Jan 21 (Reuters) – Highlights of the fourth day at the Australian Open on Wednesday (times GMT):
0920 – ANDREEVA BEATS SAKKARI
Mirra Andreeva appeared to be in cruise control early on, with the eighth seed thumping Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-0 in the first set of their second round clash.
Backed by a thunderous crowd, Sakkari came alive to take a lead in the second set, but the Russian teenager regained her composure for a 6-0 6-4 victory.
0910 – BUBLIK REACHES THIRD ROUND
Alexander Bublik continued his tremendous form as the 10th seed picked up a straightforward 7-5 6-4 7-5 victory over Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, extending his winning streak to six matches in 2026.
0725 GMT – ZHENG RETIRES AGAINST MOUTET
American Michael Zheng retired in the fourth set against 32nd seed Corentin Moutet, who advanced 3-6 6-1 6-3 2-0 to a third-round match-up against world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
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0700 GMT – FIERY DAVIDOVICH FOKINA WINS FIVE-SET THRILLER
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina battled for nearly four hours against American Reilly Opelka to seal a 6-3 7-6(3) 5-7 4-6 6-4 victory before erupting in a roar of celebration.
The 14th seed looked frustrated during the match and received a code violation for smashing his racquet.
0600 GMT – ALCARAZ MARCHES ON
World number one Carlos Alcaraz took the latest step in his bid for the career Grand Slam with a 7-6(4) 6-3 6-2 victory over a gutsy Yannick Hanfmann.
0515 GMT – EASY WIN FOR COCO
Coco Gauff sailed past Serbian Olga Danilovic with a dominant 6-2 6-2 win to set up a third-round clash against her fellow American Hailey Baptiste.
“I missed a backhand at 40-0 to go up 5-0 (in the first set) but other than that it was pretty perfect,” the third seed said.
0455 GMT – MEDVEDEV SURVIVES EARLY SCARE
Daniil Medvedev lost the first set in an intense tiebreaker against Frenchman Quentin Halys but the three-times Melbourne Park finalist hit back to score a 6-7(9) 6-3 6-4 6-2 win.
0455 GMT – RADUCANU ELIMINATED IN SECOND ROUND
Britain’s Emma Raducanu lost in straight sets to Austria’s Anastasia Potapova, the former U.S. Open champion falling 7-6(3) 6-2 in the second round.
0400 GMT – TEEN SENSATION MBOKO ADVANCES
Canadian teen Victoria Mboko defeated American Caty McNally 6-4 6-3 to advance. Trailing 3-0 in the second set, 19-year-old Mboko won six games in a row to complete the comeback.
0330 GMT – RUBLEV BEATS FARIA
Russian 13th seed Andrey Rublev overcame issues with his serve to defeat Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-4 6-3 4-6 7-5 to advance to the next round.
0225 GMT – EXITS FOR HOME HOPES GIBSON, HUNTER
Australian wildcard Talia Gibson had three match points but could not finish 23rd seed Diana Shnaider off, the 21-year-old losing 3-6 7-5 6-3.
Gibson’s compatriot Storm Hunter was also eliminated after losing 6-2 6-1 to Hailey Baptiste.
0155 GMT – SABALENKA BLAZES PAST BAI
World number one Aryna Sabalenka cruised to a 6-3 6-1 win over China’s Bai Zhuoxuan to reach the third round.
0145 GMT – SONMEZ, CERUNDOLO ADVANCE
Turkish 23-year-old Zeynep Sonmez, who emerged as a crowd favourite after helping a ball girl on day one, defeated Hungarian Anna Bondar 6-2 6-4 to progress to the third round.
In the men’s draw, 18th seed Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina beat Damir Dzumhur 6-3 6-2 6-1.
0130 GMT – SVITOLINA WINS IN STRAIGHT SETS
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, the 12th seed, cruised past Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova 7-5 6-1 to become the first player through to the third round.
0000 GMT – PLAY STARTS ON THE MAIN SHOWCOURTS
Play started on the main showcourts at Melbourne Park with Ukrainian 12th seed Elina Svitolina taking on qualifier Linda Klimovicova of Poland at John Cain Arena. Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka was due to start the day on Rod Laver Arena at 0030 against China’s Bai Zhuoxuan while fiery Russian Andrey Rublev, seeded 13th, battles Jaime Faria on Margaret Court Arena, also at 0030.
ORDER OF PLAY ON WEDNESDAY (Prefix number denotes seeding)
ROD LAVER ARENA
Day session (0030 GMT/1130 AEDT)
1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Bai Zhuoxuan (China)
1-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) v Yannick Hanfmann (Germany)
Night session (0800 GMT/1900 AEDT)
Hamad Medjedovic (Serbia) v 6-Alex de Minaur (Australia)
Iva Jovic (U.S.) v Priscilla Hon (Australia)
MARGARET COURT ARENA
Day session (0030 GMT/1130 AEDT)
Jaime Faria (Portugal) v 13-Andrey Rublev (Russia)
3-Coco Gauff (U.S.) v Olga Danilovic (Serbia)
Night session (0800 GMT/1900 AEDT)
Maria Sakkari (Greece) v 8-Mirra Andreeva (Russia)
29-Frances Tiafoe (U.S.) v Francisco Comesana (Argentina)
JOHN CAIN ARENA
Day session (0000 GMT/1100 AEDT)
12-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) v Linda Klimovicova (Poland)
11-Daniil Medvedev (Russia) v Quentin Halys (France)
Night session (0600 GMT/1700 AEDT)
Elena-Gabriela Ruse (Romania) v Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia)
3-Alexander Zverev (Germany) v Alexandre Muller (France)
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles and Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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