While his great friend and rival Rafael Nadal continues to struggle, Roger Federer is showing no signs of Father Time catching up with him, after another wonderfully-aesthetic performance on Wednesday.
Having eased to victory in the opening round of the 2016 Australian Open on Monday, Federer made Alexandr Dolgopolov, a seriously talented tennis player, look mediocre in a 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 second round victory at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Firing in 25 aces and 39 winners in all, Federer just did not allow Dolgopolov breathing room, apart from a brief spell in the second set, with the Swiss master finishing the match off in just 93 minutes. With the form that he is in at the moment, a Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic semifinal at the 2016 Australian Open looks extremely likely.
Before Federer wowed the crowd with his exploits on the court, Serena Williams did the same, bringing out that power and accuracy in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Su-Wei Hsieh. Serena, the defending champion, was far from convincing in a first round victory over Camila Giorgi, but this second round performance dispelled any fears over the American's fitness.
"I think I was really focused and, you know, that first round really helped me because I was really just fighting," Serena told reporters after the easy victory in exactly one hour. "I really gave a big effort there.
"[I was pleased with] my consistency. I don't think I made that many errors today. Something I was hopefully trying to get back into. And I moved much better today, I think, so slowly but surely feeling a little bit better. Today again I just wanted to stay focused for the whole time."
Serena will next face Daria Kasatkina in the second round.
A player Serena is scheduled to play in the later rounds is Maria Sharapova, and the Russian also entered the third round with a worry-free 6-2, 6-1 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
In the men's singles, Kei Nishikori continued his good form at the Australian Open 2016, with an accomplished 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory over American Austin Krajicek. Number six seed Tomas Berdych was also impressive in his 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 thumping of Mirza Basic.
