MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Looking ahead to Thursday
Andy Murray tried to back up his first-round victory over Matteo Berrettini by winning again and reaching the third round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2017. The 35-year-old Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion and five-time runner-up at Melbourne Park. He and Berrettini played more than 4.5 hours in the first round. Novak Djokovic also plays in the second round as he continues his quest for a record-breaking 10th Australian Open title and 22nd Grand Slam trophy. That would tie the men’s record currently held by Rafael Nadal, who lost Wednesday’s second-round match with a hip injury. The most intriguing women’s match on Thursday’s schedule is WTA Finals winner and No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia against 2021 US Open finalist Leila Fernandez.
forecast for thursday
cloudy. 66°F (19°C) maximum.
Wednesday’s key results
Women’s second round: None. 1 Iga Swiatek beat Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-3; know. 3 Jessica Pegula beat Ariaksandra Sasnovic 6-2, 7-6(5); know. 6 Maria Sakkari defeated Diana Schneider 3-6, 7-5, 6-3; Anhelina Kalinina defeated No. 15 Petra Kvitova 7-5, 6-4.
Men’s second round: Mackenzie McDonald beats No. 1 Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 7-5; No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliasi Tom beats Alex Malkan 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; No. 15 Jannik Sinner beats 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 Tomas Martin Etcheverry; No. 16 Francis Tiafoe defeated Shang Juncheng 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.
Statistics today
2 — The number of times Nadal has lost before the Australian Open quarter-finals since 2005 — a first-round exit in 2016 and a second-round loss on Wednesday.
Quote of the day
“It’s okay. It’s allowed. It’s allowed. I won’t be fined or anything like that.” — Maria Sakkari defends coach’s instructions during match, first at this year’s Australian Open This is allowed.
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