Djokovic, Zverev, Nishikori win; Wawrinka falls

World No 1 Novak Djokovic blasted past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 at the Australian Open on Thursday in a repeat of their 2008 Melbourne final, also won by the Serb.

The top seed vanquished his old French foe for the 17th time in 27 tour meetings stretching back 11 years and advances to face Canada's 25th seed Denis Shapovalov in the third round.

Djokovic, 31, won the first of his 14 Grand Slams in that final against Tsonga over a decade ago and he said the memories came flooding back as the pair walked back out on Rod Laver Arena.

"You could feel the tension on court at the beginning. We felt a lot of emotion but we tried to play a great game," said Djokovic as both players took a trip down memory lane.

That occasion remains world No 177 Tsonga's sole Grand Slam final.

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The 33-year-old is on the comeback trail after missing seven months of the 2018 season following left knee surgery that saw his ranking plummet outside the top 200.

Back in 2008 Djokovic had won in four sets and despite the easier-looking scoreline the Serb said Tsonga remained a hard opponent.

"It's always tough to play Jo. He has struggled with injury and his ranking doesn’t do him justice in my eyes."

Rain delays earlier in the day meant that the second-round showdown began at 10.37 pm on Thursday and finished at 12:41am local time Friday after 2hr 4mins of play.

Djokovic thanked the fans for staying for the match. "It's almost 1:00 am," he said. "But I don't feel like sleeping."

ZVEREV WINS FIVE-SET BATTLE

Germany's Alexander Zverev wasted a flurry of opportunities before securing a 7-6(5) 6-4 5-7 6-7(6) 6-1 win over unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy to book a place in the third round.

The 21-year-old, seeded fourth at Melbourne Park, looked set for an easy outing after taking a two-set lead and with a flurry of break points in the third set. But he wasted four chances to break and then lost his serve to surrender the third set.

The Frenchman, ranked 36, won the fourth set in a tiebreak after Zverev, who claimed the 2018 ATP Tour Finals after beating Roger Federer in the semis and then Novak Djokovic, wasted four more break point opportunities in the seventh game.

Chardy ran out of steam in the final set as his errors mounted and Zverev cantered to victory in three hours and 46 minutes. He next plays local wildcard Alex Bolt, who stunned 29th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 2-6 6-4 4-6 7-6(8) 6-4.

NISHIKORI BATTLES BACK FROM BRINK

Japanese eighth seed Kei Nishikori blew a two-set lead against veteran Ivo Karlovic and was within a whisker of second-round elimination before winning a pulsating final set tiebreak.

Big-serving Karlovic, 39, stood on the brink of becoming the oldest man into the third round since 44-year-old Aussie great Ken Rosewall in 1978 before Nishikori hauled himself back into contention by saving three break points at 4-4 in the final set.

Asia's top-ranked men's player needed an energy-sapping 3hr 48min to overcome the 6ft 11in (2.11m) Croat 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (10/7) in humid conditions.

"It was a tough match which could have gone both ways. He almost had it for sure," said Nishikori, a three-time quarterfinalist at Melbourne Park, after collapsing to his knees in relief cheered on by a big Japanese contingent on Margaret Court Arena.

Nishikori was again in trouble when 6-7 in the final set 10-point tie-break facing two massive Karlovic serves before winning the next three points to edge over the finish line.

"I focused well on the last points, I'm very happy to win today," said Nishikori, who lost the US Open final in 2014 – his best performance in a Slam to date.

"I think this match will help my confidence. We both played great tennis – of course he served really well."

Told the Croat had smashed an astonishing 59 aces past him during the match, Nishikori looked incredulous.

"That is almost how many aces I hit in one year," he laughed.

"It's frustrating if you can't get the serve. I think I focused well."

Nishikori, who is 10 years younger than Karlovic, has endured two epic scraps this week so far at Melbourne Park.

He had to come from two sets down in the first round to survive a dramatic match against a Polish qualifier Kamil Majchrzak who eventually retired with cramp in the final set.

The eighth seed next faces either Philipp Kohlschreiber or Joao Sousa for a place in the last 16.

