Diyas out of Maria's depth

Night five began with a women's match which made for a nice change - clearly the organisers believed that Zarina Diyas posed no more than a short walk in the park for her third round opponent and second seed Maria Sharapova.  The Kazakhstan player, seeded 31, had equalled her effort from last year and hoped to upset the legion of Sharapova fans, and experts alike.

The hopes were dashed pretty early though, with service broken in the first and third games by a vociferous and determined Sharapova whose power game presented far too many hurdles for Diyas to overcome.  Once Zarina found her range she did seem almost competitive at times, and it was a relief when she held serve to trail 1-4.

Sharapova insisted on breaking back, firing winners from both sides to both sides and frustrating Diyas who could not gain any traction, let alone momentum.

The set was over 6-1.

Maria served first in set 2 and incredibly against the flow she faced 0-40. a double fault not her favourite friend. Two forcing shots producing errors failed to prevent the break and the lead was Zarina's 1-0.

That was the final success of the night for the 31st seed who aside from competing far better than in set one could still only admire the greater quality of shot consistently being received from Maria, unable to deal with it adequately.

Sharapova won 6-1 6-1 the final point an ace for good measure.  The fourth round clash with Peng Shuai will be a better gauge of how well Maria is travelling relative to the other big guns.

Seppi Stars as Federer Falls

Roger Federer must have secretly been relieved to see Jeremy Chardy depart the Aus Open at the hands of Andreas Seppi.  Roger had played Chardy three times in 2014 and lost once, admittedly on clay, but had been taken the distance the other times.  He had not yet been beaten by the Seppi.

Today would see plenty of aggressive rallies but more than the average number of net approaches which makes for more variety and at times a more entertaining brand of tennis.

Federer began in the best way with an ace and a love game forcing Seppi into error and making a firm statement.  Seppi, was forced to deuce in winning his serve but after 1-1 there came a shift, with Federer committing more unforced errors than acceptable by any standard let alone his.  The path to service hold accordingly grew slightly tougher.

However through seven games serves were held, the seventh one of Rogers best highlighted by two aces and two forehand gems.  He led 4-3 at this stage and Seppi was sticking with him.

Andreas provided two service winners on route to a fourth game and then Federer did a 180 degree turn from his previous service game, losing this one to love - three forehand unforced errors and a double fault.  5-4 to Seppi who quickly checked the date to see whether in fact today was his birthday.

A double fault when serving for the set took Seppi to 15-40; those break back points were saved, the second with a fine forehand winner, but Roger set up another break opportunity with a forehand beauty from his collection.  Again it was saved, and Seppi boldly went where few have been before - taking a set from Roger in the third round of a major.  He did so 6-4.

The packed out crowd at Rod Laver Arena were displeased on the whole with the occasional section of Seppi fans delirious at their boys start.

The second set boasted even better tennis between the pair as evidenced by the opening two games which before settling at 1-1 on service donated no less than 10 clear winners for the good of the game.  Games three and four were both breaks of serve with Seppi's backhand punishing Federer and then Federer returning the favour with his forehand.  2-2 and enthralling action.

Difficult to choose a winner as they battled for the next four games, and then an extended Federer effort on serve saw Seppi finally break the pattern - a backhand winner on his second break point.

With Seppi serving for the set, Roger was not going to let this one happen like the first, and he pulled out all stops to break back.  5-5 which became 6-6 and a thrilling tie break.

Roger always looked in control of the tie break leading 5-3 with a serve to come, but Seppi came with a run knocking off the final four points to win it 7-5 and the set 7-6.

Federer was down two sets to love and needing a famous comeback to make it past the third round.

The third set again featured high quality shot making, only marred from an Italian viewpoint by Seppi dropping serve in the third game, allowing the second seed to "coast" to a 6-4 set win and send plenty of warning signs through the Italian nation.

Set four found more great tennis over which the fans could salivate and neither player was having his service broken here, although Roger travelled close to the edge when trailing 5-6 and serving at deuce a few times.

The tiebreak would settle the set and Roger had the advantage early, retaining the lead which eventually became 5-4 with two serves to come.  Sadly for Federer he blundered on the first and Seppi played a great point on the second to have match point on his serve.

