Former Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka exited in the second round after a marathon loss to Marton Fucsovics.

Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, bowed out after a 7-5 6-1 4-6 2-6 7-6 (11-9) loss to Fucsovics on a warm Wednesday in Melbourne.

Fucsovics saved three match points on John Cain Arena in an encounter that lasted three hours, 59 minutes.

Wawrinka led 6-1 and 8-4 in the super tie-break, but Fucsovics won the final five points and seven of the last eight.

The Hungarian continues to enjoy the year's first grand slam, where he has reached the fourth round twice in the past three years.

Wawrinka, though, has struggled in Australia in recent years.

The Swiss star has now been eliminated in the second round in three of the past four years, while reaching the quarter-finals in 2020.

Wawrinka rallied from two sets to love down and 5-3 behind in the fifth, but wasted his chances in the super tie-break.

Serena Williams is embracing the absence of line judges at this year's Australian Open as the record-chasing American superstar dubbed herself a "futurist, like Iron Man" after reaching the third round. 

The Australian Open is taking place without linespeople as a response to coronavirus restrictions at Melbourne Park, where "Hawk-Eye Live" technology is being used on every court. 

It is the first grand slam to replace all line judges with technology as the tournament seeks to limit the number of people on court amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

After easing past Nina Stojanovic 6-3 6-0 on Wednesday, 23-time grand slam champion and seven-time Australian Open winner Williams welcomed the use of technology.

"I like it," Williams, who is looking to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 slams, told reporters when asked about the technology post-match. "I didn't like it in Cincinnati because they had that in Cincinnati and I was, it was different. It was weird. 

"I like it now because it takes away a lot of the human error, which clearly I definitely don't need. I should be the biggest fan of that. 

"But I feel like sometimes I definitely still want to see that ball, but I'm like, okay, even if I see it, the computer's going to show me what the computer just said. So that's kind of how I think about it. 

"I'm a futurist, like Iron Man, so I definitely love technology and it's something that I invest in and so, yeah, I really think is right up my alley."

Williams owns a 359-51 grand slam record in her illustrious career – the only other player to pass 300 victories in the Open Era is Martina Navratilova (306-49).

The 39-year-old Williams is bidding to win her 11th major crown since turning 30.

Only Court (three), Navratilova (three), Chris Evert (two), Billie Jean King (two), Ann Jones (one), Angelique Kerber (one), Li Na (one), Flavia Pennetta (one) and Virginia Wade (one) have won grand slam silverware in their 30s.

Petra Kvitova made a surprise second-round exit at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

The Czech ninth seed and two-time Wimbledon champion fell to Sorana Cirstea 6-4 1-6 6-1 on a warm day at Melbourne Park.

Runner-up in 2019 and a quarter-finalist last year, Kvitova bowed out after a costly 44 unforced errors in two hours, three minutes.

Cirstea, meanwhile, reached the third round of the Australian Open for just the fourth time.

It marked the Romanian's first win over a top-10 player since 2017, when she beat Karolina Pliskova in Beijing.

Cirstea will face another Czech, 19th seed Marketa Vondrousova, in the third round.

Kvitova is among 10 seeds to have departed in the women's draw, joining Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Martic, Johanna Konta, Maria Sakkari, Wang Qiang, Zhang Shuai and Alison Riske.

Serena Williams booked her spot in the Australian Open third round with a straight-sets win over Nina Stojanovic on Wednesday.

Williams again looked in fine form on her way to a 6-3 6-0 victory over Stojanovic in warm conditions on Rod Laver Arena.

The American star is bidding to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam singles titles and is on track after her win in one hour, nine minutes.

As her serve gradually improved, Williams – who is dealing with a right shoulder injury – was in control for the most part to set up a third-round clash against Anastasia Potapova.

Stojanovic held her own early, but Williams broke for 3-1, a powerful forehand setting up break point before a backhand error from the Serbian.

Williams was struggling with her first serve – she had a first-serve percentage of just 52 in the first set – but dug herself out of a 15-40 hole to hold for 5-2 on her way to taking the opening set.

A break to begin the second set followed as Stojanovic powered a forehand down the line wide, and three consecutive backhand errors saw her cough up another break to fall 3-0 behind.

Williams took complete control from then on, finishing the second set without an unforced error and losing just nine points to quickly wrap up victory.

Data Slam: Williams' second-round dominance continues
Williams improved her record in the second round of majors to 73-2. It also stands at 19-1 at the Australian Open, where she last failed to reach the third round on her debut main-draw appearance in 1998.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams – 27/11
Stojanovic – 15/18

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Williams – 6/1
Stojanovic – 1/4

BREAK POINTS WON
Williams – 4/9
Stojanovic – 0/3

The Los Angeles Clippers will be without Paul George for their upcoming two-game road trip due to injury.

