No scares for Murray after he passes first French test

Andy Murray felt his serve was the key component in a much-improved display at the Australian Open as he eased into the third round at the expense of Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

The world No 4 struggled with that facet of his game against big-hitting Ryan Harrison in his opener on Tuesday but he had no such problems this time around as it paved the way for a routine 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory.

“I served well today,” he said. “I set the point up with my first serve pretty well and got quite a few short replies off that.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Murray came out of the blocks strongly, again in contrast to his display against Harrison when he dropped the first set.

“He struggled at the beginning and I was making a lot of balls. He made quite a few mistakes,” added Murray.

“Then I thought towards the end of the second set, beginning of the third especially, he started playing much better. He was taking the ball early, trying to come to the net, making it difficult.

“But I served well and didn’t give him any chances so I was happy.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The win extended Murray’s remarkable run against French players which now stands at 37 wins from the last 38 matches. He will have the chance to improve that record further in round three when he meets serve-volley specialist Michael Llodra while Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are his scheduled opponents in the last 16 and the quarter-finals respectively.

His dominance against rivals from across the Channel was never seriously threatened by Roger-Vasselin, the world No 101 who splits his time between the main tour and the challenger circuit.

The gulf in class was particularly evident in the opening set with Roger-Vasselin looking like a rabbit trapped in the headlights.

He gradually warmed to the task, though, and despite conceding a break to go 2-1 down in the second set, traded baseline blows with the two-time Melbourne finalist.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Murray was in no mood to relinquish his grip on proceedings and he remained firm on serve to clinch a two-set advantage.

Roger-Vasselin, whose father Christophe was a semi-finalist at the French Open in 1983, set up his first break point at the start of the third but Murray slammed the door shut with a booming ace out wide and followed it up with some more big serving to eliminate the danger.

And he effectively clinched the match by breaking the Gennevilliers-born 28-year-old in game seven to advance through to meet Roger-Vasselin’s compatriot Llodra.

Murray accepts he is going to have a different kind of challenge against a player who charges the net at the first opportunity.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He’s been a great doubles player and very good at singles for a long time,” he said.

“He’s got a lot of experience and makes it difficult because of the way he plays.

“You don’t see guys playing like that much nowadays and when you do play against them it normally takes a little while to adjust.

“It’s going to be tough but I have always enjoyed playing guys that come forward in the past. Hopefully, I can play a good match against him.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Novak Djokovic dismissed suggestions of invincibility after racking up another straightforward victory.

The world No 1 lost just once in the four grand slams in a remarkable 2011 – to Roger Federer at the French Open – and also claimed a record five 1000 Masters Series events.

He was never threatened in easing into the third round thanks to a straightforward 6-3 6-2 6-1 victory over Colombian Santiago Giraldo.

Asked afterwards whether he felt invincible, Djokovic replied: “I don’t think anybody is invincible.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s just a matter of the confidence you have, the self-belief on the court, your qualities as a player, being out there physically, mentally and being able to perform your best on a day-to-day basis.”

Djokovic conceded, however, that he certainly felt comfortable on Rod Laver Arena, adding: “It’s true, this court is probably one of the most successful courts in my career.

“I’ve had two titles here, 2008 and last year and coming back to that court always brings me nice memories.

“I like the conditions, the speed of the court, the balls, everything.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It is true that when I step on there I feel that I belong, that I know what to do, that I feel more confident maybe than on other courts around the world.”

Djokovic dropped his serve early on but that proved the only blip as he cruised through to a last-32 clash with Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. The Serbian did not play a warm-up event but has looked solid so far in Melbourne and admitted he was delighted to have kept plenty back for the challenges which lie ahead.

He said: “Especially in the opening rounds you are trying to get the rhythm to play well in every match.

“You can’t underestimate any opponent and Santiago is a tricky player. It was really important to win the first set.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I am trying to be physically fit and fresh for the upcoming rounds. The longer the tournament goes the tougher it gets.”

Ninth seed Janko Tipsarevic overcame a first-set scare to see off Australian wild card James Duckworth 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7/5) 6-4, while David Ferrer, the fifth seed, was pushed even further before eventually dismissing Ryan Sweeting 6-7 (4/7) 6-2 3-6 6-2 6-3.

Milos Raonic beat Philipp Petzschner 6-4 5-7 6-2 7-5, Mahut beat Tatsuma Ito 1-6 7-6 (8/6) 6-2 6-2 and Richard Gasquet moved on after Andrey Golubev had to retire when 6-4 6-2 3-0 down.

Lleyton Hewitt won the battle of the old stagers after Andy Roddick had to retire when two-sets-to-one down.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The American won the first set but injured his leg when stretching for a wide ball at 2-0 in the second. Hewitt took full advantage and won the next two 6-3 6-4, at which point Roddick conceded.

Gael Monfils, the 14th seed, also progressed after beating Thomaz Bellucci 2-6 6-0 6-4 6-2, while Julien Benneteau won the all-French battle against 12th seed Gilles Simon 7-5 7-6 (10/8) 1-6 3-6 6-2.