Earlier on Friday, top seed Aryna Sabalenka continued her bid for a third consecutive Australian Open title with victory over Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
The 26-year-old Belarusian was made to work for her 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win on Rod Laver Arena but secured victory in two hours and six minutes to progress to the fourth round.
There were 11 breaks of serve in a match of rapidly shifting momentum at Melbourne Park.
“That was a great battle,” said Sabalenka. “She played unbelievable tennis. It was really tough to play against her today.
“I’m just super happy that I was able to just stay in the game and I was able to push myself, honestly, to the limit to get this win.”
Despite three tough matches, Sabalenka progresses to the second week at Melbourne Park having not dropped a set and with a 30th victory in 31 matches in hard-court Slams since the start of 2023.
Sabalenka will face 17-year-old 14th seed Mirra Andreeva in the next round, who earned a hard-fought 6-2 1-6 6-2 victory over Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
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