Defending champion Novak Djokovic clawed his way past four-set Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria to reach the third round of the Australian Open for the record-breaking 430th Grand Slam match of his career. The 37-year-old Serb encountered a second-set scare before completing a 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Qinwen Zheng, last year’s runner-up, also endured a surprise second-round exit as the unseeded German Laura Siegemund triumphed, 7-6, 6-3. The fifth-seeded Chinese could not match her run from 2023 as she battled fitness issues.
The third seed Coco Gauff faced a stiff test against Britain’s Jodie Burrage and recovered from 5-3 down in the second set to win, 6-3, 7-5. The American will take on Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
Aryna Sabalenka fought through some serving woes to beat Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 6-3, 7-5, to stretch her winning streak in Melbourne to 16 matches. She is out to be the first woman to win three straight Australian Opens since 1999.
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory to continue his dream of becoming the youngest champion of the Australian Open since Djokovic did it in 2008.
Naomi Osaka pulled a sublime comeback over Karolina Muchova to secure her Victory, advancing to the third round of a Grand Slam.
