It was indeed a day of two halves as Melbourne Park was literally shut down by the heat. The third and final directive of the extreme heat policy was used as play on the outside and the practice courts were abandoned until the evening. However, the tennis continued on Rod Laver and Hisense Arenas, where they were able to close the roofs and give the players a degree of comfort.  Since the outside courts remained closed until 6 PM, the crowds streamed into both of the indoor stadiums to see Roger Federer face Blaz Kavcic on Hisense Arena and Rafael Nadal against promising Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis.

After an afternoon marred by controversy, mostly regarding the heat, the crowd seemed content to get back to watching quality tennis without the added drama of the extreme weather. Although not treated to the theatre provided by Maria Sharapova’s epic with Karin Knapp earlier in the afternoon, the crowd watched two of the greatest players of all time showcase familiar strengths and improvements to less familiar weapons.

Many are surprised when Federer is scheduled on any court other than the main stadium, and there was talk about it prior to the match. However, none of it obviously affected the Swiss, and he wasted little time on court in a procedural rout of the hapless Kavcic. Other than pushing Federer to a tiebreak in the third set, there was no real danger of Federer being eliminated from the tournament. It seemed as if the Fedexpress was in a hurry to finish the match from the outset as he hit a remarkable 52 winners to just 14 from Kavcic. It’s not unfair to say that Kavcic was never really in the match, being completely dominated from start to finish in the 107-minute clinic.

After the best match of Federer’s 2014 season so far, he was pleased with how he played.

“It was a good first two sets I thought. I played really aggressive and it worked out,” a satisfied Federer said. “In the third se,t I think he was more consistent. He served better.  In the process, it got closer. You know, I'm happy I got it done in three.”

His new coach, former grand slam champion Stefan Edberg, will be quietly content with how Roger went about his second-round match. While comfortably overpowering the 99th-ranked Kavcic, Federer showcased many things that they’d obviously discussed during the first week at Melbourne Park. Federer’s eagerness to get into the net and take the ball high on his backhand was obvious as he looked to vary his game under the Swedish legend. Federer was also keen to resort to his kick serve on the ad court, showing that old dogs could learn—and master—new tricks.

Federer made forehand swinging volleys, came in behind half-court approach shots, and took a step in to take the serve on his backhand return. There were absolutely no signs he was lacking in confidence, which was a much-discussed issue surrounding the Swiss star since the beginning of the season. Federer said that he had tried to iron out some parts of his game.

“I did do a really good job for most of the match today,” said the Swiss star. “Of course, I was overly aggressive at times, but I'd rather be that than overly passive. But the error counts started mounting as well.  Overall I started hitting good shots. It was something I was trying to do a little bit today, mix it up, swing the serve around a little bit, also come in. I was in command on my serve. That was for me most important that there I'm rock solid.”

He was also pleased to be playing under the roof at Hisense Arena. “Conditions don't change drastically,” reflected Federer. “Maybe it's a tiny bit slower. The ball doesn't go through the air that quick. It was a bit humid. Overall it was really nice conditions, of course.”

At the same time as Federer’s match, archrival Rafael Nadal took on Aussie youngster Thanasi Kokkinakis on Rod Laver Arena. Nadal was clinical against the 17-year-old as he dispatched him in straight sets with a 6-2 6-4 6-2 victory in just one hour and 53 minutes. Accuracy and consistency was the name of the game for the world No. 1, for it was about as routine as second-round victories get. That is not to undermine the performance of the Australian, though, as he held his own against the Spaniard, at times striking fine winners from both wings. They were just not enough as Nadal was too strong and had too much firepower, hitting 31 winners to just 21 from Kokkinakis.

Buoyed by a short match against Bernard Tomic, who retired a set down in their first round clash, Nadal looked fresh and hit the ball extremely crisply. His footwork was at its usual superb level as Kokkinakis chipped the ball too often, leaving space for Nadal’s lethal run-around cross-court forehand. While Kokkinakis’ game plan was reasonably clear, it was a case of too big, too fast and too strong. The intensity from Nadal never dipped as he eventually steamrolled a player who showed that he may be a fine asset for Australian tennis in some years.

Nadal said he was pleased with his performance and how he used his go-to shots.

“I think I played really well in the first set,” said Nadal. “Then the second set I didn't play as well as I played the first. I stopped a little bit. I played with less intensity. Playing with less intensity equals more mistakes, and that's what happened. (It) was important that the serve was there during the whole match. And, in my opinion, the third set I finished the match playing well again with good forehands down the line.”

The world No. 1 also felt that Kokkinakis would mature into a fine player on the men’s tour.

“He was able to win the first round against a tough opponent like Sijsling. That's not the real ranking on him,” Nadal asserted. “Kokkinakis is one of these ones that can be there in the next couple of years. Is normal that new players are coming, new generations are arriving. That's happened in all the parts of the history of our sport.”