Two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus stumbled for a moment in the first set, but went on to defeat Chinese qualifier Zhuoxuan Bai, 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the third round of the Australian Open.
Sabalenka appeared to be in cruise control, sprinting to a 5-0 first-set lead, but Bai, ranked No. 702 in the world, won three consecutive games, including a break of serve at 5-1. Bai fought off two set points in the ninth game before the four-time Grand Slam winner prevailed in the 40-minute first set.
Sabalenka kept the momentum in Melbourne, breaking Bai in the opening game of the second set and cruising in only 34 minutes.
“Tricky opponent. She really stepped in on the first set and for a moment I felt: What shall I do? She’s crashing it,” Sabalenka said. “Super happy I was able to close that set, I think it gave me a little more confidence I’m there, that my game is there. Focus step by step.”
Up next for Sabalenka is Austria’s Anastasia Potapova, who ousted No. 28 Emma Raducanu of Great Britain 7-6 (3), 6-2.
No. 3 seed Coco Gauff crushed Serbia’s Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-2 in 77 minutes to reach the third round for the fourth straight year. Gauff converted 5 of 17 break points, won 84% of the points on her first serve and also showed off her effective new tool.
“In my first match, I won like seven drop shot points, which I don’t think I’ve ever done,” Gauff said. “And then today, I won all of them that I did, so it’s a good shot until I miss it. My coach told me, ‘Don’t go drop shot on pressure points,’ and I think almost every time I did a drop shot today was on a pressure point and it worked.”
Gauff will next face fellow American Hailey Baptiste, a 6-2, 6-2 winner against Australian qualifier Storm Hunter.
No. 7 Jasmine Paolini defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-3. No. 8 Mirra Andreeva of Russia breezed past Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-0, 6-4. No. 14 Clara Tauson of Denmark had to work for a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory against Uzbekistan’s Polina Kudermetova.
No. 17 Victoria Mboko of Canada beat American Caty McNally 6-4, 6-3. No. 19 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic rallied past American Alycia Parks 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. No. 29 Iva Jovic of the U.S. coasted to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Australia’s Priscilla Hon.
In afternoon action, No. 12 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine knocked off Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova, 7-5, 6-1 and No. 23 Diana Shnaider of Russia edged Australian wild card Talia Gibson, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a 2-hour, 13-minute thriller.
Shnaider trailed Gibson 2-0 in the deciding set but stormed back with three breaks to advance to a third-round meeting with Shnaider.
Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, Poland’s Magda Linette and Romania’s Elena Gabriela Ruse all advanced in straight sets. Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez, who made headlines Monday by helping an ailing ball girl, advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Hungary’s Anna Bondar.
–Field Level Media
