It was the fourth day of action in the first Grand Slam of the season, and nature checked in early with some rain. However, the weather would clear, and second-round action continued.

Isner Powers to the Third Round

John Isner entered his second-round match with a manageable draw to the quarterfinals in front of him. On a surface that benefits his power game, the scrappy David Ferrer is the highest seed remaining in his path there. But first,the American would need to advance past Marcel Granollers. He did so in straight sets, 6-3 7-6 7-6.

Isner used power to his advantage against the Spaniard, ripping 20 aces and placing over 70 percent of his big first serves in play. The American would look to end points quickly and found a good balance with 53 winners offsetting his 39 unforced errors. He would approach the net 44 times and won 33 of those points. It was an aggressive performance against an opponent whose style can often be difficult to solve.

Murray Impressive in Victory

Andy Murray is a player who has passed the eye test as someone who could challenge world No. 1 Novak Djokovic this fortnight. The second seed has a lot of tennis under his belt with a very short off-season and has shown no signs of rust thus far. He would continue his solid play with a 6-0 6-4 6-1 win over Sam Groth.

Murray was too steady and handled the Australian’s big serve comfortably for most of the match, while Groth was not consistent at the net. The big hitter struck just six aces and was only successful at the net in 33 percent of his attempts. With those weapons neutralized, the outcome was predictable. Murray played a clean match with 35 winners to go with just 11 unforced errors. He advances to the third round, where he will meet Joao Sousa.

Ivanovic Advances

With the wave of upsets among seeded women, Ana Ivanovic’s portion of the draw has opened wide. Madison Keys and Ivanovic are the only seeds left in a section that will produce a quarterfinalist. The 20th seed was somewhat overlooked entering Melbourne, partly because she entered the Open 0-2 this season and having not won a set. Couple that with the fact that her ranking has seen a slight drop over the last two seasons, and you can fly under the radar at Grand Slams.

But the Serb has been all business since arriving, and that continued on Thursday with a 6-3 6-3 victory against Anastasija Sevastova. Ivanovic served well, dictated play, and benefited from 27 unforced errors by her opponent. It was a steady day at the office for the veteran.

Azarenka Easily into Third Round

Victoria Azarenka’s season has begun fast and furious. She has won a tournament and has not dropped a set thus far in 2016. This continued as she rolled into the third round, defeating Danka Kovinic 6-1 6-2.

In the 63-minute match, the 14th seed started quickly and kept the throttle on until the final point. Striking big groundstrokes, she would keep Kovinic off balance and out of sync for most of the match. Serving well and keeping her unforced errors low, it was a quick afternoon in Margaret Court Arena for Azarenka.

Keys Rallies to Win

Madison Keys continued her pursuit to duplicate or perhaps exceed her 2015 semifinal result in Melbourne on Thursday. After a slow start, she would rally to defeat Yaroslava Shvedova 6-7 6-3 6-3.

After a first set loaded with unforced errors, Keys dropped the tiebreak to the 28-year-old Kazakh. However, the American cleaned up her game, gained some confidence, and rode her power game, turning around the match. She gained a stranglehold on the final two sets and would not be denied victory. To extend the possibility of duplicating her run to the semifinals from last season, Keys must now get past Ivanovic, who has played well in her first two matches of the tournament and won their previous meeting.