Thaindian News

Melbourne, Jan 19 (IANS) World No.1 Novak Djokovic continued his rich vein of form, thrashing Colombian Santiago Giraldo at the Rod Laver Arena while a hamstring injury forced 15th seed Andy Roddick to retire from his second round match against local favourite Lleyton Hewitt in the Australian Open here Thursday.

Giraldo looked far from convincing, making 38 unforced errors. The World No.1 on the other hand improved with every passing point and wrapped up the match winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in an hour and 42 minutes.

American veteran Roddick retired while trailing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 with a right hamstring injury as Hewitt advanced to the third round where he will meet high-flying Canadian Milos Raonic.

Roddick suffered the injury early in the second set as he lunged awkwardly. He took a medical time out but was unable to regain his fitness before finally retiring.

World No.4 Andy Murray uncharacteristically hit 41 winners to knock out Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. The Briton made 19 unforced errors, compared to his opponent’s 33.

Chennai Open finalist, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia had to come back from a set down to make his way into the third round where he will play France’s Richard Gasquet. The ninth-seeded Serbian won 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(7-5), 6-4 against Australian James Duckworth.

In the women’s draw, Russian Maria Sharapova put on a dominant performance against qualifier Jamie Hampton of the US in the second round, thrashing her 6-0, 6-1. The World No.4 took just 64 minutes to dispose of her opponent and set up a clash with Angelique Kerber of Germany.

Second seed Petra Kvitova had to fight hard for a second round win against her Spanish opponent Carla Suarez Navarro. The 21-year-old Czech in her bid to to land balls close to the lines made 48 errors but got away thanks to some hard hitting winners from the baseline.

Five-time Australian Open winner Serena Williams took just 68 minutes to down the Czech Republic’s Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0, 6-4. The American became the fourth among active players to win 500 matches on tour. The other three are her sister Venus, Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn and defending champion Kim Clijsters.

France’s Marion Bartoli had an easy outing against local player Jelena Dokic. The No.9 seed won in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to take on Chinese Jie Zheng in the third round.

Following are the women’s singles results of 2012 Australian Open here Thursday:

Women’s singles second round:

Zheng Jie, China, beat 23-Roberta Vinci, Italy, 6-4, 6-2
4-Maria Sharapova, Russia, bt Jamie Hampton, United States, 6-0, 6-1
21-Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, bt Michaella Krajicek, Netherland, 6-2, 6-3
7-Vera Zvonareva, Russia, bt Lucie Hradecka, Czech Republic, 6-1, 7-6
12-Serena Williams, US bt Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Czech Republic, 6-0, 6-4
2-Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic, bt Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
27-Maria Kirilenko, Russia, bt Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
9-Marion Bartoli, France bt Jelena Dokic, Australia, 6-3, 6-2
18-Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, bt Sloane Stephens, United States, 7-6, 7-5

Men’s singles second round:

6-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France, beat Ricardo Mello, Brazil, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4

1-Novak Djokovic, Serbia, bt Santiago Giraldo, Colombia, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
9-Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, bt James Duckworth, Australia, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4
5-David Ferrer, Spain, bt Ryan Sweeting, United States, 6-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
17-Richard Gasquet, France, bt Andrey Golubev, Kazakhstan, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4(Retired)
4-Andy Murray, Britain, bt Edouard Roger-Vasselin, France, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
Lleyton Hewitt, Australia bt 15-Andy Roddick, United States, walkover
14-Gael Monfils, France, bt Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4, 6-2
23-Milos Raonic, Canada, bt Philipp Petzschner, Germany, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5