Australian Open 2019: Frances Tiafoe stuns fifth seed Kevin Anderson; Marin Cilic battles past Mackenzie McDonald

Melbourne: Fifth seed Kevin Anderson was sent packing from the Australian Open in round two on Thursday with American Frances Tiafoe prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. [caption id=“attachment_5905711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Frances Tiafoe celebrates his second-round win over Kevin Anderson. AP[/caption] The South African, a Wimbledon finalist last year, struggled with an elbow injury early in the clash and couldn’t cope with Tiafoe’s power and finesse. World number 39 Tiafoe, who is into the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time, equalling his best ever Grand Slam result, next plays veteran Italian Andreas Seppi. “It means the world to me,” said the American, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Sunday and is fresh from playing the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth with Serena Williams. “I lost to him three times last year and when I was down a set and a break it looked like it would happen again. I dug deep and went to a different place. “It’s all about competing, how bad you want it and I want it real bad. I’d love to get to the second week of a Slam for the first time,” he added. Anderson warmed up for the Australian Open by winning his sixth ATP title at Pune earlier this month, defeating Croat veteran Ivo Karlovic in the final. He had been looking for a deep run at Melbourne Park this year after getting past the opening round for the first time since 2015. Cilic powers through Sixth seed and last year’s Australian Open runner-up Marin Cilic ground out a tough four sets win over American Mackenzie McDonald to move into the third round Thursday. The Croat, who lost an epic final in five sets to Roger Federer a year ago, needed 3hr 37min to get past the 23-year-old 7-5, 6-7 (9/11), 6-4, 6-4. “Every single time the atmosphere here is amazing,” said Cilic, who has been struggling with a knee injury. “Mackenzie played unbelievable tennis today, he was hitting from the back ridiculously well. I had to work hard to win this one and I’m extremely pleased.” The former US Open champion, who will next play either Spanish 26th seed Fernando Verdasco or Radu Albot of Moldova, said the knee was still not 100 percent. “It’s getting better but I feel that if could improve, so I’m hoping with a couple of matches and getting used to the conditions it’s going to get better,” he said. “I’m hitting the ball well and enjoying my time on the court and these two matches have been great for me.”