MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz swept into the third round of the Australian Open in the wake of women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday as the rain returned and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen bowed out.
While Zheng, who was stunned 7-6(3), 6-3 by Laura Siegemund, was the first top-10 women’s seed to exit, sixth seed Casper Ruud became the fourth to fall on the men’s side after going down 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.
“We can see that tennis is moving on,” said 19-year-old Mensik, whose triumph followed Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca’s stunning victory over ninth seed Andrey Rublev.
“We can see different or new names on the tournaments. For the fans, for the tennis, for everything, it’s really great. That’s it. New blood is coming.”
Djokovic, however, continued to defy the rise of the younger generation and took another step towards a 25th Grand Slam title with a 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2 victory over 21-year-old qualifier Jaime Faria on Rod Laver Arena.
“Overall it was another big test. Another three-hour match, back-to-back against the youngsters,” said the 37-year-old, who claimed another record merely by taking to the court for his 430th Grand Slam match.
“Again, I’m happy with the way I ended up the match. Good fashion, good mindset.”
Djokovic will next face Czech Republic Tomas Machac, who beat American Reilly Opelka 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4.
Second seed Alexander Zverev made light work of contemporary Pedro Martinez 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 in the final match on the main showcourt, while Alcaraz, still only 21, served up another quick-fire win to advance past Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-1, 6-4.
Sabalenka, bidding to become the first woman to claim three straight Australian Open titles since Martina Hingis, had a much trickier time in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena. The Belarusian trailed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 4-1 in the second set but battled back to win 6-3, 7-5 and extend her winning streak at the hardcourt Grand Slam to 16 matches.
“She played incredible tennis today and it was a really tough one,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy with the win in straight sets, especially against someone like her, who makes you work for every point.”
Sabalenka next opponent is high-flying world no 42 Clara Tauson who thumped Tatjana Maria of Germany 6-2, 6-2.
Third seed Coco Gauff also made heavy work of her second-round tie against Britain’s Jodie Burrage on the main showcourt but got the job done in two sets, 6-3, 7-5.
Coco will be up against Leylah Fernandez in the third round as the Canadian came from a set down to beat Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Morning rain delayed the start of the matches on the outer courts and returned to disrupt the programme in the late afternoon.
Belinda Bencic eased past Suzan Lamens 6-1, 7-6(3) in the first match on Court Six but Zheng, her successor as Olympic champion, was fighting back the tears on John Cain Arena after being stunned by unseeded German Siegemund.
“I felt she was playing really good,” the fifth seed Zheng told reporters after regaining her composure. “It’s tennis, nothing more.”
Bencic will next face twice champion Naomi Osaka, who rallied past 20th seed Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since taking a break to have a child.
“It definitely was something that is a goal of mine, especially after last year (when) I wasn’t able to beat a seed in a Grand Slam,” she said. “I’m obviously very thankful that that happened so early this year.”
Members of Australia’s large Lebanese community were in place on Court Three long before qualifier Hady Habib’s match against Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
They were not rewarded for their patience as the first Grand Slam main draw campaign for a Lebanese player ended in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 defeat.
“I hope this week has inspired a bunch of kids to start tennis and know that there is a pathway to get to this position,” said Habib. “Hopefully one day we’ll have more Lebanese tennis players on this stage.”
There were still plenty of cheers echoing around the precinct late into the night as Australia’s Aleks Vukic took out 22nd seed Sebastian Korda 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 and local Thanasi Kokkinakis battled it out over five sets with Jack Draper.
Kokkinakis was broken while serving for the match in the fourth set and British 15th seed Draper silenced the crowd by prevailing 6-7(3), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
“It was a tough atmosphere to deal with,” said Draper.
Another Australian bowed out of the tournament when Jordan Thompson lost to Portuguese Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Alexander Davidovic Fokina of Spain showed great heart as he rallied from two set down to beat Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.
In the other matches on Tuesday, Paula Badosa crushed Talia Gibson 6-1, 6-0 while American Jessica Pegula eased through against Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-2.
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva dropped a set against the 23-year-old Japanese player Moyuka Uchijima but still managed to progress 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(8).
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk advanced following a convincing 6-3, 6-0 win over Jule Niemeier and Croatia’s Donna Vekic dropped a set but still recorded a comfortable 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win over Harriet Dart of Britain.
With the victory Vekic booked the third round date with Russian Diana Shnaider — who cruised past Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 7-5.
Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2025
