Melbourne (AFP)
Serbian Novak Djokovic, ranked first in the world, avoided a resounding surprise and qualified for the third round of the Australian Open, the first of the four major tournaments in tennis, after his difficult victory over Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Tunisian Ons Jabeur, ranked sixth, suffered a crushing loss in the second round against 16-year-old Russian Mira Andreeva, 6-0, 6-2, while Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka qualified with an easy victory over Czech Brenda Frohervitova, 6-3, 6-2.
The qualification of Djokovic, the 10-time champion of the tournament, was not easy, as he faced Popyrin in his home and in front of his fans, and after the Serbian was able to win the first set, he received a strong response from Popyrin in the second.
An upset seemed possible through an early elimination of Djokovic, when Popyrin led 3-2, before the latter requested a nature break to receive treatment on his leg.
But the pivotal moment came in the tenth game, when Popyrin was unable to exploit a series of errors by Djokovic, so the latter was able to equalize the score at 5-5.
Djokovic (36 years old) won the tie-break, to impose his dominance in the match afterwards.
Djokovic aspires to win his 11th title in Australia and his 25th in major tournaments, as he has become the player who has won the most Grand Slam titles in history, beating Spaniard Rafael Nadal by two titles, and four by the retired Swiss Roger Federer.
On the other hand, Italian Jannik Sinner, Australian Alex de Minaur, American Coco Gauff, and Czech Barbora Krajcikova did not face any problems in qualifying.
The start of many matches in open stadiums was delayed due to rain.
Italian Sinner, ranked fourth, was among the lucky players to be placed in a stadium with a removable roof, and he wasted no time in his quest to win his first major title, defeating Dutchman Jesper de Jong 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, and will face Sinner in the match. The next round is Argentine Sebastian Paes.
Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered from the support of the Margaret Court Stadium fans for his Australian opponent, Jordan Thompson, before his difficult victory 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 in 3 hours and 36 minutes.
The seventh seed, who lost last year's final to Djokovic, said, “The adrenaline and rush that I got out of this match was crazy.”
He continued, “You live for this type of match. The competition was very intense today. We both reached our peak technically.”
Russian Andrey Rublev V also joined the ranks of the finalists, beating American Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
De Minaur continued to successfully carry the hopes of the Australians in the tournament, achieving an easy victory at the expense of Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-0, 6-3.
American Taylor Fritz, 12, also defeated Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-0, 6-3, 6-1.
For women, Andreeva, ranked 47th in the world, succeeded in making a great show to defeat Jabeur (29 years old), the runner-up in three major tournaments, under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena in a match that lasted only 54 minutes.
“It was probably my best match ever,” Andreeva said after the match.
The player, who rose to prominence in the professional women's arena after reaching the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championship last year, added, “In the first set, I did not expect to play this well. The second set was not bad either, so, yes, for me, it was an amazing match.”
Andreeva faced Frenchwoman Diane Barry in the third round.
Sabalenka continued her progress steadily to reach the third round, despite the fact that the Belarusian was not at her best level against the 16-year-old Fruhervitova.
Sabalenka has not yet undergone any real test in the tournament, in which she aspires to become the first player to successfully defend her title since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
“For a 16-year-old player, she is doing an amazing job,” Sabalenka said. “I wish I could be at her level when I was 16.”
US Open champion Coco Gauff, seeded fourth, won at the expense of her compatriot Caroline Dolehide 7-6, 6-2.
Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, 16, was also eliminated by Polish Magdalena Freich 4-6, 6-7.
The former Danish title holder, Caroline Wozniacki, also bid farewell to the other young Russian, Maria Timofeeva, in three sets, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Timofeeva, 20 years old, gave an equally impressive performance against the 2018 champion, Wozniacki, showing great strength.
Timofeeva said after the match, “It was a great honor to play here against Caroline today. I am more than happy and I cannot ask for more. Kraycikova also beat German Tamara Kurbach in two sets, 6-2, 6-2.
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