Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Thursday January 16, 2025 at 11:05 a.m.
Iga Swiatek left only two games to her opponent during the second round of the Australian Open. Moreover, the vast majority of the top seeds won this Thursday, like Emma Navarro, Daria Kasatkina or Elina Svitolina.
After four days of tournament, 15 of the 17 best players in the world are still present in the Australian Open draw, and this is rare enough to be noted (only last year's finalist Qinwen Zheng was eliminated , while Barbora Krejcikova withdrew). Most of the top seeds were also quick to reach the third round this Thursday. Starting with world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who only left two games to Rebecca Sramkova (49th), winning 6-0, 6-2 in 60 minutes. The Pole did not have a break point to defend during this match, against a Slovak who only managed three winning shots. Next opponent: the former winner of the US Open, now 61st in the world, Emma Raducanu, who defeated Amanda Anisimova (6-3, 7-5 in a match with thirteen breaks, where she was led 3-1 in both sets ). For Elena Rybakina, it was also a formality, with a 6-0, 6-3 success over Iva Jovic. The Kazakh only experienced a moment of fear in the second set, finding herself trailing 3-1, but she won the last five games, which will allow her to challenge Dayana Yastremska (33rd), victorious 6-0, 6 -1 in 51 minutes from Danka Kovinic, for a place in the second week.
Navarro and Keys scared each other, Kasatkina unfolds
World No. 8 Emma Navarro, for her part, needed three sets to defeat Xiyu Wang: 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in 2h12 in a match with thirteen breaks, where she was led 4- 2 in the last round. The next round promises a lot, against Ons Jabeur, who is returning from a shoulder injury and made it through the second round to the detriment of Camila Osorio: 7-6, 6-3 in 1h26. World No. 10 Daria Kasatkina also qualified, without trembling against Yafan Wang (6-2, 6-0 by saving the seven break points that the Chinese obtained). She will face Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, who defeated Shuai Zhang with a score of 6-2, 6-1 in 1h02. No problem either for world No. 17 Beatriz Haddad Maia against Erika Andreeva (6-2, 6-3). The Brazilian will face Veronika Kudermetova, the only player to have knocked off a seed, Katie Boulter (n°25), winning 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 in 2h14 without ever being broken. A few hours after her husband Gaël Monfils, Elina Svitolina also reached the third round, beating Caroline Dolehide 6-1, 6-4, with eight break points saved out of eight. And like her husband, she will face No. 4 in the ranking, Jasmine Paolini, who quietly disposed of Renata Zarazua: 6-2, 6-3 in 1h16, despite three breaks conceded on three occasions. It was much more difficult for world No. 14 Madison Keys, who had to battle for 2h30 to beat Elena Ruse 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 in 2h30. She will face her compatriot Danielle Collins, who also struggled against Destanee Aiava before winning 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 in 2h23.