WAWRINKA FALLS TO RAONIC AT OPEN

The 2014 champion Stanislas Wawrinka was edged out of the Australian Open by a relieved 16th seed Milos Raonic in the tightest of second-round battles.

The 33-year-old Swiss, unseeded for the first time since his debut in 2006 after being plagued by injury, fell to the Canadian after four sets decided on tiebreaks 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (13/11), 7-6 (7/5).

"That's hard to describe," said Raonic. "I feel four hours went by in about 15 minutes. The adrenalin just takes over."

Wawrinka was a break up in the fourth set but failed to serve out from 5-4 to take it to a fifth.

"I was fortunate to stay alive in the fourth set," admitted Raonic, whose best Slam performance was reaching the 2016 Wimbledon final where he lost to Andy Murray.

"Four tie-breaks, three went my way," added the Canadian. "Could easily have been different."

Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka won the Australian Open five years ago, beating Rafael Nadal in the final, but knee surgery during 2017 saw his ranking plunge to 263.

He began slowly climbing back last year and is now back to 59th in the world.

The Swiss showed more than a few glimpses of his old greatness with his powerful single-handed backhand in full cry.

And Wawrinka's serve powered down 28 aces to Raonic's 39 during four hours and one minute of blistering play.

The match started under cloudy skies and finished indoors after a mid-match rain delay caused organisers to close the Rod Laver Arena roof.

"I just tried to get my hand on his serve, especially with the roof open," said Raonic.

"It's how I like to go about my game, so tough to be on the receiving end.

"I do a little better indoors normally. So thank you for raining up there," he added, looking towards the heavens.

Raonic, whose best previous Australian Open performance was a semifinal in 2016 that he also lost to Murray, will face France's unseeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the third round.

THIEM LIMPS OUT OF OPEN

Seventh seed Dominic Thiem limped out of the Australian Open in the second round when he retired when 7-5, 6-4, 2-0 down to young wildcard Alexei Popyrin.

The Austrian got through a first round five-setter against Benoit Paire that finished in the early hours of Wednesday morning and he never looked 100 percent against the Australian.

Thiem smashed his racquet at one point and called for the trainer before retiring to hand Popyrin, 19, the biggest win of his fledgling career.

"It's never easy winning like this, Dom played a tough first round. It's never easy winning like this," said the teenager.

But he added: "I always thought I was in the match, to be honest."

Popyrin will meet either 28th seed Lucas Pouille or Maximillian Marterer in the third round.

CHUNG TUMBLES OUT

Chung Hyeon will not be repeating last year's giant-killing heroics in the Australian Open after crashing out to Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second round.

The 24th seeded South Korean lost 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 to the unseeded Frenchman on Melbourne Arena.

Twelve months ago the little-known Chung, who models his game on Novak Djokovic, was the toast of the town as he tore through a tough half of the draw before hitting the buffers against Roger Federer in the semifinals.

Chung has struggled to build on his breakout performance where he famously beat fourth seed Alexander Zverev and Djokovic en route to retiring in the second set against Federer with massive, deep blisters on both feet.

The 22-year-old, who was the 2017 ATP NextGen Finals champion, is currently ranked 25 but will plummet when the new rankings are announced post-Melbourne and his points from last year drop off his record.

BOLT FROM THE BLUE OUSTS SIMON

Wildcard Alex Bolt made it a fantastic Thursday for home fans as he saved four match points in a drama-filled fourth set tie-break before knocking out 29th seed Gilles Simon.

Bolt pulled off the biggest win of his career 2-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 in the second round as he outlasted the Frenchman after 4hr 4min of pulsating action on a rocking Court 3.

Earlier, teenage Australian wildcard Alexei Popyrin also reached the last 32 after his opponent, the seventh-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem, retired when two sets down.

The 26-year-old Bolt had never beaten a player in the top 100 before and screamed in delight and danced across the court after he hit a two-handed backhand down the line for a winner on match point.

It was a massive shock with veteran Simon, 34, having never lost a Grand Slam before to a player ranked as low as number 159 Bolt.

His reward is a showdown with either fourth seed Alexander Zverev or another Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy in the third round.

The 19-year-old Popyrin now faces French 28th seed Lucas Pouille for a place in the last 16.