Rampant four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz dropped just five games in an ominous display of strength at the Australian Open on Wednesday to sprint into the third round. The Spanish third seed showed no mercy to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who was taught a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 lesson on Margaret Court Arena in an 81-minute rout. “The less time you spend on court in the Grand Slams, especially in the beginning, it is going to be better,” said Alcaraz, who won Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year but is yet to go beyond the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park.

“Physically I’m feeling great and I was just focused with spending as little time as I can on court.”  

He is bidding to become the youngest men’s winner in Australia since Novak Djokovic won the first of his 10 titles in 2008.

Should he do so, Alcaraz will also be the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam, with his sizzling form so far boding well for the 21-year-old.

He eased through his first-round match in straight sets and came out firing against the 65th-ranked Nishioka.

The Japanese player could barely get his racquet on the ball in the first set, winning just two from 16 points at the baseline and only four points in the entire set.

Alcaraz tweaked his serve in the off-season and is in Melbourne with a lighter racquet, with the dividends evident.

He pounded down five aces in the second set and won a formidable 91 percent of his first-serve points to give Nishioka no chance.

“I’m really happy with the serve today. It’s something I worked on in the pre-season,” he said.

“In the first round I struggled a bit. But I spent more time yesterday practising my serve, it’s something I really want to be better.

“I’m really glad that today it worked pretty well and hopefully in the next round it’s going to be better.”

The Japanese player did his best to make a match of it in the third set, but the gulf in class was too wide with the win a formality.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka battled through serving woes Wednesday to make the Australian Open third round, but it was a less-than-convincing display by the world number one. The Belarusian dropped serve three times and faced 11 break points before overcoming Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Rod Laver Arena 6-3, 7-5, rattling off the last five games in a row. It was her 16th consecutive victory on Melbourne’s centre court after back-to-back titles and a first round win over 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

Next up is Denmark’s 42nd-ranked Clara Tauson, who faces a daunting task given the 26-year-old’s record on the blue hardcourts.

Overall, Sabalenka is 16-2 on Rod Laver Arena with her only losses against Serena Williams in 2021 and Ashleigh Barty in 2018.

“She played incredible tennis today and it was really tough one. I expected this tennis from her, I’m really glad I was able to win this match,” she said.

“In the second set, honestly, I wasn’t rushing too much. After 5-2 I thought, ‘okay whatever, we’ll leave this set and move on’.

“But I was able to turn it around and super happy to win in straight sets against someone like her who really makes you work for every point.”

Bouzas had some pedigree, beating then reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova at the All England Club last year, while steadily climbing the rankings to her current 54.

Both players’ radars were off in a seesawing opening set, with five service breaks, two against the top seed.

Sabalenka eventually reduced the error count to hold for 5-2 then again to take the set in a shaky 44 minutes.

The service wobbles returned in the second set and a wayward forehand gave Bouzas a break to move 3-1 ahead, then she held with an ace to turn the tables.

The Spaniard served for the set at 5-3, but Sabalenka dug herself out of a hole to break back when the 22-year-old netted a backhand.

Bouzas Maneiro had run out of gas, broken again before the Belarusian served out for the match.    

Sabalenka is hunting down a rare hat-trick of consecutive Australian Open wins, a feat last achieved 26 years ago by Martina Hingis and only matched by four other women in history.

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka will step up their bids for tennis history at the Australian Open on Wednesday, where Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka will also be in second-round action. With new coach Andy Murray in his corner, Djokovic is in pursuit of an 11th Melbourne title and record 25th Grand Slam singles crown. Sabalenka is hunting down a rare hat-trick of consecutive Australian Open wins, a feat last achieved 26 years ago by Martina Hingis and only matched by four other women in history.

Djokovic made a sluggish start in the first round against American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy on Monday before winning in four sets, his game improving the longer the match went on.