In reply to what appeared to be an unplayable Federer shot, Andreas Seppi hit an incredible forehand that never looked like landing in court, yet did and won him his most famous victory 6-4 7-6 (5) 4-6 7-6 (5)

This breaks a run of 11 straight years where Roger Federer has made at least the semi finals of the Australian Open.  The last time he failed to reach the fourth round was 2001.

Genie's Oz Love Affair continues

Semi Finalist from 2014 Canadian Eugenie Bouchard was seeking a fourth round berth and for that to eventuate French player Caroline Garcia would need stopping.  Garcia at 36 in the world and already the victor over dual major winner Sveta Kuznetsova posed a challenge but Bouchard has been a revelation in women's tennis over the past 18 months or so and her star appears to be still be on the rise with number one not out of the question at some point.

The opening game was a signal of what the first set had to offer - insecurity of serve.  Bouchard played some loose point losing shots while Garcia was sharp when it counted and the French cheered a 1-0 advantage. That elation was short lived and the error count began for Caroline in the next game providing the means for a service break for Bouchard.

Even when racing to 40-0 nothing could be guaranteed as Bouchard frittered away that comfort including a double fault;  she steadied though and an ace assisted her through to the first service hold of the match.  Then one of the rare times service was held twice in a row - Garcia peppered the Canadian backhand and her preoccupation paid off with four successive errors allowing the game score to reach 2-2.

Bouchard, her own worst enemy, from 40-15 created difficulty from nowhere and a double fault and carelessness prompted Garcia to hit a winner on break point and take the advantage.

Then the 24 point game !  From 40-30 and game point, we went to deuce 9 times, Garcia had two more game points, and Bouchard had seven break points, the final one which was converted into a break of serve.  After all of that toil and pain 3-3.

Instead of being totally deflated, Garcia bounced back, breaking Bouchard with a combination of winning groundstrokes and volley.  Bouchard realised the end of the set was drawing near so she claimed the fourth break in succession and then held serve to lead 5-4.  The 7th seed had strung a few winners together, finding gaps between the litter of Garcia's unforced errors which were strewn all over the court.

At 5-6 Garcia soon gave Bouchard three set points thanks to some backhand fragility, but it was a mistake from the forehand that signed the final release of set one to Genie Bouchard 7-5.

In the second set, Bouchard's first serve percentage was a woeful 42% but when the opposition is incapable of little better and is playing such erratic tennis as that contributed by Garcia, then the 6-0 scoreline is hardly a surprise.

Eugenie Bouchard strode into the fourth round 7-5 6-0 but plenty of room to sharpen her game.

Julia Goerges surges to last 16

Julia Goerges had fixed up one Czech player in the second round and now had the opportunity to see another Czech bounce out of Melbourne Park.  Lucie Hradecka, a qualifier, whose dispatch of Ana Ivanovic remains one of the tournament's biggest upsets, stood in the way of the Germans equal best effort here at the Aus Open.

Julia opened by holding serve, hitting a clean winner following a string of errors from the Czech racquet.  Lucie's untidy tennis continued into the second game before she clicked into gear with some solid shots off the ground and an ace to tie things up.

Julia ramped up the pressure in the next two games and at deuce on Lucie's next serve the Czech player again failed with her forehand giving Julia the edge 3-1.

Games went with serve and both girls played acceptable standard tennis until Julia was given the assignment of serving for the set at 5-3.

The task was too much and the next eight points were taken gleefully by Lucie bringing the scoreline to an even 5-5.  Lucie now had the momentum at the right end of the set.

The streak of points extended to ten when Julia found herself down 0-30 and at 30-40 she scrambled to save another break point before eventually sticking a bandage over the bleeding and lead 6-5.  Lucie rocketed through her game finishing with a forehand winner and an ace to necessitate a tie break.

The situation appeared bleak for Goerges when after losing a point on serve, Hradecka maximised the advantage with two forcing shots which resulted in errors and she led the tie break 5-2.  Then a new look Julia Goerges appeared just in time to play the remainder of the breaker, winning six of the next seven points with a combination of ground strokes that moved Lucie around the court and mitigated the power and placement that she had previously been achieving.

