Federer, Azarenka advance as heat wave arrives
Melbourne: Roger Federer kept his cool on a scorching second day at the Australian Open, starting his record 57th consecutive Grand Slam tournament with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory in his first match with Stefan Edberg as a coach.
Federer was the second match on Rod Laver Arena today, and the temperature topped 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit) during his win over Australian wild-card entry James Duckworth.
Fainting, vomiting as stars struggle in 'inhumane' heat
Two-time defending women's champion Victoria Azarenka played the previous match on the center court at Melbourne Park, and said it felt "pretty hot, like you're dancing in a frying pan or something like that."
After her 7-6 (2), 6-2 win over No. 91-ranked Johanna Larsson of Sweden, Azarenka went back out to practice and said she planned an ice bath later as a recovery.
Asked how he handled the heat, the 32-year-old Federer said: "I'm here. I'm speaking. Actually, it's not crazy. I'm feeling OK right now."
He now owns the record for playing the most consecutive Grand Slam events, another milestone in a career that has already netted 17 major titles for the Swiss star.
He kept the points as short as possible, and only gave No. 133-ranked Duckworth one look at a break point in the 1-hour, 46-minute match.
He said it was "great fun" to finally play in front of childhood hero Edberg, who he hired on a part-time basis last month.
"I used to watch his matches and get inspired," Federer said, then added: "He warmed me up .... I won!"
Conscious of the time and the temperature, former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and No. 11 Simona Halep raced to straight-sets wins.
Wozniacki said the court was so hot in her 6-0, 6-2 win over Lourdes Dominguez Lino, which started at 11 a.m., that it seemed to melt her plastic water bottle.
In her first Grand Slam match since her New Year's Eve engagement to golfer Rory McIlroy, she did everything she could to keep cool.
"Every time in the changeovers, ice bags, ice towels, everything; and then in the second set I could feel they were starting to heat up even more," Wozniacki said.
"I put the bottle down on the court and it started melting a little bit underneath, the plastic, so you knew it was warm."
Halep had a 6-0, 6-1 win over Polish qualifier Katarzyna Piter, while American Christina McHale advanced 7-5, 6-4 over Taiwan's Chang Yung-jan and No. 16 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain beat Vania King of the United States 6-3, 6-2.
Players draped bags of ice over their necks and shoulders and sat under covered seats in the changeovers across Melbourne Park. They retreated into the shade at the back of the courts between points.
A hot, gusty breeze swirled across the venue all day, making conditions more challenging instead of cooler.
Spectators on outside courts covered their heads and shoulders with damp towels to cool off and queued up to stand in front of large electric fans blasting water at their faces.
As well as the heat, there were injuries and retirements. No. 13 John Isner, the only seeded American man in the draw, retired after losing the first two sets 6-2, 7-6 (6) against Martin Klizan. He called for the trainer after the tiebreaker, tapped his racket on the ground three times while deliberating whether to go back out, and only played on for a few minutes in the third set.
Isner attributed it to the same right ankle problem which bothered him on the way to the title at Auckland, New Zealand last week.
It was the second retirement in as many matches on Court 6. No. 25 Alize Cornet only had to win one game before Polona Hercog of Slovenia retired with an undisclosed injury.
Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany didn't make it onto court, withdrawing before his first-round match due to a strained left hamstring.
The No. 21-seeded Kohlschreiber was replaced in the draw by Frenchman Stephane Robert, who beat Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-0.
Among the other men advancing were No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 11 Milos Raonic, No. 22 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 16 Kei Nishikori, who needed five sets to beat Australian Marinko Matosevic.
No roadblock as Murray stops Go
No roadblock as Murray stops Go
Melbourne: Three-time runner-up Andy Murray said he felt freer on court for the first time in 18 months after back surgery as he made a winning start to the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The Wimbledon champion swept into the second round with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 rout of Japan's Go Soeda as he works his way to full match fitness after surgery last September.
The fourth seed was never in trouble against the 112th-ranked Soeda, breaking the Japanese player's service seven times and not having a break point against his own serve.
Murray, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year's Australian final, said it was the best he had felt on court for 18 months, following his surgery in September.
"It's not every single shot that my back hurt on before, but certain shots I'm a lot freer in the movement just now. I hope that continues," the Scot said.
"That was the whole point of having the surgery. So if I was still in pain and stiff and sore then I'd be a bit worried about the next few years.
"But I'm hoping it was the right decision. I felt freer today than I did for the last 18 months."
Murray said he was mindful that some players do not return in the same form after going under the knife.
"Going through surgery is different than going through any other sort of injury or break that you have," he said.
"A lot of players don't come back from surgery and are the same player that they are before.
"That's something that's always in the back of your mind, something that will worry you a little bit and something you'll think about.
"You're just praying that everything is good with the back and you can wake up the next day -- even now -- and hope that all is good tomorrow."
The Scot missed the rest of last season after his surgery and his preparations for Melbourne have not been good.
The world number four crashed out in the second round of the Qatar Open to German Florian Mayer, the world number 38, and then went down to veteran Australian Lleyton Hewitt in an exhibition match last Friday.
Last year Murray became the first British man to lift the Wimbledon trophy since Fred Perry in 1936.
The Scot hit 32 winners and only 13 unforced errors to have Soeda under pressure on Hisense Arena, rattling through the first two sets in just 49 minutes.
He has French qualifier Vincent Millot next up.