“I ended the match in a good fashion. I think that it’s important. It counts mentally for me, for the rest of the tournament,” said Djokovic, who plays Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria in an afternoon match on Rod Laver Arena.

The Serbian great is drawn to meet Alcaraz in the last eight and the Spanish four-time Grand Slam champion faces Japan’s 65th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka on Margaret Court Arena.

“I know Nishioka is a tough, tough player,” said Alcaraz, who has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in Melbourne. “It will be a really good match. I’ll be ready.”

Second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany is seeking a maiden Grand Slam title and has enjoyed two days off since his straight-sets win on Sunday night against Lucas Pouille.

He again plays in the graveyard slot, the last evening match on Rod Laver Arena, this time against Spaniard Pedro Martinez.

Sabalenka, who came safely through a tricky first-round match against Sloane Stephens on Sunday’s opening day, will kick off Tuesday’s action on Rod Laver Arena at 11:30 am (0030 GMT) against another Spaniard in Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

‘Mental toughness’

The Belarusian says she has improved her “mental toughness” this year, which could be ominous for her rivals.

In her half of the draw they are led by the in-form world number three Gauff.

The American is unbeaten this year after inspiring her country to victory in the United Cup and breezing past former champion Sofia Kenin in the first round in Melbourne.

She leads off the Rod Laver Arena night session against Britain’s Jodie Burrage.

Osaka, the Australian Open champion in 2019 and 2021, faces a difficult match against the 20th-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova, who won when the pair last met, at the 2024 US Open.

“Obviously I fell a little short in the US Open,” admitted Osaka, who lost the second-round encounter in New York in straight sets.

“I love getting difficult draws. I find that the most fun. Once you get a difficult draw, you can prove that you’re the best of the best.”

Zheng Qinwen, beaten in last year’s final by Sabalenka, faces Germany’s Laura Siegemund.

Olympic champion Zheng is aiming to become only the second Chinese player to win a major singles title after Li Na, who triumphed in Melbourne in 2014.

Lebanese qualifier Hady Habib made history on Sunday when he became the first player from his country to win a Grand Slam match. 

But the 26-year-old has his work cut out to continue his fairytale run as he will face French 14th seed Ugo Humbert.

Italian Jasmine Paolini inflicted a dreaded ‘bagel’ on Chinese qualifier Wei Sijia.© AFP

Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca stunned ninth seed Andrey Rublev in a major Australian Open shock on Tuesday as racquet-smashing 2024 finalist Daniil Medvedev narrowly avoided the same fate. A rampant Taylor Fritz, veteran Gael Monfils and home hope Alex de Minaur also all progressed into round two at Melbourne Park. In the women’s draw, Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina were both emphatic winners on day three, with Emma Navarro and Emma Raducanu also victorious. But the day belonged to the 18-year-old Fonseca, who defeated Russia’s Rublev 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) on his Grand Slam debut.

Roared on by Brazilian fans decked out in yellow, Fonseca appeared totally unfazed as he set up a second-round meeting with Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.

“It’s the first time playing in a huge stadium,” he told an energised Margaret Court Arena.

“There are a lot of Brazilians here cheering for me and I enjoyed every moment, thanks a lot.”

Rublev’s fellow Russian Medvedev, a three-time losing finalist in Melbourne including a year ago to Jannik Sinner, was heavy favourite against Thailand’s 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej.

But in his first match of the season, the fifth seed nearly imploded in a fit of anger before finding some measure of calm.

“Second and third set I couldn’t touch the ball. I didn’t know what to do,” Medvedev said after finally winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.

The 28-year-old mangled his racquet as he spectacularly lost his rag in the third set, slamming it into the net camera repeatedly until they both became a broken mess.

There was no such trouble for fourth seed Fritz as he blitzed fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 to launch his bid for a maiden Grand Slam crown.

“It’s never easy playing that first match in a Slam, there are some nerves, so I did a really good job shaking them off early and playing really solid,” said Fritz, who took just one hour and 46 minutes to dismantle his compatriot.

