Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka shrugged off a shaky display to fight her way into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Clara Tauson on Friday.
Novak Djokovic resumes his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam title and 11th at Melbourne Park later in the day and Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff will also be in action on the main show courts.
The day’s first match on the Rod Laver Arena at the start of the sixth day of the championships was hardly vintage tennis, but Sabalenka was pleased to come away unscathed after a little over two hours in bright sunshine and challenging conditions.
Sabalenka has been far from her devastating best in the first two rounds and against Tauson she dropped serve four times in a wobbly opening set, but her opponent was equally profligate as both players struggled with the sun and breeze.
The first hold in the eighth game was greeted with a big round of applause as world number 42 Tauson surged to a 5-3 lead, but Sabalenka roared back like a tiger, the animal that has become her totem.
In Men’s game, third seed Carlos Alcaraz dropped his first set of the tournament but still safely secured his passage into the fourth round with a 6-2 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3 victory over Nuno Borges on Friday.
The 21-year-old Spaniard has quietly but authoritatively gone about his business in the first week at Melbourne as teenagers ousted seeds, Jannik Sinner progressed in his title defence and Novak Djokovic in his quest for a 25th major crown.
Two conversions from four break points were enough for him to take the first set, one from one-handed him the second before the experienced Portuguese number one snatched the momentum back at the end of the third.
Borges blew one set point at 6-5 by going long with a return but made no mistake in the tiebreak to claim the set and leave Alcaraz seething in his chair.
The four-times Grand Slam champion came out in the fourth set like a man on a mission, breaking at the first opportunity for 2-0 with a spectacular over-the-shoulder pass from the back of the court.
A huge roar of “Vamos!” echoed over the sunbathed Rod Laver Arena and from that point Alcaraz’s place in the fourth round for the 11th time in 16 Grand Slam campaigns looked assured.
The remainder of the set from Alcaraz was venomous serving, a few sumptuous drop shots and the customary barrage of forehand winners, the 35th of which brought up match point after just under three hours on the court.
Alcaraz will next face Britain’s Jack Draper or local hopeful Aleks Vukic in the fourth round on Sunday.
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