Kei Nishikori advances, Maria Sharapova wins 600th career match

Appearing in her third Open, Bencic struggled to find her rhythm early on Rod Laver Arena.

“I played a quality player who took out Federer last year here and who has been on the tour for many years”, Djokovic said. I have a pretty big event in 10 or 14 days’.

Federer is now 67 wins ahead of No. 2 and long-retired Jimmy Connors in terms of Grand Slam singles wins, so the mark is safe for a while.

The opening set had been another story, with last year’s finalist and the 2008 champion losing only two points in serve.

“It’s very exciting, I must tell you”, Federer told the crowd following his 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Dimitrov.

Dimitrov needed treatment at times, but Federer didn’t cut him any slack – he lost in the third round here past year, his worst run at Melbourne Park since 2001. “It’s definitely a relief to get that first one out of the way”, she said after the win. “I’ve played for many years. I hope he’s OK”.

Defending champion Serena Williams has won her first-round match, beating Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-4, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena.

Kvitova beat the Thai qualifier 6-3, 6-1.

“I look at the draw and I know who’s here”, Sharapova said, reports ESPN.

MARIA SHARAPOVA, on learning that she had just won her 600th career match against Lauren Davis.

Some statistics can be misleading but when you’ve just won your 600th match, it is pretty clear that you have had a stellar career. “That’s a fact.” Sharapova was 9 when she moved from Russian Federation to Florida with her father, Yuri, to train at the famed Nick Bollettieri tennis academy. “Oh boy. Is this like a friendly reminder that I’m getting older? So I got very different things from both of them”.

Williams’ next opponent will be 18-year-old Russian Daria Kasatkina, who beat Croatia’s Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-3, and she faces a potential quarterfinal match against Maria Sharapova, which would be a rematch of the 2015 final. The double break seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the American as Sharapova broke a dejected-looking Davis to seal the 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-0 victory.

Over on Hisense Arena, Friedsam upset No. 13 seed Roberta Vinci to progress to a fourth round of a grand slam for the first time.

Returning to the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the fourth straight year was a confidence booster, and he said the right wrist “actually, it was OK”.

“It’s great to finish in three sets, especially against Philipp. He’s always tough to play”, Nishikori said.

With the roof closed and play on outdoor courts delayed because of to steady rain, the 12th-seeded Bencic overcame a slow start to dominate the final two sets of the 1 hour, 50-minute match.

“An impressive player. A newer generation that’s already established herself in the past season, beaten a lot of top players”.