The second night session was not quite as crazy as the first,  although it did contain a shocking ending between Lucas Pouille and Gael Monfils as well as a few other lower-profile five-setters around the grounds. Lleyton Hewitt also won a match, advancing to at least a second round in what tennis fans everywhere are hoping isn't his swan song. The Day 3 day session saw three seeds go down with two more in tough matches at the time of publishing. This men's draw has been going mostly with chalk early, but that could just lead to greater matchups later on.

Honor Roll:

Andy Murray (defeated Matosevic 61 63 62)- This was not an incredible performance by Murray. It was, however, the epitome of an Andy Murray Grand Slam victory. He grinded his way through points, forcing his opponent into awkward shots and drawing errors. It was a solid performance against an Aussie in Melbourne, something of a rarity nowadays.
 

Marcos Baghdatis (defeated Goffin 61 64 46 60)- This was not Goffin's best performance, certainly in the past few months, but it was a showing from Baghdatis that brought up memories of the good old days. Marcos reached the final here nine years ago and played this match as though he remembered that. I don't think he has the game anymore to get that far again, but it's nice to see him play a bit closer to that level once more.

Tomas Berdych (defeated Melzer 76 62 62)- Jurgen Melzer is not the Grand Slam semifinalist that he once was, and certainly not on hard courts, but it is still rare to see such a comprehensive victory over him. Berdych was clicking in every aspect of his game, especially once that first-set tiebreak started. He is reminding us why his name always comes up right behind the favorites when we look at potential Grand Slam winners.

Lost Their Homework:

Gael Monfils (defeated Pouille 67 36 64 61 64)- He may have played the most entertaining match of the day, and Pouille may have played those first two sets very well, but this was a poor overall match from LaMonf. Monfils didn't play poorly per se (actually, it is shocking to believe that he lost the first set with a 16:3 winners to unforced errors ratio), but when the important points came up in those first two sets he just cracked. He got over that and pulled off the comeback, but he really shouldn't have needed that comeback in the first place.

David Goffin- I credited Baghdatis earlier, but Goffin earned this loss too. Ten double faults and 52 unforced errors is incredibly disappointing from someone who has played as well as Goffin has in recent months. It's fine to lose, especially to a talented player. But sometimes how someone loses says more than the loss itself.

Roger Federer (defeated Bolelli 36 63 62 62)-  I'm only putting Federer here because I'm nitpicking at this point. He played a strong last three sets but his game was MIA for the first set. That will hurt if he does that against a top opponent. But Federer was playing Simone Bolelli and not a top opponent, so he got away with it with ease.

Match of the Day:

I had to seriously think to find a way to not put Monfils/Pouille here. That match went late into the night with a fair amount of drama. But in the end, that match was entirely on Monfils' racket, and it showed when he wasn't too tense in the last few sets. Instead, I want to talk about a match that went pretty under the radar.

Sam Querrey and Vasek Pospisil played a strong, offensive-minded, beautiful attacking match on a pretty quick court. It was a great display of first-strike tennis. Granted, it was no Sampras vs. Rafter, but it was a match that fans of 90s tennis should appreciate. Also, it was well-played, with both players relying on their huge serves and follow-ups to win quick and easy points.

Unfortunately, the end of the match was not as entertaining as the match itself, with Querrey throwing in very tight games serving to stay in the set at 4-5 in both the fourth and fifth sets. Querrey was clearly tense, and eventually the occasion overwhelmed him. The finish, though, should not detract too much from how enjoyable the match was overall.