Australian Open 2026: Novak Djokovic Into Round Four
Novak Djokovic continued his excellent progress at the Australian Open with a straight-sets win over Denis Istomin.
The Serb, who has actually won the previous three titles in Melbourne, won 6-3 6-3 7-5 and plays Fabio Fognini in round 4.
Serena Williams won a tournament-record 61st singles match by beating Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-3 in round 3.
Ana Ivanovic, who beat Australia's Sam Stosur 6-7 (8-10) 6-4 6-2, is next for front runner Williams, while China's Li Na beat Lucie Safarova 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.
Third seed David Ferrer beat 29th seed Jeremy Chardy in straight sets and 15th-ranked Fognini saw off the difficulty of Sam Querrey 7-5 6-4 6-4.
Spain's Tommy Robredo, the number 17 seed, beat France's ninth seed Richard Gasquet 2-6 7-5 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
The conditions continued to be a problem for players, with the temperature reaching a high of 41.4 C a day after matches were suspended on Thursday due to the fact that of 43.3 C heat,
Rod Laver Arena
S Williams (US) [1] beat Hantuchova (Svk) [31] 6-3 6-3
Five-time champion Williams was not at her finest and seemed dealing with the heat, though she still proved too strong for Hantuchova.
The world primary raced into a 5-3 lead but needed to save two break indicate hold serve before clinching the very first set.
Williams, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, broke early in the 2nd but her opponent was in battling state of mind and reacted to level at 3-3.
Hantuchova's hopes were short-lived, however, as Williams seized the initiative in the Slovakian's next service video game and served out for the triumph, sealing it with an effective forehand winner on her 4th match point.
"It was a tough match," stated Williams. "Daniela is a fantastic opponent so I'm truly delighted to come out with the win. It was hot however you have to play, you need to be all set and prepare yourself psychologically. I'm thrilled to survive."
Serena and sister Venus Williams later on withdrew from the doubles soon before their first-round match since of an injury to Venus's left leg.
Ferrer (Spa) (3] beat Chardy (Fra) [29] 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-2
Ferrer reached the 4th round of a Grand Slam for the 15th consecutive time as he reduced previous Chardy.
After the Spaniard won the opening set in simple style, Chardy set up a more powerful difficulty in the second but was unable to convert any of his five set points, enabling Ferrer to take it on a tie-break.
That proved the decisive moment in the match, as Ferrer completed the triumph to set up a meeting with Germany's Florian Mayer for a location in the quarter-finals.
"The secret was when I won the 2nd set," Ferrer stated. "At 4-3 in the second set I made a great deal of errors. I had set points down and after winning the 2nd set I played more unwinded. Maybe it was my best match today."
Dellacqua (Aus) beat Zheng (Chn) 6-2 6-4
Ivanovic (Ser) [14] beat Stosur (Aus) [17] 6-7 (8-10) 6-4 6-2
Home preferred Stosur edged a thrilling first set after rain stopped have fun with when she was 8-7 up in the tie-break.
Former world number one Ivanovic, 26, broke serve once in the 2nd set and twice in the decider as she concluded success with a simple volley into an open court.
"It was a match of the highest quality. She is an extremely tough opponent and I simply hung in there," stated Ivanovic, who reached the Australian Open final in 2008.
"Winning in Auckland gave me a great deal of confidence and I'm eagerly anticipating the obstacle of playing Serena."
Djokovic (Ser) [2] beat Istomin (Uzb) 6-3 6-3 7-5
Four-time champion Djokovic alleviated securely into round four with a simple victory over Uzbekistan's Istomin.
The Serb, whose last defeat in this competition can be found in the 2010 quarter-finals, broke in the third and to conclude the very first set and another break showed decisive in the 4th game of the 2nd set.
Djokovic looked set to clinch success without dropping his serve, but while serving for the match at 5-4 up in the third set, he double-faulted and struck a backhand into the web to offer Istomin a lifeline.
However, the 2nd seed right away broke back and made no error 2nd time around in serving out the match.
