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Federer, Nadal and Murray advance to Australian Open

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Melbourne: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray today got into the third round of the Australian Open.  Maria Sharapova also won her women single matches to move ahead in this tournament.

advanced to the third round in the singles competition, while  also won her women singles’ second round match of the Australian Open at the Melbourne Park here Wednesday.

World No.2 Federer dropped a set but beat Italy’s Simone Bolelli 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 despite being hampered by a mystery problem on his finger at the Rod Laver Arena as Spain’s Nadal drew on all of his fighting qualities to beat World No.112 Tim Smyczek 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, 7-5.

It was believed that 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer was stung by a bee which forced the four-time Australian Open champion to receive medical treatment after losing the first set.

The Swiss himself was unsure what happened but said he also believed he was stung by a bee.

“I don’t know what that thing is. It’s the weirdest thing. I don’t know. I feel it on the tip of my finger. Just felt really odd starting after the break, and for three, four games, it was the funniest feeling I have. I feel like it’s numb and swollen,” he explained after winning.

But the right-hander overcame the discomfort to win in two hours and nine minutes smashing 36 winners and compelling his opponent to commit 39 unforced errors.

Nadal, playing just his 10th tour-level match since July 2014, ground out a comeback victory to maintain his record of never losing to a qualifier at a Grand Slam championship.

The 2009 champion triumphed in four hours and 12 minutes to set up a third round meeting against Dudi Sela, who defeated No.28 seed Lukas Rosol 7-6(2), 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.

Nadal’s backhand did the damage in the 31-minute opener, as he broke Smyczek in the fourth and eighth games. But Smyczek kept battling and was gifted a 4-3 lead in the second set, courtesy of a double fault at 0-40.

The American, playing just his 14th major championship match, won five straight games to take a 2-0 lead in the third set. But Nadal bounced back. Smyczek grew in confidence, with two stunning groundstroke winners giving him a 5-2 lead in the tie-break. He closed out with an ace.

Nadal regained his composure to break Smyczek for a 4-2 lead in the fourth set, when guile and court craft took him into a decider. In a tense fifth set, Nadal broke Smyczek to 15 for a 6-5 lead. Having led 40-0, Nadal secured the win on his fourth match point opportunity.

No.6 seed Murray showed imperious form in overpowering Australia’s Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, making just 12 unforced errors.

The Briton, 27, won in one hour and 42 minutes under sweltering heat conditions at the Margaret Court Arena. He will play Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the last 32 stage.

Murray said he recognised early in the proceedings that his opponent was not in his elements and played with a lot of variety to make it difficult for him.

World NO.2 Sharapova had a narrow escape in the second round against qualifier and fellow Russian Alexandra Panova, before winning 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

The No.2 seed was in complete control as she broke service to take the first set 6-1, in just 26 minutes, on centre court at the Rod Laver Arena.

But Panova broke in the first game of the second set and soon took a 2-0 lead. She broke again before eventually holding serve to take it 6-4.

Sharapova immediately lost serve at the start of the third set, and with the double faults and unforced errors mounting, she found herself trailing 1-4.

However, the 2008 Australian Open champion dug deep, saving two match points at 4-5 in the third to ultimately clinch a narrow victory.

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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia

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The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.

Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.

Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”

Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.

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