MELBOURNE, Australia -- His tennis attire now splashed with pink, Roger Federer was trying to recruit support for his next match.
Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem. Federer is one of the most popular athletes in Australia, where he has won four of his 17 Grand Slam titles.
The only problem is this: His 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Nikolay Davydenko on Thursday night set Federer on course for a third-round match against Bernard Tomic, the last remaining Australian in the men's or women's draws.
The 20-year-old Tomic beat German qualifier Daniel Brands 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8) in the last afternoon match on the center court at Melbourne Park, keeping his cool on a long, searing day in which temperatures hit 106 degrees.
Federer praised Tomic's play for the crowd, and later said he won't mind for whom or how loud fans are cheering Saturday.
"I don't think it matters whether he's the last Australian or 10 more," Federer said. "There's always excitement about Aussies playing here. I played him here last year. The crowd was great. I expect something similar. If it's not, if it's totally for him, that's fine, too. I'm always excited when the crowd gets into it."
Federer has added a few flashes of color for the year's opening Grand Slam event -- neon pink shoelaces and trim on the back of his shoes, on the V-neck of his shirt and the swoosh on his black headband. This is quite a departure from the Swiss
"I like to play around with colors," he explained. "Fresh start to a new year. I wore a pink shirt a few years back. It was a best seller, so ...."
The day-time temperature got progressively hotter until late afternoon, meaning top-ranked Victoria Azarenka had it slightly easier in her second-round match -- a 6-1, 6-0 win over Eleni Daniilidou, Greece -- than third-ranked Serena Williams did in the very next match on Rod Laver Arena, a 6-2, 6-0 win over Garbine Muguruza of Spain.
There was concern after she hurt her right ankle Tuesday that an injury might ruin Williams' run at a third consecutive major title. She said the ankle didn't bother her as much on Thursday as a split lip, which she did by accidently hitting herself in the face with the racket in the sixth game.
"It's OK," she said. "It's a war wound."
"I have never busted it wide open like that," she added, "I was like, ‘Oh, no. I can't have a tooth fall out.' That would be horrible."
She next plays Ayumi Morita, one of two Japanese women already in the third round. The other, 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm, downed Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2, 7-5.
Other women advancing included former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, No. 14 Maria Kirilenko, No. 16 Roberta Vinci, No. 20 Yanina Wickmayer and Elena Vesnina, who beat No. 21-seeded Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-4, 6-2.
After her singles match, Williams attempted to show there was no serious damage to her ankle by combining with sister Venus in a first-round doubles win later in the afternoon.
That was good preparation for Venus' third-round match against No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova, one of the highlights of Friday's schedule.
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