"I needed to have extremely quick footwork and a precise very first service, as high a portion as possible, utilizing every opportunity to take control over the rally," he stated. "I have actually done actually well."
Hisense Arena
Li (Chn) [4] beat Safarova (Cze) [26] 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3
Fourth seed Li, runner-up in 2011 and 2013, survived a Safarova match point as she directly prevented ending up being the highest-ranked casualty of the first week in a contest long lasting two hours and 37 minutes.
Safarova, who has actually never beaten a top-10 opponent in a WTA Tour event, served for victory in the ninth video game of the 2nd set and held a match point in the 12th but Li hung on before dominating the tie-break to force a decider.
The third set was delicately poised till Li broke the Czech in the eighth game, and Safarova had no answer.
Kerber (Ger) [9] beat Riske (US) 6-3 6-4
Berdych (Cze) [7] beat Dzumhur (Bih) 6-4 6-2 6-2
Robredo (Spa) [17] beat Gasquet (Fra) [9] 2-6 7-5 6-4 7-6 (8-6)
Margaret Court Arena
Pennetta (Ita) [28] beat Barthel (Ger) 6-1 7-5
Anderson (SA) [19] beat R-Vasselin (Fra) 3-6 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 7-5
Fognini (Ita) [15] beat Querrey (US) 7-5 6-4 6-4
Genie's army
Lleyton Hewitt has his 'Fanatics' and Bernie Tomic has 'Tomic's Kittens', but the greatest sound around Melbourne Park on Friday came from an unexpected love affair in between Australia and Canada.
Genie Bouchard, the increasing star and 30th seed, is through to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the very first time and on course for a quarter-final with Serena Williams.
And the 19-year-old has actually been vociferously supported throughout by a group of Australian students, 'Genie's Army', who have sung a catalogue of tunes about the Canadian and provided her presents consisting of a toy kangaroo after her very first 2 wins.
"They appeared to my first round away on Court 15 with their t-shirts," Bouchard informed BBC Sport.
"They're actually into it and supportive and it's terrific to see I have 'super fans' in Australia. They produce a huge atmosphere on the court and it's enjoyable to play when they exist."
Quotes of the day
"I tell you this: I'm not equipped to address that concern. I'm going to leave it alone." Serena Williams is asked for her thoughts on the competition doctor's suggestion that guy "developed on the high plains of Africa chasing after antelope".
"Serena is on top of the game for so long now. You know, she's someone we appreciate. I anticipate that difficulty. I have actually been playing some great tennis and it's going to be nice test to see where I'm at." Ana Ivanovic is resilient ahead of her fourth-round match with the world primary.
"Because I didn't practice much, I was unable to get ready for the next match. Today I was totally kaput." Poland's Jerzy Janowicz produces his best German to summarize a day in which he lost in straight sets to Florian Mayer while playing in sunglasses.
"I believe five centimetres saved my competition. If she struck it in, my entire team was on the way to the airport." Li Na on how Lucie Safarova was within a whisker of knocking her out on match point.
"I was a little bit ill and also my mind was not working. I simply enjoyed the ball and simply struck it. I didn't understand where I struck it." Li's compatriot Zheng Jie after her 6-2 6-4 defeat by Australia's Casey Dellacqua
"They are extremely unfortunate. Especially when you inform the style brand name that they need to make white, they are like, 'Oh, OK, what can we do?' It's simply for hopefully two weeks. Then they can go once again." Tomas Berdych on breaking it to his kit sponsors that the blue-and-white striped number he's wearing in Melbourne won't clean at Wimbledon.
"I have actually always stated I enjoy playing in the heat, the conditions and things. But today wasn't an example of that." South African Kevin Andersen could have done without investing four hours returning from two sets down to beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
"Some of the newspapers and TV stations called me after the match. They stated the whole of Bosnia didn't sleep this evening, that everybody was in front of their TV and they were so proud." Damir Dzumhur, the 21-year-old qualifier, who became the first Bosnian to reach the primary draw of a Grand Slam tournament, after losing to Tomas Berdych.
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