Hot weather and early starts no worries for Americans Keys and Pegula at the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An earlier start and hot weather were no worries for defending champion Madison Keys and her fellow American Jessica Pegula at the Australian Open on Saturday.

The ninth-seeded Keys beat Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-3 in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena, while sixth-seeded Pegula defeated Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3, 6-2 in the first match at Margaret Court Arena.

Next up for the two Americans is a fourth-round encounter against each other.

Play began an hour earlier than initially scheduled on Day 7 because of the forecast of searing temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Temperatures during the opening matches hadn’t quite reached that level — only 32C (89F).

“I served well, and overall I give myself a full pat on the back for that,” Keys said of her win. “It gives yourself a boost when you can find your best tennis, trust your game and try to do the right things.”

Pegula said she didn’t mind the hotter temperatures — “being a Floridian I was ready for it.”

Keys said she expects a tough match against Pegula in the fourth round.

“Jess is such a great player, consistently doing well in every match she plays,” Keys said. “She is in every single match. It also makes it hard being friends.”

Keys and Pegula, along with several other WTA players, do a podcast called “The Player’s Box” which chronicles everyday life on tour.

“ I think we have to do (one) before the match, so we’ll see how that goes,” Keys said, smiling.

Americans also featured in several other early matches Saturday, with Eliot Spizzirri having the toughest assignment. The 24-year-old Spizzirri, who spent part of his off-day Friday playing table tennis at a communal table in Garden Court at Melbourne Park, was to take on two-time defending champion and second-seeded Jannik Sinner in the second match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.

Spizzirri has competed at all four Grand Slam tournaments, but has only reached the main draw at the U.S. Open and Australian Open, where the third round here is his furthest run and career-best result.

Following Pegula at Margaret Court Arena was an all-American contest between No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and Peyton Stearns. Then another American, eighth-seeded Ben Shelton, was set to play Valentin Vacherot.

The night session at Rod Laver Arena featured 10-time champion Novak Djokovic as he continued his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title. Djokovic plays Botic van de Zandschulp in the first of the evening matches.

The concluding match on the main court could have the capacity crowd guessing what fashion statement Naomi Osaka might make in her third-round encounter with Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis.

Osaka, who has two Australian Open titles among her four majors, walked onto the court wearing a wide-brim hat, a veil and holding a white parasol for her first-round match. For her second, Osaka didn’t bother with the couture hat, veil and parasol but was still wearing a jellyfish-inspired dress and matching warmup jacket.

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