Victoria Mboko, a player from Toronto, secured her place in the third round of the women’s singles at the Australian Open in Melbourne by defeating American Caty McNally with a score of 6-4, 6-3. The Canadian, seeded 17th, will now face Clara Tauson from Denmark, seeded 14th, in the upcoming round. Tauson won her second-round match against Polina Kudermetova from Uzbekistan with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 after a match lasting one hour and 53 minutes.
During her victory over McNally, which lasted one hour and 32 minutes, Mboko managed to serve an ace, hit 15 winners, but also made 24 unforced errors and two double faults. On the other hand, McNally recorded no aces, 14 winners, 27 unforced errors, and six double faults. Mboko succeeded in winning six out of nine service games and five out of nine return games.
In the women’s doubles event, Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa and her partner Luisa Stefani from Brazil defeated Jessica Pegula and McCartney Kessler from the USA with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (3). The winning duo will now face Elsa Jacquemot from France and Emiliana Arango from Colombia in the next round.
Dabrowski and Stefani spent one hour and 46 minutes on the court to secure their victory over the American pair. They managed one ace and three double faults, while their opponents had no aces or double faults. The winning pair excelled in their return game, winning 36 points compared to the Americans’ 28 points. Additionally, Dabrowski and Stefani had a 55 per cent win percentage on their second serve, outperforming the Americans who had a 33 per cent success rate.
In another women’s doubles match, Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, and her partner Timea Babos from Hungary suffered a defeat against Cristina Bucsa from Moldova and Nicole Melichar-Martinez from the USA with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, after a match lasting two hours and four minutes. Fernandez and Babos managed two aces but had seven double faults, winning only two out of 14 return games and 11 out of 15 service games. On the other hand, the winning pair secured victory by winning four out of 15 return games and 12 out of 14 service games.
The Australian Open in Melbourne witnessed record attendance for the third time in four days of the main draw, with a combined total of 103,720 fans attending the day and night sessions. Notable players like Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, and Alexander Zverev advanced to the third round. Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, secured a victory against Bai Zhouxuan, while Gauff triumphed over Olga Danilovic. Alcaraz also emerged victorious in his match against Yannick Hanfmann.
Zverev, the third seed, overcame Alexandre Muller despite facing a half-hour rain delay and concerns over a sore left ankle. The tournament also saw local talent Alex de Minaur secure a win against Hamad Medjedovic. Sabalenka, aiming for her third title in Melbourne, will face Anastasia Potapova in the next round. Other notable players who advanced include Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina, Daniil Medvedev, and Andrey Rublev. The upcoming matches on Day 5 include Novak Djokovic against Francesco Maestrelli and Jannik Sinner against James Duckworth, among others.