Iga Swiatek (2nd in the world) and Taylor Fritz (4th) left only crumbs for their opponents Thursday in the 2nd round of the Australian Open, where world No.1 Jannik Sinner dropped a set before losing .
– Swiatek souffle Sramkova –
On a Rod Laver Arena swept by a chilly wind, world No.2 Iga Swiatek did not have time to catch a cold, dispatching Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 in about an hour.
“I felt very solid, I played my game very efficiently,” said the Pole just after her express victory, “happy to have kept (her) concentration”.
In the 3rd round, the five-time Grand Slam winner will face Briton Emma Raducanu, winner of the US Open in 2021 but has since fallen to 61st place.
The Kazakh Elena Rybakina (7th) was barely less ruthless than Swiatek, conceding only three games to her opponent, the young 17-year-old American Iva Jovic.
She will face the Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska (33rd) in the third round, even more expeditious on Thursday against the Montenegrin Danka Kovinic (1289th) outclassed 6-0, 6-1 in 51 minutes.
The path of Emma Navarro (8th) in Melbourne is more tortuous: as in the 1st round, the semi-finalist of the last US Open once again needed three sets to win in the 2nd round against Wang Xiyu, dominated 6- 3, 3-6, 6-4.
In the next round, the American will face the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (39th), three-time Grand Slam finalist.
The Italian Jasmine Paolini (4th) must play her second round on Thursday in the second part of the evening at the Rod Laver Arena, against the Mexican Renata Zarazua (70th).
– Monfils received 7/7, Sinner jostled but winner –
At over 38 years old, French veteran Gaël Monfils continued the momentum of his recent victory at the Auckland tournament to score a seventh victory in a row on Thursday in the 2nd round, against the German Daniel Altmaier (101st): 7- 5, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Apart from Novak Djokovic (7th), ten-time winner in Melbourne, no active player has reached the 3rd round of the Australian Open as often as the Parisian, who achieved this performance for the 12th time on Thursday.
-He will face world No.4 Taylor Fritz for a place in the round of 16. The two players had already faced each other in 2019 in Melbourne and the American took the upper hand in four sets in the 2nd round.
“It’s going to be a big match, Taylor is very confident, he hits very hard… It’s up to me to try to find a solution to try to win!”, cautiously affirmed “La Monf” at a press conference.
At the start of the evening, the defending champion Jannik Sinner initially struggled against the Australian Tristan Schoolkate (173rd), beneficiary of an invitation from the organizers of the first Grand Slam of the season.
Unable to find an opening on his opponent’s serve, the Italian world No.1 conceded the first set, before regaining control of the match to win in four sets 4-6, 6-4, 6- 1, 6-3.
On the neighboring court of the Margaret Court Arena, the Russian Daniil Medvedev (5th) competes in the second part of the evening to face the young American talent Learner Tien (121st at 19 years old) in the 2nd round.
– Fonseca lacking experience –
A sensation at the start of the tournament after his clear victory against Andrey Rublev (9th), the young Brazilian Joao Fonseca (112th at 18 years old) lost after five sets to Lorenzo Sonego (55th).
“It was a big fight for my first match in five sets. I was nervous especially in the last set,” regretted Fonseca, conceding that “Lorenzo’s experience” in these marathon matches made the difference.
In the French camp, Corentin Moutet (69th) became at the end of the afternoon the fifth and last French player to qualify for the 3rd round, the best total for the Tricolores since 2017 at this stage of the competition in the table male. He won in four sets against the American Mitchell Krueger (146th).
The last French survivor among the ladies, Varvara Gracheva (also 69th) however lost in three sets against the German Eva Lys (128th).
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