Halep, Medvedev, Swiatek Dominate; Sabalenka, Tsitsipas Through

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second-placed Aryna Sabalenka fought past Marketa Vondrousova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the fourth round. Seventh-ranked Iga Swiatek performed an impressive performance when he defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the next round.

Daniil Medvedev, who finished second last year, barely sweated when he won a nice 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 from Botic van de Zandschulp.

Stefanos Tsitsipas dropped one set but defeated Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-4 to advance to the fourth round.

Kaia Kanepi scored her best to date at the Australian Open when she beat Maddison Inglis 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the second week of the Grand Slam. Elise Mertens overtook Zhang Shua 6-2, 6-2 for the fourth round.

Tamara Zidansek was shocked by Alize Cornet when the Frenchman came from behind and won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Danielle Collins beat Clara Tauson to victory from behind and beat her 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Taylor Fritz, an American in 20th place, was a little shocked when he defeated Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut and pushed him too to make it to the second week of the Grand Slam for the first time. He recorded a win of 6-0, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

American Maxime Creddy knocked out local Christopher O’Connell with a win of 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2. Felix Auger-Aliassime flared his authority as he burned Britain’s Dan Evans 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.

Medvedev will accelerate his march towards the Australian Open men’s championship on Saturday, while rising Halep watches the spot in the second week of the Grand Slam. US Open champion Medvedev confirmed his position as a tournament favorite by beating Mercy Nick Kyrgios in four sets in a furious second-round encounter on Thursday.

Medvedev, the de facto number one after Novak Djokovic was expelled on the eve of the tournament, will now face a more traditional opponent on the Dutch world list from 57th Botic van de Zandschulp to 16th place.

But he won’t take his opponent lightly in their third-round meeting.

“Grand Slams are tough, there will be tough opponents,” Medvedev said.

“Sometimes you lose early, sometimes you lose late, sometimes you win it. I just want to play really well. “

Former women’s number one Halep dropped in the rankings after an injury in 2021, but said she made her best performance of the year in defeating Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 6-0 in the second round.

“I played well and felt very confident on the field,” said Halep, 14th, who is now facing world 98th Danka Kovinic, the winner of US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

“I felt good, everyone. It was the best match. ”

With Andy Murray and Raducanu gone, the weight of British expectations now falls entirely on the shoulders of Dan Evans in 24th place.

The last Briton had an unexpected day off on Thursday when his French opponent Arthur Rinderknech interrupted the injury, leading him to the third round.

Evans faces ninth-place finisher Felix Auger-Alias, who was part of the Canadian ATP Cup winning team in Sydney earlier this month.

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There’s a fascinating confrontation between Russia’s fifth-place Andrey Rublev and 2018 Melbourne Park finalist Croatian Marin Cilic, which could be a late-night classic at Margaret Court Arena.

Cilic pushed Roger Federer into the five-round finals four years ago, and the big 27th seed can shock anyone.

In fourth place, Stefanos Tsitsipas is a potential semi-final opponent for Medvedeville, but first he has to get past the experienced Frenchman Benoit Pair at Rod Laver Arena.

Paire, who ranks 56th in the world, is aiming for his best in the slam tournament, reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time.

Sabalenka, who finished second in the women’s series, has been plagued by a poor pass and made 19 double mistakes when scratching through his second-round match against Chinese Wang Xiyu in three innings on Thursday.

The replay can see him in trouble against 31st-ranked Czech Marketa Vondrousova. The bottom half of the draw has already seen the shock start of third place Garbine Muguruza and sixth place Anett Kontaveit.

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