01/20/26 11:36:00
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01/20 23:32 CST Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff both reach the third round at
the Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff both reach the third round at the Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) --- Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, two of the top
three seeds in the Australian Open, both reached the third round Wednesday.
Top-seeded Sabalenka defeated a tenacious Bai Zhouxuan of China 6-3, 6-1 at Rod
Laver Arena, and No. 3 Gauff won over left-hander Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-2 at
Margaret Court Arena.
Sabalenka won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year
ago against Madison Keys. She is after her fifth Grand Slam title and has two
trophies at the U.S. Open.
Gauff has never advanced past the semifinals in Australia and has Grand Slam
titles from the French Open and U.S. Open.
Sabalenka raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set but then needed seven set points
at Rod Laver Arena to take the set against the defensive-minded Chinese player,
who used clever drop shots to help her stay in the match.
Sabalenka will next face Anastasia Popapova, who defeated 28th-seeded and
former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu 7-6 (3), 6-2.
"I was happy to get this win, a tricky opponent," Sabalenka said. "She really
stepped in in the first set."
Sabalenka led 4-0 in the second set and overpowered the smaller Bai. Sabalenka
even tried a bit of serve-and-volley in the match, trying to diversify her game.
"You saw serve-and-volley today," Sabalenka said. "It didn't really work well,
but I did one."
Bai was making her second appearance in the Australian Open and reached the
second round for the first time.
In another women's match, 12th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine defeated Linda
Klimovicova of Poland 7-5, 6-1. Gael Monfils, a popular 39-year-old Frenchman
and Svitolina's husband, said goodbye at Melbourne Park in his retirement year,
losing on Tuesday in a first-round match to qualifier Dane Sweeny.
In another women's match, Zeynep Snmez of Turkey, who was highly praised
during her first-round match Sunday for assisting an ill ballkid, advanced to
the third round after beating Anna Bondar 6-2, 6-4.
Snmez played at one of Melbourne Park's outside courts and the stands were
crammed with members of Melbourne's Turkish community.
"I really appreciated there were many Turkish people, and I felt like I was at
home," she said. "At first I couldn't even hear my own thoughts. It was very,
very loud."
In men's results, 2021 U.S. Open winner and 11th-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat
Quentin Halys 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Jaime
Faria 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and 19th-seeded Tommy Paul defeated Thiago Agustin
Tirante 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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