Novak Djokovic's aura of invincibility at Rod Laver Arena wavered, but Serena Williams was near flawless as both advanced to the Australian Open third round.
Serena Williams. Photo: Photosport / Chris Symes
Djokovic was put under pressure by American Frances Tiafoe but the Serbian rose to the challenge to claim a galvanising 6-3 6-7(3) 7-6(2) 6-3 win.
The double-defending champion has rarely been tested so early at his favourite Grand Slam but he had his hands full against Tiafoe, whose sparkling tennis revived memories of his exhilarating run to the 2019 quarter-finals.
Tiafoe went toe-to-toe with the top seed but it all fell apart in the seventh game of the final set when the American grew frustrated by the service clock and was broken after a foul-mouthed tirade.
Tiafoe also earned a code violation for an audible obscenity before bowing out with a double fault on match point as Djokovic advanced to a third round clash against the winner of Americans Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka.
Williams said she played better when she was not thinking quite as much after reaching the third round of the Australian Open for the 19th time with a 6-3 6-0 victory over Nina Stojanovic.
The American, again sporting her distinctive one-legged leotard, needed to find her best game at times in the first set against a spirited Serbian 15 years her junior who was playing in her fourth Grand Slam.
Williams ramped up her serve to see off the danger before putting the pressure back on her opponent with some booming service returns, running out a comfortable winner on a sun-drenched Rod Laver Arena.
"I wasn't thinking so much in the second set," the 39-year-old said on court before expanding on the theme in her news conference.
"I think sometimes ... Even with my serve, I over-think it. When I don't think about it and I'm just like, whatever, it goes in. But that's clearly not the way to do it."
Next up for Williams in her quest to land her 24th Grand Slam singles title and match Margaret Court's long-standing record is a third-round date with Anastasia Potapova.
The seven-times Australian Open champion said she was getting better at finding the all-important balance between thought and instinct when she played.
"I just think when I'm not thinking it's more or less like I'm just totally relaxed," she added.
"But ... sometimes that's a good time to slack off and to lose focus. So it's really about finding that key balance there for me."
Williams, as usual in her news conferences, faced questions on a wide range of subjects and revealed, for example, that the living person she would most like to meet was Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr.
One question required her to engage her mind and sum up what message it sent to the world to be playing a Grand Slam in front of fans in the midst of a global health crisis.
"There's always a tomorrow," she answered. "The world has gone through so much, you just have to stay positive more than anything, as hard as that may be.
"But there's always a tomorrow and we just have to keep going no matter what it looks like."
-Reuters