The Goerges forehand played a vital role in the comeback that secured the opening set for the German 7-6.

An even contest ensued in set two, and everyone was surprised that a break occurred in the seventh game, such was the control each girl had when serving.  Two unforced errors from the forehand capped off with a double fault put Hradecka in dire straits and Julia soon was serving for a fourth round spot at 5-4.

An awful game also finished with a double fault brought the score to 5-5 and a golden chance had slipped by the German player.

Not to worry- another one came immediately with break points in the next service game from Hradecka.  She managed to save three but couldn't avoid the fourth, and Julia could try once more to serve for glory at 6-5.

History will record that indeed Julia Goerges did win this match 7-6 7-5 and earned a meeting with Ekaterina Makarova in the round of sixteen.

Coco unstoppable ousting Stosur

Samantha Stosur has unfairly had a huge weight of expectation of success at Melbourne Park over the years, simply because she is Australian and the only Aussie female in the top ten in the world rankings.

Yes she won a US Open and has enjoyed regular success, but the pressure placed on one person to carry our nations hopes, while a fact of life, doesn't make it right.  This tournament just hasn't worked for Stosur and we need to accept that - she is suited more to Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows.

Her chances against American Coco Vandeweghe in the second round would depend on her serving consistency and forehand - no surprise there.  However she needed to return well and not just allow the big serving of her opponent to overwhelm.  The edge in experience at this level would be invaluable for Samantha over Coco, who with a name like that would be just at home riding a board at Bells Beach.

Stosur removed a few cobwebs in the first game which went to deuce three times and included a break point but finally the Australian led 1-0.
When Coco stepped up to the plate it was much simpler and a few big serves later scores were level.

At 2-2 Samantha struck trouble.  After 30-0 with two sharp forcing shots producing errant replies, Stosur's strengths gave her heartache with two forehand disasters topped off with a double fault to lose the game and fall behind a break, not ideal against an opponent already serving big and accurately.

The single break proved sufficient and Vandeweghe took the first set 6-4, winning an extraordinary 20 points from her 25 serves.  Samantha could only manage 21 from 35, most worrying the 13 from 21 of her first serves.

The second set was almost a carbon copy of the first with the American serve still dominant and her ground strokes more than a match for Stosur, who was managing to be more effective on serve but only in terms of points, not games.
Again the fifth game was ground zero and Coco broke the Queenslander, this time through attacking tennis forcing errors rather than loose shots from Stosur.

The set was not bad in absolute terms for Stosur - she was just blasted into submission by an inspired player at the very top of her form.

Coco Vanderweghe defeated Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-4 and reached the third round of a major for the first time in her career.

Hewitt loses to another Becker

Just for the record, Lleyton Hewitt has been around so long that he has played both Boris Becker - Wimbledon 1999 and lost - and Benjamin Becker (his second round opponent in the 2015 Aus Open on Night Four)

Also for background useless information Boris is no relation to the newer German Becker, currently ranked 41 in the world and therefore potentially tough work for Lleyton.  Of course Hewitt thrives on the tough matches, and we could be set for a long one.

Predictions are not assisted by Head to Head stats since the only two meetings were in 2009 and 2010 and one of those was on grass.  Becker is 0 for 2 in 2015 coming into this event and Hewitt 0 for 1 so nothing to guide us there either.  Home ground advantage and crowd favouritism could aid Lleyton but I fancy Benjamin may be too strong irrespective.

Hewitt served first and began methodically, while Becker tried to find his bearings - once he did they traded off-forehand winners and Hewitt held serve.

Hewitt surprised Becker with his capacity to retrieve and caused the German to be off balance for a number of shots - Becker saved a break point but was tentative with the next and stuck it into the bottom of the net to donate the break to the Australian.  Hewitt then held for 3-0.

While Hewitt wasn't blasting his serve past Becker he was using all his cunning to manoeuvre the ball to awkward spots and accordingly he was able to hold serve with relative comfort.  Becker must have been relieved to post a figure on the board too and after 20 minutes he was at the line again trailing 1-4.