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed George's absence for games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bills as the NBA All-Star deals with a swollen right toe.

George has been sidelined for the Clippers' past two games.

"Staying back home and getting some treatment," Lue said of George on Tuesday. "And we'll re-evaluate when we get back."

The Clippers face the Timberwolves on Wednesday before visiting the Bulls on Friday.

George is averaging 24.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game for the Clippers this season.

The Clippers (17-8) are third in the Western Conference, behind leaders the Utah Jazz (19-5) and defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers (19-6), following back-to-back losses.

Peter O'Mahony has been banned for the next three rounds of Six Nations games following his red card in Ireland's opening defeat to Wales.

O'Mahony was dismissed in the 14th minute of Ireland's 21-16 loss in Cardiff after leading with his elbow to the head of Tomas Francis while attempting a clearout.

The flanker can now not feature for Ireland again until their final match of the tournament, which sees them host England on March 20.

O'Mahony admitted to dangerous play in the ruck and that his actions merited a red card during a disciplinary hearing.

The disciplinary committee deemed the entry point for his offence to be a six-week ban, but halved that suspension after taking into account O'Mahony's record and conduct in the hearing.

In a statement, Six Nations organisers said: "The committee considered all the relevant evidence, including the player's oral evidence, together with the clips of the incident.

"In assessing the seriousness of the offending, the committee found that the offending was reckless."

Ireland will attempt to bounce back on Sunday when they welcome France to Dublin.

Props Kyle Sinckler and Mako Vunipola have returned to the England squad for the Six Nations encounter with Italy at Twickenham on Saturday.

British and Irish Lions duo Sinckler and Vunipola missed the 11-6 Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland on the opening day of the tournament due to suspension and an Achilles injury respectively.

They will be available to beef up the defending champions' pack against an Azzurri side smarting from a 50-10 hammering at the hands of a rampant France at Stadio Olimpico.

Harry Williams and Tom West will not feature for Eddie Jones' side after they were released to return to their clubs.

The Red Rose never got going in a poor performance versus dominant Scotland, but they won the tournament last year after losing their opening match to France and number eight Billy Vunipola said they can respond again.

He said: "It is frustrating. I won't lie. But this happened last year, and we managed to pull it back so it's massive for all of us to make sure we get around each other and whatever we need to fix this week we do as soon as possible.

"We only have a week to do it, which is probably the best thing for us. We don't have a fallow week to let that settle in and frustrate us.

"You never really forget these days, you never really forget these moments, and to be honest I don't really want to forget them.

"I want to move on from it, but I don't want to forget it as it keeps you sharp. Losing like this at Twickenham is never what you dream of."

Rafael Nadal sailed into the second round of the Australian Open on day two before backing "humble" fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz to have a "great career" following his maiden grand slam win.

Nadal cruised to a 6-3 6-4 6-1 victory over Laslo Djere on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday and will face Michael Mmoh in round two.

The Spanish great's compatriot Alcaraz won his first major match at Melbourne Park, seeing off fellow qualifier Botic Van de Zandschulp 6-1 6-4 6-4.

Murcia native Alcaraz has been billed by Nadal's uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal, as his nephew's "natural replacement" and the 20-time grand slam champion says the 17-year-old has all the ingredients to have a great career.

The second seed said: "He's very good. He's very young. He has everything to improve in the future with his age.

"He already is where he is, and he has a lot of great things on his game. I really believe that he will have a great future because he's a good guy, humble, hard worker. He has a lot of positive things."

Daniil Medvedev outclassed Vasek Pospisil 6-2 6-2 6-4, while Stefanos Tsitsipas eased past Gilles Simon 6-1 6-2 6-1, but fellow seed David Goffin lost a five-set marathon with Alexei Popyrin.

Nadal happy to 'survive' 

Nadal missed the ATP Cup before starting his quest for a record 21st grand slam title at Melbourne Park due to muscle tightness in his back.

He was simply happy to clear the first hurdle on the second day of the tournament.

"I needed to survive today and that's what I did. I just tried to be focused all the time, tried to get through," he said.

"For me personally, [I'm] happy to be through to the second round. I did I think a good job today. Straight sets, that's what I did."

Tennys disgruntled over 'joke' of preparation

American Tennys Sandgren was among over 70 players who were locked down in a hotel for a fortnight before the tournament due to positive COVID-19 test on their flight to Australia.

Sandgren made no secret of his displeasure over the restrictions he was forced to adhere to and let his feelings be known again after the two-time quarter-finalist lost 7-5 6-1 6-1 to Alex de Minaur on John Cain Arena.

