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Images from Day 7 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.
Swiatek crashes out in third round
Top seed Iga Swiatek crashed out of the Australian Open on Saturday, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Czech teenager Linda Noskova in the third round as her bid for a maiden Melbourne Park title and fifth Grand Slam trophy fell apart.
The Pole, more accustomed to breezing past opponents with the odd "bagel" or 6-0 scoreline thrown in, had struggled in Melbourne, enduring a first-set tiebreak in her opener against Sofia Kenin before fighting back from the brink of defeat to oust Danielle Collins last time out.
Noskova, 19, emerged as a tricky third-round opponent with three top-10 wins under her belt, but Swiatek looked in no mood to be dragged into another dogfight as she broke in the sixth game and held to love in the next to take charge.
The 22-year-old barely let the intensity drop after taking the first set as she forced Melbourne Park debutant Noskova into uncomfortable positions in the second by working the angles and launching big forehands.
But the Czech held firm, responding with some explosive hitting of her own and breaking en route to levelling up the contest before heaping the pressure on the four-times major champion to take a 2-1 lead in the decider.
Swiatek looked to have composed herself during a brief pause in play as doctors attended to a sick supporter in the crowd and broke back, but Noskova did not relent and got her nose in front again to close out the match on serve and complete a huge upset.
Alcaraz reaches second week for first time
Carlos Alcaraz eased into the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time on Saturday after Chinese wildcard Shang Juncheng retired hurt while trailing their uneven contest 6-1, 6-1, 1-0.
In the unusual position of playing someone younger than himself, twice Grand Slam champion Alcaraz had simply dominated 18-year-old Shang for just over an hour on Rod Laver Arena.
Shang, known as "Jerry" at his Florida training base, had taken a medical timeout for treatment on his thigh at 4-1 down in the second set and gave up the ghost after being broken for the sixth time at the start of the third.
"It's not the way anybody wants to move on and I wish him a speedy recovery," said second seed Alcaraz, who will play Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the last 16.
"He started the year unbelievable, playing great games, and I was looking forward to playing this match ... I think Jerry and myself wanted to play a long match."
Shang broke new ground for China when he reached the second round as a qualifier last year and was looking to become the first Chinese man to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam since 1938.
The teenager was unable to muster sufficient power on his serve to be confident of holding, however, and did not have enough game on returns to get a look at the Spaniard's.
Alcaraz barely needed to move out of first gear as he eased through the first two sets, throwing in the occasional stunning lob or crosscourt winner to keep the crowd engaged.
Last year, the 20-year-old watched the year's first Grand Slam from his couch nursing a hamstring injury and he was delighted to get through to the business end of the tournament for the first time in three visits to Melbourne Park.
"This is the first time I've played the second week here and it feels special," he added.
"Coming to this tournament this year, I was looking to improve the result that I did in 2022. I did it. And now is the time to keep going, play better and better, and hopefully go through more rounds."
Medvedev motors into fourth round at Melbourne Park
Daniil Medvedev raced into the second week of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime on Saturday, showing few signs of fatigue after his marathon late-night outing in the second round.
The Russian third seed, who came from two sets down to beat Emil Ruusuvuori well into the early hours of Friday morning, looked at his clinical best as he eased into the fourth round for fifth time.
"It was tough, especially after the last match I had but happy to play some good level," said Medvedev, who took his career record against Auger-Aliassime to 7-0.
"I tried to always give him tough shots so I didn't have to run too much and in the third set I managed to find some shots, so happy with the level of my game."
The pair went to five sets in the quarter-finals two years ago at Melbourne Park before Medvedev prevailed after saving a match point but Auger-Aliassime came nowhere near the level he displayed that night.
The error-prone Canadian 27th seed showed some fight to prevent Medvedev from winning the match with a sixth break but the Russian served out comfortably enough to seal the victory in just over two hours.
Medvedev, back-to-back losing finalist in Melbourne in 2021 and 2022, moves on to a meeting with Portuguese world number 69 Nuno Borges in the last 16.
The 27-year-old said he was still feeling the effects of his second-round match, after which he did not get to bed until 7am.
"It wasn't easy, I'm not feeling fresh, I'm not feeling 100%," he said.
"At least I have this super ability that I can sleep where I want, whenever I want. When I was younger, I would go out at night after matches and sometimes train without sleep. Maybe that helped me play today."
Azarenka maintains perfect record against Ostapenko
Twice former champion Victoria Azarenka took her career record against Jelena Ostapenko to 4-0 on Saturday with a 6-1 7-5 victory in the third round of the Australian Open.
Azarenka won both her Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park and the 34-year-old showed just how much she enjoys the tournament with her fourth straight win over the 2017 French Open champion.
The 18th seed next faces Dayana Yastremska after the Ukrainian qualifier scored a 6-2 2-6 6-1 win against 27th seed Emma Navarro.
"I knew it's going to be a tough battle," Azarenka said after her victory over the Latvian, who had opened the season by winning the title in Adelaide and returning to top 10.
"I felt like I played a really, really good first set, really kept the pressure.
"She's a Grand Slam champion, she's been in amazing form coming off the title so I knew she was going come back and play strong.
"I was just trying to find an opportunity in that second set to get one break point at a time and try to get my chances."
Kalinskaya conquers Stephens
It was the end of the road for former Flushing Meadows champion Sloane Stephens after the American lost 6-7(8), 6-1, 6-4 to Anna Kalinskaya.
By making it to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, Kalinskaya is already assured of her biggest payday - nearly $250,000 - though she seemed in no rush to spend it.
"I don't have anything in mind. I'll take it easy," said Kalinskaya, who faces Italian Jasmine Paolini next. "Maybe a nice purse."
Paolini powers past Blinkova
Italy's Jasmine Paolini blitzed Russia's Anna Blinkova 7-6(1), 6-4 to set up a last-16 meeting with fellow fourth-round debutant Kalinskaya.
Zheng prevails in all-Chinese thriller
Zheng Qinwen, the 12th seed, won a final set tiebreak to beat compatriot Wang Yafan 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(8) on Rod Laver Arena.
Zheng, who was named the WTA Tour's most improved player in the 2023 season after winning Asian Games gold and the Zhengzhou title, will no doubt be inspired by memories of Li Na's triumphant campaign in 2014.
"I watched that final 10 times," said Zheng. "Unbelievable player, the first Asian woman who won a Grand Slam, how can you not remember that?"
Zheng, who reached the quarter-finals of the US Open last year, next plays Oceane Dodin after she prevailed in an all-French third-round duel with Clara Burel 6-2, 6-4.
Yastremska too strong for Navarro
Dayana Yastremska will return to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon 2019 after her 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 win over American 27th seed Emma Navarro.
The Ukrainian next faces twice former champion Victoria Azarenka, who beat battled back from 4-1 down in the second set to beat 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko to go through 6-1, 7-5.
