HIGHLIGHTS-Tennis-Australian Open day five

Jan 22 (Reuters) – Highlights of the fifth day at the Australian Open on Thursday (times GMT):

1305 RUUD ROLLS ON

Norwegian 12th seed Casper Ruud, a three-times Grand Slam runner-up, carved out a comfortable 6-3 7-5 6-4 win over Spaniard Jaume Munar to breeze into the third round.

1254 ‘SPECIAL Ks’ CRASH OUT IN ALL-AUSSIE OPENER

Australian hopes Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were dumped out of their doubles opener after a 6-4 4-6 7-6(10-4) loss to compatriots Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans.

Kokkinakis, sidelined from the Australian Open singles by a shoulder issue, and Kyrgios, competing only in doubles this year, could not recreate the form that carried them to the 2022 title.

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Alcaraz, Sabalenka pass Australian Open tests to reach third round

1151 TEEN BARTUNKOVA UPSETS IN-FORM BENCIC

Czech 19-year-old qualifier Nikola Bartunkova stunned Switzerland’s Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Belinda Bencic, knocking out the 10th seed with a 6-3 0-6 6-4 victory.

Bencic, 28, had come into the Australian Open in strong form after winning all five of her singles matches for Switzerland at the United Cup earlier in January.

1147 RYBAKINA BEATS GRACHEVA

Kazakh fifth seed Elena Rybakina secured a comprehensive 7-5 6-2 victory over Varvara Gracheva.

Rybakina, 26, is chasing a second Grand Slam crown, having won Wimbledon in 2022 and finished as the Australian Open runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in 2023.

1015 OSAKA PREVAILS

Four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who lifted the Australian Open trophy in 2019 and 2021, recovered from a second-set blip to defeat Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-3 4-6 6-2.

1004 FRITZ DOMINATES KOPRIVA

American ninth seed Taylor Fritz, a Melbourne quarter-finalist in 2024, made light work of Czech Vit Kopriva, cruising to a 6-1 6-4 7-6(4) victory.

The 28-year-old, a U.S. Open runner-up in 2024, will next face three-times major winner Stan Wawrinka.

1003 RUTHLESS SINNER CRUSHES HOME HOPE DUCKWORTH

Italian second seed Jannik Sinner continued his pursuit of a third straight Australian Open title and fifth Grand Slam crown, sweeping past Australia’s James Duckworth 6-1 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 49 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

0945 WAWRINKA WINS FIVE-SET THRILLER

Former champion Stan Wawrinka thrilled a packed crowd at Kia Arena as the 40-year-old Swiss turned back the clock to outlast his cramping 21-year-old opponent Arthur Gea in a marathon five-set battle, winning 4-6 6-3 3-6 7-5 7-6 (10-3) to advance to the third round.

0900 MACHAC KNOCKS OUT TSITSIPAS

Fresh off his title win in Adelaide, Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac defeated Greek 31st seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 3-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5) to set up a meeting with Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.

0820 CILIC TAKES OUT SHAPOVALOV

Croatian Marin Cilic, 37, pulled off a major upset as he defeated Canadian 21th seed Denis Shapovalov 6-4 6-3 6-2 to move into the third round.

0740 SWIATEK BEATS BOUZKOVA

Six-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek blazed past Marie Bouzkova with a 6-2 6-3 victory to reach the third round as she hunts for her first majors title in Melbourne.

0600 AUSTRALIAN QUALIFIER INGLIS WINS MARATHON CONTEST

Maddison Inglis made a remarkable turnaround in the final minutes of a three-hour and 20-minute battle to beat Germany’s Laura Siegemund in a tiebreak.

The Australian qualifier won the topsy-turvy marathon affair 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(10-7) to make it to the third round.

0540 ANISIMOVA THROUGH TO THIRD ROUND

Amanda Anisimova made it to the third round after a game of two contrasting sets against Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova. The American fourth seed dominated the first set but had to fight her way through in the 68-minute second set to pick a 6-1 6-4 victory.

“It was getting a bit crazy in the second set. She really gave me a run for my money there,” said Anisimova, the Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up.

