MELBOURNE — Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka overcame a wobbly display to reach the Australian Open fourth round while Carlos Alcaraz was at his dazzling best despite a blip as warm and windy weather tested the composure of players on Friday.
Novak Djokovic will hope for better conditions as he resumes his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title and 11th at Melbourne Park in the evening, with American third seed Coco Gauff also in action on a main showcourt.
The opening match on Rod Laver Arena on the sixth day of the championships was hardly vintage tennis, but Sabalenka came away unscathed after a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over Clara Tauson amid blazing sunshine and intermittent gusts.
“That was a great battle, she played unbelievable tennis,” said three-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka according to Reuters.
“I was playing this match thinking, ‘girl, you’re really tough’. So many times, I thought ‘I’m done’, but I was like, ‘keep pushing’.”
Sabalenka has been far from her devastating best in the first two rounds and against Tauson she dropped serve four times in a shaky opening set, but her opponent was equally profligate as both players struggled for rhythm.
“Conditions are really tough for serving, the balls are heavy and the surface slow,” said Sabalenka, who conceded four breaks in the opening set of a match for the first time since San Diego in 2022.
“It was really important to get all of those breaks back. I’m super happy I was able to close this match.”
The first hold in the eighth game was greeted with a big round of applause as world number 42 Tauson surged ahead 5-3, but Sabalenka roared back like a tiger, the animal that has become her totem.
The top seed stabilised her own delivery and then drew level at 5-5 before Tauson recovered to save four set points and force a tiebreak, where she matched the big-hitting Belarusian punch for punch in the first 10 points.
Sabalenka shifted up a gear, however, and earned a set point with a stinging backhand winner before closing it out with a big forehand to leave Auckland champion Tauson a tad deflated after 63 minutes of toil.
The Dane gifted her opponent a break early in the next set but continued to carve out chances and made it to 4-4, only to fade away after a marathon game that had seven deuces as the momentum shifted one last time.
Sabalenka held her nerve on serve to seal a 17th straight win at the Australian Open and keep alive her quest to become the first woman to lift three successive titles at the Grand Slam since Martina Hingis from 1997-99.
Up next for Sabalenka is a meeting with Mirra Andreeva after the 17-year-old Russian moved past Magdalena Frech 6-2 1-6 6-2.
Alcaraz dropped his first set of the tournament but the third seed comfortably beat Nuno Borges 6-2 6-4 6-7(3) 6-2 and awaits Jack Draper or local hopeful Aleksandar Vukic in the fourth round on Sunday.
Second seed Alexander Zverev continued to fly under the radar in search of his first major title, as the German eased past Briton Jacob Fearnley 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Earlier, 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova sealed a 6-1 6-2 win over German Laura Siegemund, who at 36 was the oldest player remaining in the women’s draw having made the third round with a victory over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
Paris Games runner-up Donna Vekic needed three sets to beat Russian 12th seed Diana Shnaider, the Croatian prevailing 7-6(4) 6-7(3) 7-5 after almost three hours on Margaret Court Arena and she immediately looked forward to an ice bath.
“It was tough, it was pretty warm and she was playing unbelievable tennis,” Vekic said.
“In my next life I want to be a lefty (like Shnaider). I don’t know the last time I beat a lefty. Now, the ice bath is waiting for me.”
Paula Badosa was given a test at a blustery Kia Arena and at one point offered her racket to her coach in the stands, asking him to take over, before finding her focus to get past Marta Kostyuk 6-4 4-6 6-3.
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