• Australian Open, Day Four

What They Said

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is hoping for another run to the final © Getty Images

Enlarge

ESPN will be providing extensive coverage of the Australian Open, with live scores, commentary and analysis and you can follow it all with our live scorecentre

Andy Murray produced an impressive serving display in his win over Edouard Roger-Vasselin and was happy with his to approach the match, which sets up a clash with Michael Llodra. He said: "I served well today. I did not give him too many opportunities on my serve which was important as he played well in the second and third sets and made it difficult. I have played the French guys a lot, Llodra in the next round is tough. He has a lot of flair and comes to the net a lot and is a good player to watch."

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took another step toward another quarter-final showdown with Andy Murray as he won in straight sets on Thursday. The Frenchman sees similarities between the bottom half of the draw this year to that of 2008 when he reached the final, saying: "Yeah, maybe I had the good draw because of my win on Murray on the first round. Then after that the draw was open. I didn't play, you know, a top player before the quarter-finals. So really that's why I played well in 2008."

Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round with victory over Santiago Giraldo but played down suggestions that he is invincible at present. He said: "I don't think anybody is invincible. It's a matter of the confidence that you have, selfbelief on the court, qualities as a player, being out there physically, mentally fit, being able to perform your best on a daytoday basis. You know, it's true, probably this court is one of the most successful courts in my career. I've had two titles here, 2008 and last year. Coming back to that court is always bringing me nice memories. I like the conditions, the speed of the court, the balls, everything. It is true from one side that when I step in there I feel that I belong there, that I know what to do, that I feel more confident maybe than the other courts around the world."

Serena Williams notched the 500th win of her career on day four, but on the penultimate point of the match, tripped over herself and landed heavily. The American rolled her left ankle in Brisbane a fortnight ago forcing her to withdraw from the tournament, but on this occasion Williams simply laughed off the incident, saying: "It's fine. It was my good ankle, so I'm good. I just have wobbly ankles. I wasn't meant to be a ballerina or anything."

Maria Sharapova blasted her way into the third round with a 64-minute victory over qualifier Jamie Hampton. The fourth seed evidently didn't need to do her research before stepping onto Rod Laver Arena, saying: "I didn't know much about my opponent today so it was just about getting my feet going and trying to improve on my first match. I started my preparations in the off-season a little late, took a bit of extra time in practice instead of rushing into a tournament.''

David Ferrer came through a five-set battle against Ryan Sweeting and the No. 5 seed is planning to recharge the batteries. He said: "It was a very tough match, playing five sets in over three hours. Maybe in the fifth set I played better in the important moments. It was very close. He hits the ball very strong and he has a good serve. Now I am tired of course; I'm going to rest for a little bit."

Petra Kvitova needed three sets to see off Carla Suarez Navarro and was happy to get a tough test early in the tournament. She said: "It was very important to have a match like this. It's good that I came through and I have won. She played very well in the second set. It was very tough for me to get back in the third. In the beginning I played very well and had many winners. Then I had a few mistakes and it was tough to get back. Mentally it was very tough, and I had to fight. It was good preparation for the next match. I know that I can fight and I can win if I'm playing badly."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.