0515 WANG UPSETS OSTAPENKO

China’s Xinyu Wang made it to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time after a 4-6 6-4 6-4 win over Latvian 24th seed Jelena Ostapenko.

0500 ROUTINE WIN FOR DJOKOVIC

Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic barely broke a sweat in a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win against Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli to reach the third round.

0450 NOSKOVA ENDS PRESTON’S FIGHTBACK

Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova defeated Australian wildcard Taylah Preston 6-2 4-6 6-2.

Preston made a strong comeback in the second set but ran out of steam against the 13th seed in the decider.

0330 MUSETTI WINS ITALIAN BATTLE

Fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti dominated his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Sonego, winning the contest 6-3 6-3 6-4 to advance to the third round.

Musetti outperformed his namesake in long rallies while the 30-year-old Sonego appeared to be struggling physically towards the end against his younger opponent.

0330 HOME HOPES OUSTED EARLY

Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata went down 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-2 against Monaco’s 30th seed Valentin Vacherot, while Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny fell 6-3 6-2 6-2 to American eighth seed Ben Shelton.

Shelton and Vacherot will face off in the next round.

0315 PLISKOVA WINS IN STRAIGHT SETS

Former world number one Karolina Pliskova, who had two surgeries on her left ankle last year and played only three games, defeated Indonesian Janice Tjen 6-4 6-4 to reach the third round.

0210 QUICK WINS FOR KHACHANOV, MENSIK

Karen Khachanov took a comfortable 6-1 6-4 6-3 win over American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy, while the 16th seed Jakub Mensik also made quick work of Spanish qualifier Rafael Jodar, winning 6-2 6-4 6-4.

Both the matches ended in less than two hours.

0150 SELEKHMETEVA ELIMINATES BADOSA

Spanish 25th seed Paula Badosa, a semi-finalist in Melbourne 12 months ago, made an early exit, losing to the unseeded Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-4 6-4 in her second round contest.

0140 PEGULA ADVANCES

Jessica Pegula, the sixth seed, dominated the second-round contest against her fellow American McCartney Kessler, winning 6-0 6-2 to advance to the third round.

0126 KEYS MOVES PAST KRUEGER

Defending champion Madison Keys beat American compatriot Ashlyn Krueger 6-1 7-5 to reach the third round.

0010 PLAY UNDERWAY

The main showcase courts at Melbourne Park are buzzing on Thursday with defending champion Jannik Sinner set to continue his bid for a third Australian Open title against local contender James Duckworth on Rod Laver Arena, while 10-time winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia meets Italian Francesco Maestrelli earlier in the day.

The Margaret Court Arena hosts the “Battle of Lorenzos” as Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti faces compatriot Lorenzo Sonego.

Women’s world number two, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, and Japan’s Naomi Osaka are also among the top names in action across the courts in partly sunny conditions.

ORDER OF PLAY ON THURSDAY (prefix number denotes seeding)

Rod Laver Arena:

Day session (0030 GMT/1130 AEDT)

6-Jessica Pegula (U.S.) v McCartney Kessler (U.S.)

Francesco Maestrelli (Italy) v 4-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

Night session (0800 GMT/1900 AEDT)

James Duckworth (Australia) v 2-Jannik Sinner (Italy)

5-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) v Varvara Gracheva (France)

Margaret Court Arena:

Day session (0030 GMT/1130 AEDT)

5-Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) v Lorenzo Sonego (Italy)

Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) v 4-Amanda Anisimova (U.S.)

Night session (0800 GMT/1900 AEDT)

16-Naomi Osaka (Japan) v Sorana Cirstea (Romania)

Jaume Munar (Spain) v 12-Casper Ruud (Norway)

John Cain Arena:

Day session (0000 GMT/1100 AEDT)

Ashlyn Krueger (U.S.) v 9-Madison Keys (U.S.)

8-Ben Shelton (U.S.) v Dane Sweeny (Australia)

Night session (0600 GMT/1700 AEDT)

Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic) v 2-Iga Swiatek (Poland)

Vit Kopriva (Czech Republic) v 9-Taylor Fritz (U.S.)

(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, Karan Prashant Saxena and Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Neil Fullick and Muralikumar Anantharaman)