The rain returns to Melbourne for the Australian Open. Having passed before the drops or on covered courts, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka and Benjamin Bonzi qualified for the third round of the Australian Open, Wednesday January 15. The matches at the end of the day were disrupted by bad weather.
Benjamin Bonzi, first Frenchman in the third round
Of the six French people entered on Wednesday in the second round, Benjamin Bonzi is the first to qualify. He defeated the Italian Francesco Passaro, 104th player in the world (6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4), to equal his best Grand Slam performance by reaching the third round (as in 2023 at the Australian Open and the US Open). In the next round, he will face Jiri Lehecka, seeded number 24, who took advantage of the abandonment of another Frenchman, Hugo Gaston. The Czech was leading 6-3, 3-1, when Gaston preferred to stop due to an abdominal injury.
Carlos Alcaraz expeditious, Novak Djokovic loses another set
Carlos Alcaraz is off to a good start in his quest for the only Grand Slam title he is missing. After dismissing Alexander Shevchenko in three sets in the first round, the Spaniard was even more expeditious against the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, to whom he left no chance (6-0, 6-1, 6-4). He will meet the Portuguese Nuno Borges in the next round.
Novak Djokovic fought harder to get rid of the Portuguese Jaume Faria, 125th player in the world after qualifying, to whom he dropped a set (6-1, 6-7 [4]6-3, 6-2). It was his 430th Grand Slam match, a new record for men and women combined, for which he dethroned Roger Federer (429). He will face Tomas Machac, seeded number 26, in the third round.
Finaliste sortante, Qinwen Zheng sortie
A first real surprise in the women’s draw. Finalist of the last edition of the Australian Open in 2024, and of the WTA Finals at the end of the season, Qinwen Zheng takes the door to Melbourne. The fifth player in the world was eliminated by the German Laura Siegemund (7-6 [3]6-3).
Another seed, Karolina Muchova (N.20), finalist at Roland-Garros in 2023, was eliminated in the second round. The Czech was dominated by Naomi Osaka (1-6, 6-1, 6-3), who reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since her return after her pregnancy in early 2024.
World number 1, Aryna Sabalenka did not fall into Jessica Bouzas Maneiro’s trap, even if she had to work hard. Broken twice at the start of the set, she trailed 5-2 in the second set before winning 6-3, 7-5.
