Defending champion Jannik Sinner easily defeated James Duckworth, while Naomi Osaka defeated Sorana Thurstea.
Two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner defeated home wildcard James Duckworth 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round of the Australian Open.
The Italian world No. 2 was reluctant to take an extra shift Thursday in the cool of Rod Laver Arena to set up a last-32 showdown with American Elliott Spizzilli.
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This is Sinner’s 27th consecutive win against an Australian at the tour level, with his last loss coming against Duckworth in Toronto in 2021.
However, there was never any chance of that result being repeated as Sinner put in a flawless performance from the back of the court.
“Every match is difficult. I’m very happy to advance to the next round,” Sinner said on court, having won her last 12 matches without dropping a set. “I am very satisfied with my performance.
“My body feels good and my mind is in a good moment because I know how much effort I’ve put in.”
From the moment he broke Duckworth’s serve in the fourth game by hitting a backhand winner into the corner, he was in control and was given a second break of serve on a double fault.
Sinner took the first set in 26 minutes, and Duckworth resisted further with his aggressive play in the second, but the Italian’s controlled power and placement was too much for his 34-year-old opponent.
A forehand winner earned him a break point at 3-3, and Duckworth blazed under pressure.
Duckworth’s winner received a thunderous ovation from the evening crowd, but the end came quickly as Sinner finished the match with an ace, his 18th of the match.
Sinner has been on court for less than three hours to advance to the third round and will be the favorite to take on world No. 85 Spitzili, who survived a five-set match against China’s Wu Yibin.
“I watched him a little bit last year as well, and he was very aggressive on the court and a big server,” Sinner said.
“I don’t know much about him because I haven’t played him yet, but I’m looking forward to a great game.”
Osaka defeats Thursteer in 3 sets
Naomi Osaka overcame a second set upset to defeat Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the second round.
Osaka, who won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, got off to a shaky start against Thursteer, dropping serve in the first game and making some early mistakes.
She quickly shook off the cobwebs and broke to tie the score at 2-2, then broke again to take a 5-3 lead, defended a break point and held serve to take the first set.
The 35-year-old Cirstea, who will retire at the end of this year, took an early lead again in the second set, with Osaka leveling the score at 2-2, but the Romanian broke at a crucial moment to snatch the final set.
Osaka, the 16th seed, took a break between sets and a medical timeout to take a 3-1 lead in the final, but those concerns didn’t last long.
Although her movement was seemingly hampered, Japan’s former world number one responded by increasing the intensity of her groundstrokes to overwhelm Thursteer and seal the victory.
The final set also turned dramatic as Cirstea objected to Osaka yelling “Good luck” between the Romanian’s first and second serves.
“Apparently there was a lot of ‘come on’ that she was angry about. I mean, I tried to play well. I think I made a lot of unforced errors, but I gave it my all,” Osaka said.
“She’s a great player. I think this was her last Australian Open. So it was unfortunate that she was upset about that.”
Osaka will face Australian qualifier Madison Inglis in the third round.