France’s Monfils battled through a five-set thriller to topple young countryman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and continue the 38-year-old’s late-career resurgence.

Crowd-pleaser Monfils became the oldest singles champion in ATP Tour history when he swept to victory at the Auckland Classic on Saturday.

He kept the momentum going against lethal-serving Mpetshi Perricard, 21, over a gruelling three hours and 46 minutes.

“I’m crazy happy,” said the popular Monfils.

“Everything is a win now, so, you know, no pressure on me.”

De Minaur, nicknamed “The Demon” by Australian fans and media, eased past Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.

‘Mind of its own’

Italy’s Paolini breezed past Wei Sijia 6-0, 6-4 in just 73 minutes to underline her title credentials.

The 29-year-old has said she got a taste for playing on the biggest stage after rocketing to world number four last year on the back of finishing runner-up at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“Maybe everything began from here last year,” Paolini, who reached the fourth round 12 months ago, said after hammering the world number 117 from China.

Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina dished out a harsh lesson of her own to 16-year-old Emerson Jones, winning 6-1, 6-1 in a ruthless statement of intent. 

The sixth seed from Kazakhstan demonstrated her pedigree as she manoeuvred the world junior number one from Australia to all parts of Margaret Court Arena.

The 2021 US Open champion Raducanu blew hot and cold in beating 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova from Russia, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2).

The 22-year-old Briton, who next faces American Amanda Anisimova, clocked up 15 double faults and said that her serve had “a mind of its own”.

Navarro, the eighth seed, beat fellow American Peyton Stearns in three sets.

The 13th seeding proved unlucky for Anna Kalinskaya, a quarter-finalist last year, who withdrew moments before her match against Australia’s Kimberly Birrell.

Kalinskaya was replaced by lucky loser Eva Lys of Germany, who took full advantage of her last-minute call-up by winning 6-2, 6-2.

Many of the top names including Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka will be back in action on Wednesday when the second round begins.

Daniil Medvedev faces a hefty fine after mangling his racquet and a net camera in an epic temper tantrum before battling through a five-set roller coaster to start his Australian Open on Tuesday. The feisty Russian, a three-time finalist in Melbourne, lost his cool in the third set before rallying to beat 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena. Fifth seed Medvedev was 3-5 behind and on the brink of going two sets to one down against the Thai player when he exploded, slamming his racquet into the net camera repeatedly until they both became a broken mess.

UPSET ALERT: Daniil Medvedev goes down 2 sets to 1 to the 418th ranked WC Kasidit Samrej and takes out the net camera in the process. pic.twitter.com/RwvA9yYQp0

— asud (@asud683385) January 14, 2025

Ball kids had to sweep up the debris when he lost the game and set, while the match was postponed briefly as officials ran repairs on the net.

Medvedev is facing a big penalty.

“Honestly, I hope not too big. The fine is usually for breaking the racquet, and the camera is going to cost some, but I don’t think GoPro is that expensive,” he said. 

“When I did it, I didn’t want to smash the racquet in pieces. When I saw the racquet, I was, like, okay, time to take a new one I guess.”

Medvedev was playing his first match since the ATP Finals in November after arriving in Australia late to be at home for the birth of his second child.

He pledged before the tournament to be a “disruptor” against the big names this season, but his stuttering start against a player with no pedigree showed he has his work cut out.

“In general it was kind of a top level from him, serving good, one break each set, just what you need to do to win matches,” Medvedev, who lost last year’s final to Jannik Sinner, said.

“Two sets to one down is not an easy feeling. I was, like: I don’t want to be on the flight tomorrow.

“I’m happy that I managed to stay tough. I think, in my opinion, I didn’t play a bad level, I played quite well and will for sure try to play better throughout the tournament.”

The former world number one broke his opponent’s opening service game and was never troubled in the first set, racing through it in 30 minutes.

