By Canadian Press

Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka move closer to an Australian Open rematch. Djokovic and Alcaraz win

Jan 17, 2025 | 5:14 AM

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Coco Gauff still hasn’t lost a match or even at set at the Australian Open — or, actually, this season. She moved into the fourth round at Melbourne Park with a straightforward 6-4, 6-2 victory over 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez on Friday night.

While there have been plenty of surprises in the men’s bracket so far, most of the top women, other than No. 5 Zheng Qinwen, have progressed through the draw without an issue. That includes wins on Friday for No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who is the two-time defending champion in Australia, No. 3 Gauff, No. 11 Paula Badosa and No. 14 Mirra Andreeva.

Naomi Osaka, a two-time champion in Australia, stopped playing because of a strained abdominal muscle after dropping the first set of her match against Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic.

No. 7 Jessica Pegula was scheduled to play later Friday against Olga Danilovic.

Men’s winners in third-round action included No. 2 Alexander Zverev, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 7 Novak Djokovic and No. 12 Tommy Paul. Djokovic — who won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open — overcame some mid-match breathing trouble to dismiss No. 26 Tomas Machac 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 at night.

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“I think I played really well,” Djokovic said. “I’m very happy with my game.”

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had a much more difficult path, coming back from two sets down for the second match in a row and saving two match points to sneak past 19-year-old Jakub Mensik 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-2. Davidovich Fokina is the first man since 2005 to win twice in a row in Australia after falling behind 0-2 in sets.

“In all these years I had a lot of up-and-downs,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I had decided this year to fight every point.”

Alcaraz’s next opponent will be No. 15 Jack Draper or Aleksandar Vukic.

A year ago, 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff had her best run in Melbourne, getting to the semifinals before bowing out against Sabalenka, who extended her winning streak at the tournament to 17 matches by eliminating Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Friday.

Like Gauff, Sabalenka is unbeaten in the early going in 2025. They could meet in the semifinals again this time around next weekend.

Gauff needed just 75 minutes to get past Fernandez, a left-hander who was seeded 30th. Gauff was broken just once and compiled an 18-7 advantage in total winners.

It was Gauff’s second recent win over Fernandez, after beating her in the United Cup team competition. That is part of Gauff’s 8-0 record, 16-0 in sets, so far this season.

That made this one “harder,” Gauff said, “because she knows what to expect, and I definitely think she played a little bit different today.”

That prompted Gauff to switch some things up, too, as she seeks her second major championship. She’s tweaked her coaching staff and altered her serving and forehand mechanics a bit after being a tad disappointed with her Grand Slam performances in 2024 — even if the season did end with a title at the WTA Finals.

“Tennis feels so high stakes, but it’s really not. I’m so lucky to do what I do — also get paid doing it,” said Gauff, a 20-year-old from Florida.

“My biggest thing I learned last year is just not to take anything for granted,” Gauff said, “and just realized this time is going to go by so fast. … I’m just trying to enjoy it while I’m here.”

Neither Sabalenka nor Tauson served all that well in Rod Laver Arena. Maybe it was the sun. Maybe it was the wind. Maybe it was slower court conditions.

The first seven games of the match were all breaks, and Tauson was the first to hold, leading 5-3. But that’s when Sabalenka began to get going.

“I am super happy I was able to push myself,” Sabalenka said. “I told myself, ‘Well, girl, you are tough.’ So many times, I thought I was done.”

Next for her is a matchup with 17-year-old Andreeva, a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 winner against No. 23 Magdalena Frech. Badosa barely emerged to beat No. 17 Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, and 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 27th seed, defeated Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-2. Siegemund took a big step back after being the one to beat Zheng, who was the runner-up to Sabalenka in Australia last January and won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics in August.

Alcaraz ceded a set for the first time this week but beat Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2, Zverev defeated Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, and Paul got past Robert Carballes Baena 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-0.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press