MELBOURNE — The world’s leading tennis
players were forced to keep cool heads as Australia’s
skin-reddening sun burnt down on Melbourne Park on Tuesday in
the Australian Open.
A gentle breeze kept temperatures
manageable throughout day two but men’s third seed Novak
Djokovic and Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt turned up some heat of
their own with barnstorming victories.
Hewitt, a former world No. 1 seeded 19th
here, beat Steve Darcis 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 and Djokovic swatted
aside Benjamin Becker 6-0, 6-2, 7-6.
"I started really well," 20-year-old
Djokovic said. "Honestly saying, I was nervous before the
match, knowing that I’m a big favorite in the first round."
Hewitt was in intimidating form in front of
a home crowd.
"In the end I felt like I could do pretty
much what I wanted to do out there and play on my terms, which
is good," he said.
"I felt like I went out there and was
aggressive and took what I’ve been working on in practice on
to the match court."
Women’s fourth seed Ana Ivanovic eased past
Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-3 while second seed Svetlana
Kuznetsova swept past France’s Nathalie Dechy 6-3, 6-1 in just
over an hour.
"I just try to do my best every single
match," Kuznetsova said.
Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze was spared the
sapping sun when Germany’s Andrea Petkovic retired with a knee
injury in the first game of their match.
Djokovic oozed confidence in his opener,
racing through the first seven games of the match and
clinching the opening set in 22 minutes.
Becker, whose claim to fame is that he
ended Andre Agassi’s career by beating him in the 2006 US
Open, had no answers in the second set either and, despite a
rally in the third, offered little resistance to the Serb.
Djokovic, seeking his first grand slam
title, plays Italian Simone Bolelli in the second round.
"It’s natural that you feel the pressure,"
Djokovic said of the added expectation this year as third
seed. "If you don’t feel pressure something is wrong with you,
but it’s a matter of how you deal with the pressure.
"I’m trying not to think about that too
much, about the expectations, about the people saying, ‘you
got enough quality to win a grand slam this year, especially
in Australia or US Open, because of the hard courts.’
"It’s very flattering... but, you know, it
kind of puts a lot of pressure on me. I’m only 20 years old,
so hopefully, you know, I’m going to have another 10 or 15
years of professional tennis."
Women’s ninth seed Daniela Hantuchova had a
decent workout before downing American Vania King 6-3, 7-5,
though she too refused to speculate on her chances.
"I was just really pleased to get through
in two sets, it was tough out there," the Slovak smiled.
"It was very tight. I was just pleased with
the way I hung in there and played the big points well. That
was crucial today.
"I’m fully fit and so I just want to go out there and enjoy
it."
