On Day 2 of the Australian Open qualifying, correspondent Matt Tewhatu divided his time between women’s matches and practice sessions of leading contenders. 

American Women

The players sweltered on day 2 of qualifying at Melbourne Park with the women taking center stage. The stifling temperatures forced crowds to seek shade and forced shirts off the ones who didn’t. And, while most American men were lucky enough to avoid the worst of the scorching conditions yesterday, the women were much less fortunate with most having to play in the peak of a hotter day.

While the luck of the weather may have not rolled their way, the American women held their own around Melbourne Park against the rest of the world. At the conclusion of the first-round matches, the second round awaited for a very respectable 13 out of 18 among them.  One of the exceptions, though, was the nation’s highest seed in the qualifiers, Coco Vandeweghe.

Among the women, Vandeweghe will be the most disappointed player among the American contingent. She entered the qualifying stages as the second seed, and the 22 –year-old probably felt that she had the edge over Australian veteran Anastasia Rodionova. Vandeweghe seemed content in attempting to hit Rodionova off the court, and she showed she was more than capable of this with 29 winners. However, Vandeweghe’s type of heavy hitting baseline game usually comes with a high unforced error count. And that was certainly the case as 46 unforced errors contributed to the American’s downfall. On the other side of the net, facing a heavier hitting opponent, the Australian stalwart used every bit of her 17 years on the professional tour in weaving and winding her way around Vandeweghe. Rodionova was also able to use the advantage that a small pocket of boisterous Australian supporters afforded her to outlast her younger opponent in a tight two-set affair.

Among the notable American women who reached the second round of qualifying were Victoria Duval, Nicole Gibbs, Madison Brengle and Irina Falconi. Following Vandeweghe to the exit were Maria Sanchez, Grace Min, Julia Cohen and Tennys Sandgren from the men’s side. The second-round matches for the men started on Thursday evening with the women getting underway again on Friday afternoon.

Bird’s Eye View

With a little less than four days before the official start of the Australian Open tournament, more players are arriving to practice at Melbourne Park. It is well worth taking the opportunity to observe their practices and their interactions with their teams.

The player on the men’s side of the draw who has been the most impressive in practice is Rafael Nadal. The world No. 1 meant business from the moment he stepped out of his car this morning to attend a sponsor commitment at Melbourne Park. This was translated to Margaret Court Arena two hours later, where his court movement and ball-hitting was impeccable. He is looking perhaps the fittest that I have seen him, and there is certainly no sign of the injury that forced him to sit out the 2013 Australian Open.

On the women’s side, Ana Ivanovic stood out in practicely. Fresh from her win in Auckland on Sunday, Ivanovic brushed aside worries about her practice conditions and got down to hard practice. What most impressed me about her was the ability to consistently combine flatness with accuracy on her groundstrokes. While it has never been her skill that has impeded Ana from winning another grand slam, half of the puzzle seem to be complete with her in faultless physical condition.

These two champions will rank among the players to watch when the main draw starts on Monday.