Becker served a gourmet feast, finished off with a succulent ace but still could not break through the consistent Australian serve, the highlight of which was a duelling lob point won by the German.

The gourmet serve then fell away to yesterday's leftovers and Hewitt broke again to take the set 6-2, hardly making a mistake and winding back the clock to his years at the top.

There was no let up with the only accurate shot played by Becker in the second set that when he threw his racquet on the court - he couldn't find the court with a tennis ball.  Hewitt won the first five games and Benjamin who had already run out of ideas could probably have used advice from a ball kid right about now.

Lleyton Hewitt led 6-2 6-1.

Now Grand Slam tournament matches are best of five set affairs, and unfortunately Lleyton must have lost that message somewhere in the briefing because from the end of set two he became a different player.  It must be said that Benjamin served a hell of a lot better too.

Becker served an ace in each of his first 3 service games in set three and Hewitt began to struggle, unforced errors now becoming the norm rather than the exception.  The paper covering the growing cracks finally tore apart in the sixth game when a fumbled forehand volley followed by another blunder off the forehand wing cost the Aussie his serve and Becker led 4-2.

An easy hold for 5-2 and eventually the set 6-3, and the match had turned full circle.  Becker won all of the points on his first serve in set 2 compared to only half the set before - importantly though Hewitt led 2 sets to one.

Lleyton was immediately broken in the opening game of set 4 and it became worse after that.
His game was no match for an inspired Becker and although the German needed two goes at serving out the set, the second was successful and a fifth set was required to decide the match.

The first two games of the decider went to serve easily but the pivotal game was the third where Hewitt's double fault at 15-15 seemed to define the remainder of the game and the match for the Aussie.  Becker seized on the tentative stroke making and it was his decisive forehand which finally achieved the break for a 2-1 lead.

The gap proved irretrievable and Benjamin Becker for the first time in his career won a five setter from two sets down 2-6 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-2.

Disappointing for Hewitt in one of his last appearances (may be the last?) on Rod Laver Arena in an Aus Open. 

Madison has the Keys to third round

One of two remaining Aussie girls in the draw, Casey Dellacqua had the tough task of defeating American Madison Keys in the second round.  Madison's career ascension had stalled somewhat and she came into the tournament unseeded, but even with Casey seeded, the match appeared even on paper.

Casey reaped the benefit of some quality shot making in the opening service game from Keys and she was determined to retain the initiative.  A double fault in her first service game was more than outweighed by four unforced errors from Keys, making the break consolidation simple.

Madison made the scoreboard in the third game, successfully attacking the backhand of the Australian and she had a break point in the fourth after some loose tennis from Casey.  However, two poor backhands released the crowd favourite from US custody and she held for 3-1.

Some great tennis in game five featured ground strokes from both girls of high class, only to be spoilt by the final two points which Madison gave away with poor execution under little pressure.  A second loss of serve saw her lagging 1-4 and with eyes more for the second set.

Games followed the servers script for the next couple of games and Casey had 5-2, which she impatiently turned into a set win 6-2 thanks to a backhand winner and forcing shots to both sides producing American errors.

Then the world turned completely upside down.

Madison Keys, who had been troubled by the left handers serve at the beginning of the match, had progressively become comfortable with it.  Now she treated it like cannon fodder, and won several points directly on return of serve in addition to those created by the quality of return.

Casey was in shock, all of a sudden unable to manufacture enough good tennis for a single game to be credited in her favour.  Madison hit 16 winners with the same number of unforced errors while Casey committed 12 unforced mistakes but could only manage 3 clear winners.  The change in the match was remarkable, the set score 6-1 to Keys.

Set three began with hope that the vacation taken by Casey was complete and that she would return to play her part in the final semester.

If she did it wasn't to play tennis - the third set replicated the second and again Casey managed just a single game.  Madison needed to send down fourteen serves, of which she won twelve points.  Casey on the other hand served 30 and won only 12 of those points.  

In emphatic fashion, Madison denied the Keys to Casey Dellacqua's third round, winning 2-6 6-1 6-1.