By Shrivathsa Sridhar
MELBOURNE, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Carlos Alcaraz withstood a barrage of big hitting from a familiar foe in Yannick Hanfmann in the Australian Open second round on Wednesday, 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.
“I knew he was going to play great,” Alcaraz, 22, said.
“I knew his level. We came through the Challengers together, I’ve played him. It was tougher than I thought at the beginning and I didn’t feel the ball that good.”
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.
“It was coming like a bomb,” the Spaniard said of Hanfmann’s power. “Forehand, backhand, serves. I had to be ready for those.
“I’m really happy that I got through a difficult first set … and I played a really good level at the end of the match and get through.”
SABALENKA STUMBLES
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.
“She didn’t start well, but then she had the strength to step in and to change couple of things and, to put me under pressure. That was really impressive,” Sabalenka said.
“It seemed like she didn’t really care about the score. She would just try to find something that’s going to help her to win the match.”
American title contender Gauff was at her ruthlessly efficient best as she crushed Danilovic 6-2 6-2 in bright sunshine but the evening rain meant Italian Paolini had to swap courts to complete her 6-2 6-3 demolition of Magdalena Frech.
Emma Raducanu’s day ended in disappointment as the 2021 U.S. Open champion was beaten 7-6(3) 6-2 by Anastasia Potapova, while Russian teenager Andreeva thumped Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-4.
Zverev, runner up last year and still seeking his first major title, played down fears of a tournament-ending injury after receiving treatment on his lower left leg several times in his 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4 win over Muller.
“I took a painkiller and it was fine after that,” said the 28-year-old German.
DE MINAUR BATTLES PAST MEDJEDOVIC
That match aside, ticket holders for the evening session were treated to an Australian-heavy lineup, the highlight for locals being sixth seed Alex de Minaur’s 6-7(5) 6-2 6-2 6-1 win over Hamad Medjedovic.
The Australian number one, who has never been past the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam, struggled early on against the tricky Serbian but turned the match with a break for 4-2 in the second set after four deuces.
Russian former finalist Daniil Medvedev also surrendered the opening set to Quentin Halys but dug deep to register a 6-7(9) 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory and join his childhood friend Andrey Rublev in the next round.
While Russian flags are banned at Melbourne Park as part of measures imposed by Tennis Australia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, there were plenty of Turkish flags waving in the stands as Zeynep Sonmez continued her dream run Down Under.
The 23-year-old, who has become a crowd favourite after helping a ball kid who fainted on the opening day, beat Anna Bondar 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round for the first time.
“I felt like I was at home, basically I was feeling the energy. It was really unreal,” Sonmez said of the support she received.
“I really, really appreciate it. I felt very good on the court. I felt like we were all playing together.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar and Michael Church in Melbourne, Rohith Nair in Bangalore; additional writing by Nick Mulvenney, Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ken Ferris)
