Australian Open updates, Day 4: Djokovic, Wawrinka advance to third round

13.15 IST Wawrinka advances to the third round for the seventh consecutive year Defending champion Stan Wawrinka, who ended four-time champion Djokovic’s 25-match winning streak at Melbourne Park in the quarterfinals last year, advanced to the third round for the seventh consecutive year with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over No. 194-ranked qualifier Marius Copil. 12.30 IST: Kvitova cruises into 3rd round Under the radar Czech fourth seed Petra Kvitova cruised into the Australian Open third round on Thursday with a straight sets win over Germany’s Mona Barthel. Kvitova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, downed world number 43 Barthel 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round for the first time since 2012, when she advanced to the semi-finals. 10.43 IST Australian Open 2014  finalist Dominika Cibulkova records 55th career Grand Slam win. 10.24 IST Djokovic into Aussie Open 3rd round for 9th year in a row Novak Djokovic moved into the third round at the Australian Open for the ninth consecutive year with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 win Thursday over Russian Andrey Kuznetsov. Djokovic won the first set in 21 minutes and was rarely troubled against the 2009 junior Wimbledon champion. Kuznetsov broke the Serbian’s serve to take a 2-0 lead in the third set, but Djokovic broke straight back and won six of the next eight games to clinch the match. Djokovic has four Australian Open titles — his first Grand Slam title in 2008 and three in a row in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He was beaten in the quarterfinals here last year — 9-7 in the fifth set — by eventual champion Stan Wawrinka. The pair could meet in the semifinals this year. 09.10 IST [caption id=“attachment_2058559” align=“alignright” width=“380”] Kei Nishikori of Japan rests between games with an ice pack on his shoulder. AP[/caption] US Open finalist Nishikori advances to 3rd round at Australian Open US Open finalist Kei Nishikori stayed on track for another strong Grand Slam performance when he beat Ivan Dodig 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (0) on Thursday in the second round of the Australian Open. Dodig was serving for the fourth set at 5-4 when Nishikori broke the Croatian’s serve, lashing a backhand past Dodig, who stood helpless at the net. Nishikori wasted a match point in the 12th game before shutting out Dodig in the tiebreaker to clinch the match in 2 hours, 47 minutes, delighting the hundreds of Japanese fans in the crowd. Nishikori lost in the final of the U.S. Open to Marin Cilic, who is not playing the Australian Open due to a right shoulder injury. 09.08 IST Serena and Venus Williams advance to 3rd round in Australia [caption id=“attachment_2058555” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Serena Williams of the U.S. yells in frustration during her second round match against Vera Zvonareva. AP[/caption]   The Williams sisters have advanced to the third round at the Australian Open, with top-ranked Serena fending off set points before going on a 10-game roll to beat Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-0 and Venus beating fellow American Lauren Davis in straight sets. Serena Williams, seeking a sixth Australian and 19th Grand Slam title, saved three set points in the ninth game before holding to swing the momentum of the match. She said Zvonareva, a two-time Grand Slam finalist who played only five tournaments in 2014, started out aggressive “and I was a little too passive.” So she told herself: “‘You know Serena, you’ve done so well here, you have nothing to lose.” Zvonareva only won eight points in the second set. 7.54 IST Radwanska advances to 3rd round Sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska easily advanced to the third round of the Australian Open with a 44-minute, 6-0, 6-1 win over Johanna Larsson of Sweden on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_2058437” align=“alignright” width=“380”] Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland makes a forehand return to Kurumi Nara. AP[/caption] The Polish player is now 7-1 in second-round matches at the Australian Open and has reached the third round here every year since 2010. Martina Navratilova, a new member of Radwanska’s coaching team, watched from the players’ box at Rod Laver Arena. Radwanska said she contacted Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam singles winner, in an effort to help her win a first major. Radwanska, who beat Japan’s Kurumi Nara in the first round, and Larsson had only met once before Thursday — at last year’s Fed Cup, when Radwanska won in straight sets. AP