BEIJING, Jan. 22 -- Roger Federer and Serena Williams were given the royal seal of approval after dazzling performances at the Australian Open Thursday.
Britain's Prince William was in the stands at the Rod Laver Arena admiring the Swiss master's win over Romania's Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.
Federer later thanked the Prince for attending and shared a private moment with him before Serena Williams and her mother Oracene posed for a photograph with the second in line to the British throne.
"He was happy he could make it. I'm not gonna tell you everything he just said to me. You've got to have a little bit of a secret," Federer told a news conference.
"He shook a lot of hands, and I knew mine was one more. From what I've heard, I think he met Serena and myself."
Federer's polished display dispelled any doubts about his prospects of winning the year's first grand slam after he survived a scare in his first match with Igor Andreev.
"It's still early on in the tournament," he said. "You sometimes don't have to force the issue every single time."
Serena had earlier joined elder sister Venus in the third round as the main contenders continued to move safely through the draw.
Serena had no problems defeating Czech Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-1 and is steadily improving as she tries to defend the title she won last year.
Venus Williams cruised to a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Sybille Bammer of Austria.
"I thought today was a little bit better than my match in my first round," Serena said. "I felt like I was moving better and I had better energy. Yeah, just felt all around a lot better."
Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the 2008 champion, survived a shaky start to win while in-form Russian Nikolay Davydenko and Australia's Lleyton Hewitt advanced in straight sets.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki also sailed through, beating Germany's Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-1 but, in a tournament bereft of major upsets, there were at least two surprises to spice things up.
The former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic bowed out after a 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 loss to unseeded Argentine Gisela Dulko while Marcos Baghdatis defeated Spain's David Ferrer, the 17th seed.
Rollercoaster
Baghdatis has been plagued by injuries since his rollercoaster ride to the 2006 Australian Open final but showed he is getting back to his fighting best after winning 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-1.
"I saw a window open, so that's how it went," the Cypriot said.
Ivanovic made the final in Australia in 2008 and won the French Open that same year but her career has been in freefall ever since and she has slipped to 21st in the rankings despite trying desperately to resurrect her fortunes.
"It's a process. I think I just have to be patient," she said.
"Some matches it's there, some not. I just have to sort of keep my head up and try to improve."
Djokovic was unusually tentative at the start of his match but was always too streetwise for Switzerland's Marco Chiudinelli, winning 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
"I managed to make that transition from being defensive to being offensive and changing pace and holding the game," Djokovic said.
Davydenko steam-rollered Ukraine's Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to maintain his unbeaten start to the year as he chases his maiden grand slam title while Hewitt survived a dogged challenge from American Donald Young to win 7-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Australian teenager Bernard Tomic received a dressing down from organizers after he blamed his second-round loss on the schedule. The 17-year-old was beaten in five sets by Croatian Marin Cilic on Wednesday in a match that finished well after 2am.
"I'm not trying to make any excuses, but I go to sleep at like nine, 10 normally. It's way past my bedtime," he said.
"If there doesn't become a change in his behavior, it becomes extremely hard for him to excel at the top echelons of the sport," Australian Open director Craig Tiley said.
国际英语资讯:Russia bans opposition leader from running for presidency in 2018
英国女王2017圣诞演讲:家是温馨、熟悉和爱的来源
我国多地区陷入天然气供应告急
国内英语资讯:China supports Europe in playing more active role in global affairs: FM
体坛英语资讯:China sweeps weightlifting worlds with multiple records
国内英语资讯:Feature: China gifts well-equipped school building to remote Sri Lankan village
国内英语资讯:China Focus: China wins global applause for efforts in world peacekeeping
国内英语资讯:Chinese oil giant hands over last set of oil-refining equipment to Kuwaiti contractor
体坛英语资讯:Bolivia midfielder Chumacero joins Mexicos Puebla
体坛英语资讯:Liverpool regain 5 point lead after hard-fought win at Chelsea
体坛英语资讯:Leaders China, United States fight hard for 3-2 win, to meet on Monday
喷泉里的许愿币最后都去了哪里?
体坛英语资讯:Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao set pace in La Liga
NASA提出新的概念引擎,据说能达到光速的99%
国际英语资讯:British PMs Brexit timetable rejected by parliament
体坛英语资讯:Chinese players impress in Hainan Chess Open
来纽约第五大道,享用真正的“蒂芙尼早餐”
韩国乐天集团95岁创始人被判刑4年
国际英语资讯:Pompeo, Japanese FM hold phone talks over Iran
国际英语资讯:Firefighters battling Californias wild fire on Christmas Day
中国互联网发展水平仅次于美国 高居全球第二位
如何真正的爱自己?
国内英语资讯:Chinese, Afghan FMs meet for closer cooperation
国际英语资讯:Spotlight: United Nations bidding farewell to 2017 amid challenges, hopes
国内英语资讯:China Focus: Third-generation hybrid rice achieves high yields in China
体坛英语资讯:Jiangsu wins 5th straight by beating Beijing
国际英语资讯:Syrian president supports Russia-Turkey memorandum on northern Syria situation: Kremlin
秘鲁前总统藤森获准保外就医
有理有力有节!2017年外交天团十大精彩回应
研究:你一开口面试官就知道你是哪种人