Lorenzo Sonego took on Joao Fonseca and a rowdy Brazilian contingent but emerged victorious during a busy day’s play, where four seeds fell but Iga Swiatek and Alex de Minaur won comfortably as Madison Keys kicked off the night session with a three-set victory before compatriot Learner Tien produced a thrilling display over five sets vs. three-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev.
Sinner not scintillating, but again he finds a way
- World no. 2 Iga Swiatek started the day on Rod Laver Arena by losing just two games against Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova, before Jasmine Paolini [4] finished with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Mexico’s Renata Zarazua
- Emma Navarro and Madison Keys were among the American women in action on Day 5, both producing hard-fought three-set victories against Wang Xiyu and Elena-Gabriela Ruse respectively, while 2023 runner-up Elena Rybakina ensured there would be no fairytale outcome for US teenage wildcard Iva Jovic after her Flushing Meadows success in 2024
- As for the Brits, Katie Boulter was beaten in three sets by Veronika Kudermetova though Emma Raducanu won 6-3, 7-5 against Amanda Anisimova. Daria Kasatkina, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Danielle Collins were among those who won elsewhere to secure third-round berths
Defending champion Jannik Sinner conceded he was struggling with the wind at times and can still improve, having responded well after an average start to topple home hopeful Tristan Schoolkate in four sets (4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3).
The Australian wildcard, 25, produced some rather excellent tennis for a set-and-a-half but the inevitable momentum shift came following an unspectacular service game midway through set two to reinforce how fine the margins are at the elite level.
The world no. 1 added he hopes he’ll be able to raise his level for subsequent matches, and punched a ticket into the last-16 with a straight-sets victory over Marcos Giron (6-3, 6-4, 6-2) where he’ll play Holger Rune after the 13th seed’s arduous route into the second week at a Major for the second time in Melbourne.
Having beaten Zhizhen Zhang and Miomir Kecmanovic in five-set duels, sandwiched between a hard-fought four-set victory over Matteo Berrettini, the talented Dane had lost each of their last two meetings and hoped to avoid a third straight H2H defeat.
Alex Michelsen backed up his Stefanos Tsitsipas scalp with consecutive straight-sets victories, first over Schoolkate’s compatriot and fellow wildcard James McCabe before doing the same against 2023 semifinalist Karen Khachanov [19] as an even sterner test awaited him in the last-16 against Australia’s Alex de Minaur.
de Minaur looked excellent in his opening two match wins over Botic van de Zandschulp and American qualifier Tristan Boyer before dropping his first set during an error-strewn contest against #31 seed Francisco Cerundolo [31] as they fired a grisly combined 153 unforced errors. He needs to be cleaner this time around.
It took five days but felt fitting that Learner Tien’s near five-hour, thrilling five-set victory over Daniil Medvedev was the tournament’s first match to be decided in a final set tiebreaker.
This second-round rollercoaster ebbed and flowed from the first ball to the last with engaging rallies, momentum swings and some drama too.
The stats (161 unforced errors to 105 winners) did neither player justice, especially considering three of their sets were decided by tiebreaks as both endured the peaks and troughs of a five-set duel. Just when you thought Medvedev’s mastery of situations would help him overwhelm a teenager ten years his junior, Tien would fire back a variety of different ways to hurt him. Then vice versa.
Tien’s post-match interview, where relief and disbelief were etched across his face, told the story. After explaining how he needed a bathroom break in the fourth and recovering to win in five after having had a match point an hour prior, he added:
“Thanks for staying, the environment was unreal and honestly you [fans] got me through it, my whole family stayed up to watch so if they are [still], thanks for supporting me across the world, I know you wish you could be here – I do too – it means the world you’re trying that hard to watch me play.”
He’ll play an unpredictable Corentin Moutet next, after the Frenchman backed up his four-set upset of 25th seed Alexei Popyrin with another four-set victory after losing the first to oust Tien’s compatriot Mitchell Krueger.
Prevail there and he could face an unseeded Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth-round, after the Italian’s character-building victory as he too went the distance before extinguishing the Joao Fonseca hype train earlier in the day on the 1573 Arena.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via Australia/world feed TV broadcasts
Mo and Sports 