He said: "How would you imagine prepping for a hot kind of muggy day, three-out-of-five sets against a player like that, that calibre, when you can't play tennis? You can't go outside? You can't. It's impossible. It's impossible.

"So I played last week's event [the Great Ocean Road Open], which probably wasn't a good idea. It wasn't hot, it was very mild conditions, and I played two hard three-set matches and I've never been more sore in my life after the second round, and I took two days off because I couldn't walk, and then I hit a couple times before today. I mean, it's just kind of a joke of preparation. But yeah. What are you going to do?"

Alcaraz escaping social media hype

Big things are expected of teenager Alcaraz and there was more hype over his potential after an impressive first-round win.

Alcaraz just wants to do his own thing and show why the likes of Rafael and Toni Nadal speak so highly of him.

"So I try to be focus on me, not on the social media, to play my game, play in front of my team, to my team, to me, my family," he said.

"I try to, yeah, to be a part of the social media and don't hear the comparison with Rafa. Yeah, I try to do this."

A "calmer" Garbine Muguruza made a fine start at the Australian Open, while defending champion Sofia Kenin was left annoyed despite her victory.

A finalist at the Yarra Valley Classic last week, Muguruza's good form in Melbourne continued with a rampant 6-4 6-0 victory over Margarita Gasparyan in the first round on Tuesday.

Muguruza was runner-up at Melbourne Park last year, with the two-time grand slam winner looking for her first major success since 2017.

The Spanish star, who will face Ludmilla Samsonova in the second round, said she was reaping the benefits of a changed approach.

"I was for sure working very hard, and frustrated that the results weren't there for quite a few months. Sometimes you work hard, you want it so much, that doesn't help you," Muguruza said.

"It's hard to explain, but I felt like for a moment I was working hard, I was putting all the effort out there. The time that I had to go and compete, I wanted it too much. I was getting frustrated too early. At the end I couldn't let the racquet talk.

"I feel like now, after that experience, I managed to stay a little bit calmer and to just go and compete, probably have less expectations. I'm always, like, there and always so pumped. I'm just knowing myself a little bit better now, finding ways to compete and not let that energy and that desire, too much desire, get in the way probably."

It was a relatively good day for the top women's seeds, with Kenin – who conquered Muguruza in last year's final – winning through.

Ash Barty, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Belinda Bencic also advanced, while Victoria Azarenka's poor recent record in Melbourne continued.

KENIN ANNOYED DESPITE WIN

Kenin started her title defence with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Australian Maddison Inglis.

But while the American fourth seed mixed 23 winners with 27 unforced errors, Kenin said she felt her nerves as she defends a major crown for the first time.

"I was obviously quite annoyed the whole match. I felt like the first two points I started off well, then wasn't able to close out the first game. Obviously nerves happen," she said.

"She obviously played really well. She's a tricky opponent, tricky player. Yeah, it was quite hard on myself today, quite annoyed, as you said."

Kenin's next clash is a tough encounter against Kaia Kanepi, who brushed past Anastasija Sevastova 6-3 6-1.

BARTY, SVITOLINA AND PLISKOVA AMONG WINNERS

Barty made a spectacular start with a 6-0 6-0 thrashing of Danka Kovinic.

The world number one won the first 16 points and ended up losing just 10 for the match in an impressive start.

A two-time quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, Svitolina was tested but overcame Marie Bouzkova 6-3 7-6 (7-5) on Rod Laver Arena.

A huge challenge awaits Svitolina, who will next face Coco Gauff after the 16-year-old American beat Jil Teichmann 6-3 6-2.

Czech sixth seed Pliskova made quick work of Jasmine Paolini, wrapping up a 6-0 6-2 victory in just 47 minutes.

Bencic and Anett Kontaveit were among the other seeded winners.

NO EXCUSES FOR AZARENKA

A two-time Australian Open champion, Azarenka suffered a surprise 7-5 6-4 loss to Jessica Pegula in the first round.

The Belarusian's last win at the event came in 2016, having made first-round exits in 2019 and 2021 and missed the tournament in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Azarenka was among the players forced to quarantine ahead of the major and while she said it played a part in her exit, she offered no excuses.

"Of course, it has impacted. Somebody who's coming out of hard quarantine and maybe has been able to adjust well, they'll go, 'Oh, maybe it hasn't impacted'. Somebody who lost early will say, 'Yeah, of course, it's impacted'. It would be hard to say," she said.

"Was that the best preparation for me? No. But try to sit here and find an excuse because of quarantine and this is just something that, as I said, it is what it is.

