took on one of the local favourites in Nick Kyrgios, but had no such concerns against the 57th-ranked Dutchman.
“I’ll put it this way. It’s easier to play a guy from Netherlands than a guy from Australia in Australia, in Melbourne,” he told the crowd, before offering some relationship advice to the fans. “Every good relationship must have its ups and downs. I hope it’s going to be more good times than bad times, otherwise it doesn’t work.”
No 20 seed Taylor Fritz also advanced, tipping over 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in five sets, while No 9 Felix Auger Aliassime claimed a dominant three-set win over No 24 Dan Evans.