But the Thai player, who qualified for his Grand Slam debut by winning the Asia-Pacific wildcard playoff event, refused to go away.

He stunned the Russian by breaking him at 5-4 to take the second and was well on top in the third before the Medvedev meltdown.

But the 28-year-old is a veteran of five-setters in Melbourne, contesting four and winning three last year, and he regrouped, using his experience to reassert control as Samrej began flagging.

File image of Rohan Bopanna© AFP

Three-time losing finalist Daniil Medvedev and home favourite Alex de Minaur set out on the road to Australian Open glory Tuesday while Jasmine Paolini headlines the women’s action. Fifth seed Medvedev begins his 2025 campaign against Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej on Rod Laver Arena and has pledged to be a “disruptor” against last year’s Grand Slam kings Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The feisty Russian has reached three of the last four finals at Melbourne Park. He was outplayed by Novak Djokovic in 2021 before a heart-wrenching five-set defeat to Rafael Nadal a year later.

The 28-year-old again crashed in five sets after being two up against Sinner 12 months ago.

Medvedev has not played since the ATP Finals in November but said it had only given him more time to prepare.

“I felt like it was one of the best pre-seasons,” he said. 

“Last year Carlos and Jannik were beating me a lot of times in later stages of tournaments. 

“I would like to become again.. let’s say a disruptor, because it means that I will be able to get to these later stages and win them.”

De Minaur, nicknamed “The Demon” by the Australian fans and media, is the big hope for a first home men’s singles winner since Mark Edmondson in 1976. 

‘It means the world’

The eighth seed begins in the prime-time evening slot on Rod Laver Arena against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

“I’m going to do my best to hopefully play a lot of matches here, win a lot of matches, do Australia proud,” said De Minaur, who recently got engaged to British number one Katie Boulter.

“As Australian tennis players we spend the majority of the year overseas.

“To get the chance and opportunity to start the year here at home, it just means the world.”

Paolini said she got a taste for playing on the biggest stage after rocketing to world number four last year on the back of finishing runner-up at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

The 29-year-old Italian faces China’s Wei Sijia on Margaret Court Arena.

“One of my main focus, it’s always to enjoy being on court, enjoy playing matches,” she said. 

“I think I grew up as a player last year, but also as a person I’m more mature. I believe more in myself than three or four years ago.”

Sixth seed Elena Rybakina, a losing finalist in Melbourne two years ago, starts against Australian junior world number one Emerson Jones, 16, who is tipped to follow in the footsteps of former Melbourne Park champion Ash Barty.

“I think she’s definitely a good player,” said Rybakina of the youngster, who will be making her Grand Slam main draw debut after being awarded a wild card.

“She’s a good player, a dangerous player. Especially when you’re young, you have nothing to lose. And she’s at home.”

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from Britain starts out in the first match on court three against 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova from Russia.

Gael Monfils, 38, who on Saturday became the oldest singles champion in ATP Tour history at the Auckland Classic, will follow on the same court against big-serving fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

There is an all-American encounter as Taylor Fritz, the fourth seed, plays Jenson Brooksby.

Two-time Grand Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas said “it sucks” after being on the end of the first big upset of the Australian Open on Monday, with the worst part having to hang around before his next tournament. The 11th-seeded Greek, who played Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final at Melbourne Park, crashed out 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to American Alex Michelsen in the first round. “The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a Grand Slam is that you have way too much time to recover, and I would rather have the other way around where I don’t have enough time to recover,” he said. 

“Honestly that’s much, much better in terms of problem-solving.

“It just sucks in a way that I’ll be hanging around for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in.

“With my competitive nature, I feel like these type of things are not really ideal for me.”

Tsitsipas never looked comfortable against the 20-year-old, who had him running all over the court.

“I just tried to stay super composed out there today, I knew it was going to be a battle to the end,” said the American, ranked 42, who scored his first win over a top-20 player at a Slam.

“My serve sort of let me down a bit in the fourth set, but super happy to get through it.

