Carlos Alcaraz withstood a barrage of big hitting from a familiar foe in Yannick Hanfmann in the Australian Open second round yesterday, with fellow top seed Aryna Sabalenka also enduring some shaky moments before sealing progress.
Alexander Zverev’s advance was stalled by rain showers, an injury scare and feisty Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the evening session, but the men’s third seed prevailed in four sets to safely reach the third round.
His equivalent in the women’s draw, Coco Gauff, earlier made short work of Olga Danilovic, while in-form seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and eighth seed Mirra Andreeva also romped through their contests.
After a comfortable win in the opening round, top seed Alcaraz was given more of a workout by Germany’s world number 102 Hanfmann on a sunbathed Rod Laver Arena but rose to the challenge and moved on 7-6(4) 6-3 6-2.
Alcaraz found himself trailing 3-1 in the first set and after getting back on level terms wasted several chances to break Hanfmann’s huge serve again.
The six-times major winner pounced in the tiebreak to wrap up a physically draining opening set in 78 minutes, however, and carried that momentum into the second set.
Hanfmann received medical treatment before the start of the third and Alcaraz showed no mercy, sealing a double break and closing out the contest on serve.
Sabalenka’s issues in the opener on the main showcourt came out of the blue, the Belarusian racing to a 5-0 lead against China’s Bai Zhuoxuan before losing three games in a row.
The world number one refocused and proceeded to mow down Bai the rest of the way, running out a 6-3 6-1 winner to stay on track for her third title at Melbourne Park.- Reuters
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, DAMBAI
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