the outgoing finalist, Zheng Qinwen, eliminated; Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz pass without incident, as does Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi

On Wednesday January 15, Zheng Qinwen became the first favorite to leave the Australian Open prematurely. A year after a final in Melbourne which revealed her, the 22-year-old Chinese was beaten 7-6 (3), 6-3 by the German Laura Siegemund (97^e), oldest of the women’s table at 36 years old.

“I had nothing to lose (…) I tried to be extremely aggressive, not to try improbable shots and instead to stick to my game plan”explained the winner of a close fight which lasted well over two hours.

Zheng Qinwen, 5^e world, for his part regretted not having taken the “good decisions” on the “important points”to have multiplied the unforced errors and thus failed to break his opponent during the first set.

Faller of the Chinese in the final of the Australian Open in 2024, the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, punched her ticket for the third round on Wednesday, dominating the Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (54^e) in two sets, 6-3, 7-5. The match was not easy for the Belarusian, broken twice at the start of the first set and leading 5-2 in the second. In the next round, she will face the Dane Clara Tauson (42^e), recent winner of the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland.

Beaten by Sabalenka in the final of the last US Open, the American Jessica Pegula (6^e) easily dismissed the Belgian Elise Mertens (34^e), dominated 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour 11 minutes.

Double winner in Melbourne (2019 and 2021) and recent finalist in Auckland, the Japanese Naomi Osaka (51^e) also advanced to the third round thanks to her victory in three sets against the Czech Karolina Muchova (20^e). At 17, the young Russian nugget Mirra Andreeva (15^e) came out of trouble in three sets against the Japanese Moyuka Uchijima (63^e), defeat 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).

Alcaraz without pity

Among the boys, world number 3, Carlos Alcaraz, continues his momentum. Winner in three sets for his entry into the competition, the Spaniard repeated this performance on Wednesday in the second round by sweeping away the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (65^e), with a dry score of 6-0, 6-1, 6-4.

“Physically, I feel in great shape. I just tried to stay focused and spend as little time as possible.” on the court, declared the four-time Grand Slam winner. The 21-year-old is in search of the last major title he is missing in Melbourne. If he succeeds, he will become the youngest player in history to win all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, 64^e world player, qualified by beating the Italian Francesco Passaro (104^e), equaling the best performance of his career in Melbourne. Winner of the ATP 250 tournament in Metz in November, the 28-year-old right-hander won 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 against Passaro, beaten in qualifying but drafted into the final draw following the package of his compatriot Fabio Fognini. Bonzi reaches the third round of the Australian Open for the second time in his career, where he was dominated in 2023 by Alex De Minaur.

The Frenchman will face the Czech Jiri Lehecka (29) for a place in the round of 16.^e), who led a set to zero on Wednesday in the 2nd round when another French player, Hugo Gaston (81^e), lowered the flag.

Faller in the first round of the Australian Omar Jasika, the 24-year-old Toulouse explained at a press conference that his retirement was linked to an abdominal injury. He does not know at this stage how long his injury will keep him away from the courts.