“It’s all about the mindset. I came in with the proper mindset and I executed the game plan,” he added.

Defeat compounded Tsitsipas’s problems after a mediocre 2024 in which his ranking dropped to its current 12 from a career-high three.

He managed only one title, a repeat victory at Monte Carlo, and also suffered a first-round exit at the US Open.

Tsitsipas was hoping for a reset this year, but his season started badly when he was beaten in his opening match at the United Cup by 77th-ranked Alexander Shevchenko and he carried that form to Melbourne.

“It was a difficult first-round match. I knew I was dealing with a pretty serious opponent because I’ve played him before, and I have lost,” he said. 

“I had a very slow start. In terms of finding my movements and just dominating from the serve plus one, it wasn’t really the way I’m expecting it to work. 

“That led to some frustration and, let’s say, insecurity in terms of approaching my game.

“I just hope I’m able to retrieve that back and use that as a strength within my game.”

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and sixth seed Casper Ruud rallied to make the Australian Open second round on Sunday as storms caused havoc ahead of Aryna Sabalenka beginning her quest for a historic third consecutive crown. Fifth seed Zheng, last year’s losing finalist, had the honour of playing the first point on centre court at the opening Grand Slam of the season against Romania’s 110th-ranked Anca Todoni. She came through 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena but was rusty after opting not to play a warm-up event.

Zheng had three set points on her own serve at 5-3 in the first set, but allowed Todoni to come roaring back before closing her down in the tiebreak then racing through the second set.

“The first match is always not easy,” she said.

“Just happy to get through the match, the tiebreak and find my rhythm.”

The 22-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough 2024 with her Australian Open exploits helping spur her to Olympic gold — beating Iga Swiatek on the way — and three WTA titles.

While Zheng was able to play, the action on outside courts at Melbourne Park was halted barely an hour after it started when storms rolled in that turned the sky black.

Thunder and lightning saw players and fans rushing for cover, with heavy rain lashing Melbourne Park in a headache for organisers who face a match backlog.

No play was scheduled before 6:30pm (0730 GMT) at the earliest.

Only the three main stadiums — Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena — have roofs.

Norway’s Ruud said ahead of the event that playing better at Grand Slams was on his agenda this year after an underwhelming 2024 at the majors.

But he will need to lift his game to go deep in Melbourne after a rollercoaster 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win over Spain’s Jaume Munar, ranked 106.

“It was just a really tough match,” he said.

Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori also came through a five-set marathon, saving two match points to beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 in 4hr 6min.

“I almost gave up at match point,” said Nishikori, who is on the comeback trail after spending years sidelined by major hip surgery and an ankle injury.

“But I somehow fought through.”

Mirra Andreeva was the first player into the second round, with the 14th seeded Russian easing past the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 6-3.

The 17-year-old made the fourth round in Melbourne last year and is looking to better that performance.

“Honestly it was a bit hard for me when they started closing the roof (mid-match),” said Andreeva, who is coached by former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez.

“I’m very happy today that I played in a stadium with a roof.”

Croat 18th seed Donna Vekic also progressed.

Hat-trick bid

Belarusian world number one Sabalenka headlines the evening session on Rod Laver Arena in a potentially tricky encounter with 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

Men’s second seed Alexander Zverev rounds off the first night against the dangerous Lucas Pouille of France, who made the semi-finals in 2019 before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Sabalenka is aiming to become the first woman since Martina Hingis (1997-99) to win three consecutive Australian Opens.

If she lifts the winner’s Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup again, Sabalenka will join a select group of Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Hingis as the only women to complete a Melbourne three-peat.

“Hopefully by the end of this tournament I’ll be able to put my name into history,” she said.

Sabalenka won the Brisbane International in the lead-up and accepts she is the woman to beat after the best season of her career in 2024, where she also won a maiden US Open.

“That’s what drives me and helps me to stay motivated because I know that I have a target on my back and I really like to have it,” she said.