Zheng Qinwen, for his part, regretted not having made the “right decisions” on the “important points”, having 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 No.1 Aryna Sabalenka punched her ticket for the 3rd round on Wednesday, dominating the Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (54th) 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, the Belarusian will face the Dane Clara Tauson (42nd), recent winner of the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland.
Beaten by Sabalenka in the final of the last US Open, the American Jessica Pegula (6th) easily dismissed the Belgian Elise Mertens (34th), dominated 6-4, 6-2 in 1h11.
Double winner in Melbourne (2019 and 2021) and recent finalist in Auckland, the Japanese Naomi Osaka (51st) also advanced to the 3rd round thanks to her victory in three sets against the Czech Karolina Muchova (20th).
At 17, the young Russian nugget Mirra Andreeva (15th) came through in three sets against the Japanese Moyuka Uchijima (63rd), losing 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8).
In search of a second Grand Slam title after her victory at the US Open in 2023, world No.3 Coco Gauff (20) will face Briton Jodie Burrage (173rd) at the start of the evening.
All today’s results from the Australian Open
Ruthless Alcaraz, Djokovic loses a set
Winner in three sets for his entry into the competition, world No.3 Carlos Alcaraz repeated this performance on Wednesday in the 2nd round by sweeping away the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (65th), eliminated 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, said the four-time Grand Slam winner.
The 21-year-old Spaniard 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.
Ten-time winner of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic escaped from the trap set by the young Portuguese Jaime Faria (125th). The former world number one easily won the first set (6-1), before conceding the second set in the tie break (7-4). The Serb then recovered well and won the next two sets 6-3 and 6-2.
World No.2 Alexander Zverev, still in search of a first Grand Slam title at the age of 27, will face the Spaniard Pedro Martinez (44th) in the second part of the evening.
