The big story: Big guns seal progress from first round of Australian Open

The stalwarts of the Australian Open men’s draw, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Andy Murray, sealed their progress to the second round on Monday.

Federer beat Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The Swiss ace battled through an unconvincing start to the game, but found his groove in the third set. Stanislas Wawrinka also looked rusty but beat Serbia’s Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

There were no such troubles for world No. 1 Andy Murray, who raced to a straight-sets win against Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and local boy Nick Kyrgios also ensured safe passage to the next round.

In the women’s draw, defending champion and world No. 1 Angelique Kerber survived a scare, as Lesia Tsurenko stretched her to three sets. Kerber won 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. The biggest upset of the day was fourth seed Simona Halep losing 6-3, 6-1 to American Shelby Rogers.

Other top stories

Cricket

  • In the Big Bash League, Melbourne Renegades registered a narrow six-run win against Adelaide Strikers, thus keeping their chances alive in the tournament for a semi-final spot. The Strikers, though, crashed out.
  • Indian skipper Virat Kohli spoke to former England skipper Nasser Hussain in length about the change in technique, mentality and batting stance after a disastrous tour of England in 2014. Kohli observed that he was “too desperate” to prove a point in England, which eventually led to his downfall.
  • Work is underway in Motera for a stadium with a capacity in excess of 1,00,000. Once completed, it expected to be the biggest stadium in the world. 
  • Renegades’ keeper Peter Nevill has been taken to the hospital with a suspect broken jaw after a freak accident on the field. Nevill was hit by teammate Brad Hodge’s bat, which flew off the latter’s hands and struck him on the jaw. Nevill has been taken to an Adelaide hospital for treatment.  

Football

  • A number of big-money transfers have been thrown into limbo with the Chinese Football Association announcing that their teams can only field three foreign players per game. China have been recruiting a slew of high-profile players for exorbitant fees.
  • Manchester United star Paul Pogba has revealed that he rejected Real Madrid and Barcelona’s offers to sign up for the Red Devils in a record £89 million move in the summer.
  • Chelsea legend Didier Drogba was at the receiving end of disgruntled fans’ ire. At the Stade Velodrome, home of French club Olympique Marseille, the fans unfurled a banner that called Drogba a “crybaby” and “to go to China”. Drogba has been trying to fix a deal with his former club.
  • West Bromwich Albion have bid £10 million for Hull City midfielder Jake Livermore.
  • Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford is on the verge of signing a permanent deal with Middlesbrough, reported The Guardian. The young striker has spent time at the Riverside on a loan spell. The deal is set to rise up to £10 million, depending on appearances.

Tennis

  • Nick Kyrgios hit back at Roger Federer’s doubts over the Australian winning the ongoing Grand Slam. Kyrgios said that he believes he can go all the way, irrespective of what the 17-time Grand Slam winner thinks.

Wrestling

  • India’s Olympics bronze-medalist wrestler Sakshi Malik said her aim was to match Sushil Kumar’s feat of winning a medal in two separate Summer Games.

Formula One

  • Mercedes confirmed Valterri Bottas as retired champion Nico Rosberg’s replacement for the upcoming season. Mercedes boss Totto Wolff called Bottas a “no-nonsense, down to earth and straightforward guy”.
  • Brazilian veteran Felipe Massa did a retirement U-turn, returning to Williams for the upcoming season in a one-year deal. This will be the 36-year-old’s 15th season.
  • German driver Pascal Wehrlein has signed up with Sauber for 2017. He was also in mix for replacing Rosberg for Mercedes.