MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — LOOKAHEAD TO FRIDAY
Friday night under lights will feature two big third-round matches in the women’s draw, with defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka facing Amanda Anisimova on Margaret Court Arena and top-ranked Ash Barty on Rod Laver Arena against Camila Giorgi. The winners of those matches will meet in a fourth-round contest that could have the feel of a final. Osaka feels right at home at Melbourne Park, where she’s won two of her four major titles and 18 of her last 19 matches. Wimbledon champion Barty is aiming to be the first Australian woman to win the championship here since 1978. The 20-year-old, No. 60-ranked Anisimova is looking forward to the challenge: “I’m also a pretty aggressive player, so I just want to see how our games will match up. She’s a former No. 1, obviously Grand Slam champion, so, I mean, it will be exciting.” On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal will continue his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title with a third-round match against No. 28 Karen Khachanov and Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini takes on No. 31 Carlos Alcaraz.
FRIDAY FORECAST
Sunny, high of 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit).
THURSDAY’S WEATHER
Mostly sunny, high of 30 C (86 F)
THURSDAY’S KEY RESULTS
Women’s Second Round: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka beat Wang Xinyu 1-6, 6-4, 6-2; Alize Cornet beat No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza 6-3, 6-3; Clara Tauson beat No. 6 Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-4; No. 7 Iga Swiatek beat Rebecca Peterson 6-2, 6-2; No. 10 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Sam Stosur 6-2, 6-2; Zhang Shuai beat No. 12 Elena Rybakina 6-4, 1-0, ret.; No. 14 Simona Halep beat Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 6-0; Danka Kovinic beat No. 17 Emma Raducanu 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; No. 19 Elise Mertens beat Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-2; No. 25 Daria Kasatkina beat Magda Linette 6-2, 6-3; No. 27 Danielle Collins beat Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-3; No. 29 Tamara Zidansek beat Heather Watson 7-6 (4), 6-4; No. 31 Marketa Vondrousova beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5.
Men’s Second Round: No. 2 Daniil Medvedev beat Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; No. 5 Andrey Rublev beat Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-2, 6-0; No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4); No. 11 Jannik Sinner beat Steve Johnson 6-2, 6-4, 6-3; Chris O’Connell beat No. 13 Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4; No. 15 Roberto Bautista Agut beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1, 6-0, 6-3; No. 20 Taylor Fritz beat Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (5); No. 24 Daniel Evans beat Arthur Rinderknech, walkover; No. 27 Marin Cilic beat Norbert Gombos 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6); No. 32 Alex de Minaur beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-4, 6-2; Taro Daniel beat Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
STAT OF THE DAY
9 and 19 — Sabalenka had nine double-faults in her first two service games in her second-round win over Wang. She finished the match with 19.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“A little bit (of) a dinosaur” — 61st-ranked Alize Cornet, appearing in her 60th consecutive major and two days before her 32nd birthday, after her second-round upset win over Muguruza.
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