"I am disappointed that I wasn't able to perform that I knew I could. That's a bit hard to accept today because I knew I can play better, a lot better. At the same time I feel that I've tried everything I can to be able to be prepared, but unfortunately that hasn't worked out for me."

Greek 20th seed Maria Sakkari also bowed out after a loss to Kristina Mladenovic, while British 13th seed Johanna Konta retired injured while leading Kaja Juvan 6-4 0-2.

Ash Barty made an impressive start to the Australian Open, thrashing Danka Kovinic in the first round on Tuesday.

Barty, who last year became the first Australian woman to reach the semi-finals of the tournament since Wendy Turnbull in 1984, hammered Kovinic 6-0 6-0 on Rod Laver Arena.

Winner of last week's Yarra Valley Classic, Barty won the first 16 points against Kovinic and never looked back.

The world number one wrapped up victory in just 44 minutes, finishing the contest having lost only 10 points.

Kovinic's unforced errors piled up early – the Montenegrin made 14 in the first set – as 2019 French Open champion Barty quickly took control and the opener.

There was a very brief test for Barty to begin the second set, but the Australian was untroubled as Kovinic had no answers.

Barty will meet either Daria Gavrilova or Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round.

Data Slam: Barty blitz sets up win
Barty made an incredible start, racing into a 4-0 lead without dropping a point. Her hopes of a golden set were ended when she sent a backhand long, but the start put her in immediate control.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Barty – 10/5
Kovinic – 3/28

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Barty – 5/0
Kovinic – 2/2

BREAK POINTS WON
Barty – 6/8
Kovinic – 0/0

LaMelo Ball is "fearless" and his shooting is only going to improve after the rookie starred in the Charlotte Hornets' 119-94 triumph over the Houston Rockets, says head coach James Borrego.

The 19-year-old had a game-high 24 points to go alongside 10 assists and a career-high seven three-pointers in Monday's contest.

Consequently, Ball joined Stephen Curry (2010) and Jason Kidd (1995) as the only rookies with seven-plus threes and 10-plus assists in a game and is the youngest to do so.

Borrego initially had concerns over Ball's shooting style, given the way his release point is at his chest not above his shoulders, but those fears were allayed by a trip to watch him at a workout in Los Angeles.

"When we went there, there was just a confidence about him and his shot," Borrego said. 

"As I sat there with [Hornets GM] Mitch [Kupchak] I looked over and said 'he's going to be fine'. The kid is confident and believes it is going in. And that is at least half the battle.

"Whether he's at the line or two feet behind the line, it's almost effortless.

"[LaMelo] oozes confidence. He's going to continue that. He's fearless. He's going to continue to shoot it. 

"He's got great confidence in [his shot] and he's going to keep getting reps and better shots as he goes. It's a great weapon to have and it sets up a lot of his game with the way he can get to the rim."

Ball himself added on his shooting style: "I stick with it. I say, 'this is how I shoot'.

"I'm confident in it and I feel good letting it go. I came here and they tried to adjust it a little, but I'm like, 'Ah, this is how I shoot'."

LeBron James was inspired by Tom Brady's latest Super Bowl achievement, but the Los Angeles Lakers star has no timetable regarding how much longer he plans to play in the NBA.

At the age of 43, Brady – considered by many as the greatest of all time – won a seventh ring after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Super Bowl LV glory against the Kansas City Chiefs.

It means the superstar quarterback now has more rings than any NFL franchise and was particularly impressive given it was his first season with Tampa after a golden era playing for the New England Patriots.

James himself continues to dominate in the twilight years of his NBA career, and recorded a sublime triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists as the Lakers earned a 119-112 overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

Asked about Brady and his own career, James replied: "I mean he's one of the GOATs. 

"I've been watching him my whole life, or it seems like my whole life. I've been watching him 20 years now or however long he's been in the NFL. 

"I watched him when he was in Michigan, watched him quite a while now, just to see him go out and see the things he's done in his career, for him to win another one in the fashion that he won it was pretty cool. 

"It was very inspiring for a guy like myself. But it's two different sports, two different positions. I don't know how long I'll play the game, how much more I'll be able to give to the game. 

"But the way I feel right now, we'll see what happens. I have no timetable on it. I don't have no year of 30-this or 40-that. The game will let me know, we'll figure it out then."

The Lakers' win over the Thunder came just two days after the double-overtime triumph over the Detroit Pistons, following which James joked "my heart's not sustainable for two overtimes".

"It needed overtime in order for us to win this game," James added. "We did enough things to close in regulation but they forced us to take another five minutes. 

"I'm good with one! I get home a little earlier, my heart don't feel as bad it did the other night."