Melbourne: World No. 2 Jannik Sinner, No. 9 Taylor Fritz, and Japanese star Naomi Osaka secured victories in their second-round matches on the fifth day of the Australian Open to storm into the third round of the first Grand Slam of the season.
While Sinner defeated wild-card entrant James Duckworth 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 49 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena, Fritz beat the Czech Republic’s Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) in an hour and 58 minutes at the John Cain Arena in the night session.
Osaka, who stunned her fans with a head-turning entry onto the court wearing a veil and carrying a white umbrella in her campaign opener, overcame Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in a close three-setter.
Sinner maintained his steady progress towards a possible third consecutive Australian Open title on Thursday, demonstrating precise and efficient play. The second seed was unstoppable, extending his perfect 9-0 record against Australian players at Grand Slam tournaments.
The Italian encountered minimal difficulty on his serve, successfully nullifying all three break points he faced, and confirmed a third-round match against American Eliot Spizzirri.
Although the beginning of the year hasn’t been very convincing for the former world number four, Fritz demonstrated his skill on the court. He started aggressively, quickly securing the first set, and faced a bit more resistance in the second. Throughout the match, he remained in control, even as his Czech opponent’s intensity increased and approached Fritz’s level.
The former quarter-finalist was all in to secure his spot in the third round for the third year in a row. Fritz, recognised for his powerful serve, hit 15 aces compared to Kopriva’s three. He successfully converted 79% of his first serves and efficiently broke his opponent four times out of seven opportunities.
In the women’s game, Osaka demonstrated that timing was crucial for her success. For the second consecutive match, she was pushed to three sets. Each time, she raised her level at the right moments, ultimately defeating Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in exactly two hours.
The outcome was a revenge years in the making. In 2015, a 17-year-old from Osaka debuted in Grand Slam qualifying at Wimbledon, facing Cirstea, a former Top 30 player returning from injury. Cirstea won that match 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Interestingly, they did not face each other again until this week.
The World No. 16 will next encounter the only remaining home player in the women’s draw, Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis, as she aims to reach the Australian Open fourth round for the first time since winning the title in 2021.
Moreover, former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton all clinched easy straight-sets victories in their second round matches
While Djokovic defeated qualifier Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena, Musetti overcame Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening session at the Margaret Court Arena. Shelton, also facing a qualifier in Dane Sweeny, registered a victory at the John Cain Arena with a scoreline exactly similar to Djokovic’s.
The 10-time champion Djokovic defeated his Italian opponent in 2 hours and 15 minutes, showing efficient movement and clean ball strikes throughout the match, indicating good form early in the tournament.
The Serbian now stands one victory away from reaching 400 career wins at the Grand Slam level. A win against either Botic van de Zandschulp or Shang Juncheng in the next round would see him become the first player in history to achieve the milestone.
While Van de Zandschulp famously upset Djokovic last year at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, Djokovic has yet to face Shang.
Competing at Melbourne Park for the 21st time, Djokovic is projected to face Musetti in the quarter-finals, with a potential semi-final clash against two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.
Musetti defeated his fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego with scores of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, achieving his best result at the season’s first major tournament. The fifth seed generated 23 break opportunities, converting six of them.
The 23-year-old Italian will now face either the 31st seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or the Czech player Tomas Machac.
Shelton, meanwhile, handled the pressure of favouritism with ease, producing a dominant performance against World No. 182 Sweeny. He took early control to win the opening set 6-3, then delivered a near-flawless second set, striking nine aces and winning every point on serve in a rapid 26-minute 6-2 rout.
Although Sweeny briefly competed in the third set, Shelton raised his level again, winning five straight games to close out a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory. The American finished with 19 aces and 38 winners and will next face 30th seed Valentin Vacherot.
World No. 2 Iga Swiatek registered a 6-2, 6-3 straight-set victory on Thursday, reaching the third round in her 24th consecutive Grand Slam.
Later, Oksana Selekhmeteva recorded the first Top 30 win of her career and reached the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time after upsetting last year’s semifinalist Paula Badosa.
Selekhmeteva will next face a Top 20 player for the first time in her career when she takes on No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula in the third round.
Elsewhere, local qualifier Maddison Inglis also advanced to the third round after defeating Laura Siegemund 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6 (7) in 3 hours and 20 minutes, the second-longest match of the tournament so far.
Defending champion Madison Keys proved too good for Ashlyn Krueger in an all-American second-round clash. The No.9 seed Keys won 6-1, 7-5 in what is her first major as defending champion.
Keys didn’t face early trouble against World No. 62 Krueger, but did face a tough test in set two. She rallied from 5-2 behind, saved a set point in the ninth game, and came all the way back 6-1, 7-5 in 1 hour and 13 minutes.
Later, No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula also advanced to the third round of AO 2026 after beating doubles partner McCartney Kessler 6-0 6-2 in another all-American clash. Agencies
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