Nadal, Agut, Dimitrov, Khachanov, Basilashvili enter 3rd round of AO 2019

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Patna : World No 2 in ATP rankings and winner of 17 Grand Slam titles Rafael Nadal, 32, Spain, World No 11 Karen Khachanov, 22, Russia, World No 20 Nikoloz Basilashvili, 26, Georgia, World No 21 Grigor Dimitrov, 27, Bulgaria, and World No 24 Roberto Bautista Agut, 30, Spain, advanced to the Round of 32 at Australian Open (AO) at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, on January 16, 2019.

Nadal, the 2009 AO Champion, beat World No 48 Matthew Ebden, 31, Australia, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the Round of 64. Nadal, who is playing his first tournament since US Open 2018 where had to retire in the semi-finals due to injury, served 6 Aces in the match to 7 by Ebden. Nadal though won 5 break points besides winning 3 games in a row. Nadal’s winning percentage on both his first and second serve ( 81 % & 67 %) was much higher than that of Ebden ( 66% & 36 %).

Khachanov beat World No 69 Yoshihito Nishioka, 23, Japan, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round. Khachanov fired 15 Aces to 4 by Nishioka. Khachanov won 7 break points to 2 by Nishioka. He also won 5 games in a row in the match to 3 by Nishioka.

Basilashvili defeated World No 137 Stefano Travaglia, 27, Italy, in a five-set encounter 3-6, 6-3, 3-6 , 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 64. Travaglia fired 13 Aces in the match to 9 by Basilashvili. Travaglia committed 7 double faults in the match to 12 by Basilashvili. The Russian won 7 break points to 6 by the Italian. Both the players won 3 games each in the match.

Dimitrov beat World No 94 Pablo Cuevas, 33, Uruguay, in four-set 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 in the second round. Cuevas fired 15 Aces in the match to 8 by Dimitrov. But, Dimitrov won 3 break points besides winning 3 games in a row in the match. Dimitrov’s winning percentage on both his first and second serve was much higher than that of Cuevas.

Bautista beat World No 37 John Millman, 29, Australia, in a five-set marathon 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4 in the second round. Millman fired 12 Aces in the match to 10 by Agut. Millman committed 4 double faults to 2 by Agut. Agut’s winning percentage on both his first and second serve ( 70 % & 59 %) was higher than that of Millman ( 64 % & 54 %). Agut won 7 break points to 3 by the Australian.

World No 102 Thomas Fabbiano, 29, Italy, beat World No 97 Reilly Opelka, 21, USA, in a five-set marathon 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 in the second round surviving a barrage of 67 Aces hammered by the latter. Fabbiano served just 2 Aces in the match. But, Fabbiano won 3 break points to 1 by Opelka. Fabbiano committed 4 double faults in the match compared to 8 by Opelka. Both the players won 3 games each in the match.