Images from Day 6 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.
Andreeva rallies to beat Parry
IMAGE: Mirra Andreeva reacts during her third round match against France’s Diane Parry. Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters
Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva recovered from a 5-1 deficit in the third set and saved a match point to seal a 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) win over France’s Diane Parry and enter the fourth round of the Australian Open on her senior debut in the tournament.
IMAGE: Mirra Andreeva had upset sixth seed Ons Jabeur in the second round. Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters
This is Andreeva’s fourth Grand Slam main draw appearance having made her debut at last year’s French Open.
Sinner cruises into fourth round
IMAGE: Jannik Sinner’s best run at the Australian Open was a place in the quarter-finals in 2022. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner underlined his title credentials by racing into the second week of the Australian Open without dropping a set after a 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Sebastian Baez in the third round on Friday.
The clean-hitting Italian banged down six aces and 34 winners to see off the Argentine 26th seed in less than two hours in cool and blustery conditions on Margaret Court Arena, sealing the deal with a seventh break of serve.
The 22-year-old was the hottest player on tour at the end of last season and led Italy to a first Davis Cup triumph in late November to conclude the season.
His decision to extend his holiday and skip the warm-up tournaments ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam raised some eyebrows, but Sinner felt it had been vindicated by his form in the first three rounds in Melbourne.
“In general, I feel really great here,” Sinner said. “I’m really happy with how I’m feeling right now.
“Obviously matches are a little bit different (from training) and let’s see how I react in the next rounds, but at the moment I’m going well.”
IMAGE: Fans cheer for Jannik Sinner. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
Sinner’s best run at the Australian Open was a place in the quarter-finals in 2022, and the odds will favour him getting back to the last eight with Karen Khachanov his opponent in the fourth round.
The Italian has won the last two of his three meetings with the Russian 15th seed with the only loss coming at the 2020 US Open when he was still a teenager.
Tsitsipas storms into fourth round
IMAGE: Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after winning his third round match against France’s Luca Van Assche. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
Seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was particularly happy with his 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 win over French young gun Luca Van Assche given he had lost the opening set in his first two matches at Melbourne Park.
“I had a great start to the match,” he said after firing 36 winners on Rod Laver Arena. “I’m happy with today’s performance. Things worked out for me pretty nicely at moments that I needed it the most.”
Tsitsipas will next face Taylor Fritz, who he beat at the same stage last year on his way to the final. The American 12th seed beat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 on John Cain Arena.
Gauff eases past Parks
IMAGE: Coco Gauff hugs Alycia Parks after winning the third round match. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
Gauff is another contender who might exploit the haemorrhaging of top women’s seeds and she looked like she might be about to hand out a second “double bagel” of the day when she raced through her first set against Alycia Parks.
The US Open champion’s compatriot and longtime friend did manage to stall her progress by getting on the board in the second set but Gauff still eased into the fourth round with a 6-0, 6-2 win in just over an hour on Margaret Court Arena.
“I’m really happy with how I played today,” said the fourth seed.
“I don’t think she played her best tennis today. I know when she’s at her best, she’s a tough player to play.”
Sabalenka routs Tsurenko
IMAGE: Aryna Sabalenka in action during her third round match against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Reuters
Aryna Sabalenka took less than an hour to beat 28th-seeded Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-0 on the main showcourt, sweeping into the last 16 without dropping a set as she did last year on her way to her first Grand Slam title.
Even with top 10 seeds Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, Marketa Vondrousova and Maria Sakkari already out, Sabalenka, however, was not getting carried away with her impressive progress.
“Listen, it’s tennis,” the Belarusian second seed said. “As we see with some of the top players losing in the earlier matches, anything can happen.
“I’m just trying to do my best and prepare myself as best I can for each match.”