Australian Open- Round 2

The second round of the Australian Open saw a mix of triumphs and setbacks as players fought to keep their title hopes alive.

In the men’s singles, second and third seeds Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz made emphatic statements with back to back, straight sets victories. Top seed Jannik Sinner, had a more challenging journey to victory, dropping a set to begin before recovering to progress into the third round. Taylor Fritz showcased yet another powerful performance as he breezed through with a 6-2 6-1 6-0 win. 

Upsets did occur when several top seeds fell to the relentless competition. With the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and Frances Tiafoe making shock exits, the spotlight shines onto other growing talents. This includes rising star Joao Fonseca who gave an impressive performance in the first five set match of his career. The 18 year old Brazilian ultimately fell short against the experience of Lorenzo Sonego.

Among the standout matches, Jack Draper overcame the patriotic roars of the crowd as he faced local favourite, Thanasi Kokkinakis. Despite a long-fought match with a lingering injury, Kokkinakis exited the tournament with an outpour of respect from Draper and crowd alike. Meanwhile, Alex de Minaur became one of two left flying the Australian flag, advancing comfortably into the next round.

On the women’s side, Emma Navarro recovered from a 2-4 deficit in the deciding set, while Elena Rybakina only dropped three games in her match with American wild card Iva Jovic. Britain’s Emma Raducanu finally made it through to the third round on her fourth attempt at the tournament and will face second seed Iga Swiatek in a highly anticipated encounter.

However, it wasn’t all good news for Britain as Katie Boulter struggled to pull through her deciding set, ultimately ending 7-6 2-6 6-2. Elsewhere, lucky loser and world no. 128 Eva Lys finds herself advancing into the third round- a remarkable come back to begin her season.