Australian Open Day 2: The seeds had it easy; Indian hope Somdev Devvarman crashes out in the 1st Round

The scorching Melbourne heat played spoilt sport as many players had to retire due to exhaustion and dehydration. Canadian Frank Dancevic fainted during his match against France’s Benoit Paire and though he resumed after medical attention he was defeated 6-7 3-6 4-6. China’s Peng Shuai vomited on court during her 7-5 4-6 6-3 defeat to Japan’s Kurumi Nara due to the searing heat while a ball boy also collapsed. Let us look at the main results of the day

Men’s Singles:

World no. 1 Rafael Nadal kick-started his quest for his 2nd Australian Open title with a win over Bernanrd Tomic of Australia but his win came without him sweating much as his opponent retired hurt in the second set. Andy Murray was in imperious form as he destroyed Japan’s Go Soeda in a rather on-sided match while Roger Federer was at his vintage best as he defeated James Duckworth in straight sets. Juan Martin also won his 1st round against American Rhyne Williams albeit in four sets while Australian LLeyton Hewitt was dumped out of the 1st round following his five-set loss to Andreas Seppi. Frenchmen Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils also won their respective 1st round matches while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov booked his place in the 2nd round but American No. 1 John Isner had to retire hurt. Meanwhile Indian hope Somdev Devvarman was defeated rather easily by Feliciano Lopez.

Women’s Singles:

Defending champion Victoria Azarenka struggled with the heat but ultimately proved too good for Johanna Larsson of Sweden. Agnieszka Radwanska had to dig deep to defeat Yulia Putintseva in three sets but former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki did not face any such problem as she defeated Loudes Dominguez 6-0 6-2. Maria Sharapova was not at her best but even then it was enough to defeat Bethanie Mattek-Sands in straight sets and move into the next round. But former World No. 1 Svetlana Kuznetsova was defeated by Elina Svitolina in straight sets.