World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev overcame shaky starts to book their places in the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Alcaraz battled past German opponent Yannick Hanfmann 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena. The Spaniard trailed 1-3 in the opening set but fought back to edge a gruelling 78-minute tiebreak before cruising through the next two sets. The 22-year-old is chasing history as the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam in singles and the youngest in the Open Era to win seven major titles. He will next face either Michael Zheng or Corentin Moutet.
Medvedev also endured early jitters against Frenchman Quentin Halys, dropping the first set in a tense tiebreak. The 11th seed was broken in the second set but recovered quickly, winning 6-7(9), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The Russian gained control of baseline rallies in the third set and used aggressive groundstrokes to secure victory.
Meanwhile, third seed Coco Gauff delivered a ruthless performance against Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, winning 6-2, 6-2. Danilovic, who stunned Venus Williams in the first round, struggled against Gauff’s superior court coverage and precision. Within 22 minutes, Gauff led 5-0 and sealed the first set after a double fault from her opponent. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Gauff breaking early and closing out the match comfortably. She now faces fellow American Hailey Baptiste.
Gauff reflected on her tactical play, saying: “My coach told me, ‘Don’t go drop shot on pressure points,’ but almost every time I did today, it worked.”
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