Record crowds witness Sabalenka, Alcaraz, Gauff and Zverev advance at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Another day, another record crowd. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz advanced in straight sets Wednesday and the No. 3 seeds — Coco Gauff and Alexander Zverev — also progressed to the third round of the Australian Open.

The combined numbers for day and night sessions, 103,720 fans, set a full-day record for the third time in four days of the main draw at the season-opening major, which has become a festival of tennis.

Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka opened Day 4 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Bai Zhouxuan on Rod Laver Arena, and Gauff beat left-hander Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-2 at Margaret Court Arena.

Alcaraz fended off Yannick Hanfmann 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in an afternoon encounter on the center court, and then reflected on his own performance and on his golf outing with Roger Federer.

“I didn’t see myself playing that good but then talking to my team, I realized that I played better than I thought,” he said of his tough outing against the free-hitting Hanfmann. “I’m still getting used to the conditions, getting used to playing better.”

Alcaraz, 22, is trying to win his first title at Melbourne Park to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.

Zverev, who lost last year’s final here to Jannik Sinner, had to wait through a half-hour rain delay and concern over a sore left ankle before beating Alexandre Muller 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

He was leading the fourth set 2-1 and serving at 15-0 when he had to halt the match and sit in a courtside chair for treatment.

“I took a painkiller. It was fine after that,” he said. “I was a bit scared because it was toward the Achilles tendon. I just wanted the physio to check it out. After the medical timeout I was moving fine, playing fine.”

He was playing a night match on John Cain Arena, the third of Melbourne Park’s arenas with a retractable roof, where only ground pass tickets are needed for entry. So on a day with a massive crowd, it was still full late.

“The atmosphere is insane. The crowd is wild,” he said. “I love playing here.”

Local hope Alex de Minaur beat Hamad Medjedovic 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena around the same time.

“I weathered the storm. He was hitting the ball really big and deep,” said de Minaur, who is aiming to end a long drought for Aussie men at the home Grand Slam event. “I’m super happy to battle my way through.”

He next faces No. 29 Frances Tiafoe, who beat Francisco Comesana 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Women’s draw

Sabalenka won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago against Madison Keys. She is after her fifth Grand Slam title and has two trophies at the U.S. Open.

She raced to a 5-0 lead but then needed seven set points to take the first set against the defensive-minded Bai, who used clever drop shots to help her stay in the match.

Sabalenka will next face Anastasia Potapova, who ousted former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Teenagers Mirra Andreeva (No. 8), Victoria Mboko (17) and Iva Jovic (29) advanced to the third round.

The 12th-seeded Elina Svitolina defeated Linda Klimovicova 7-5, 6-1 a day after her husband, Gael Monfils, said goodbye at Melbourne Park in his retirement year.

Zeynep Sönmez of Turkey, who was highly praised during her first-round match Sunday for assisting an ill ballkid, advanced 6-2, 6-4 over Anna Bondar.

“I really appreciated there were many Turkish people, and I felt like I was at home,” she said. “At first I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts. It was very, very loud.”

Men’s draw

Former U.S. Open winner and 11th-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Quentin Halys 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Jaime Faria 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and 19th-seeded Tommy Paul defeated Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

No. 10 Alexander Bublik, No. 25 Learner Tien and No. 26 Cameron Norrie progressed along with No. 14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who won the first two sets but then had to struggle to beat big-serving American Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.

Day 5

Two days after winning for the 100th time at Melbourne Park, 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic has an afternoon second-rounder against Francesco Maestrelli. The prime time night slot on Rod Laver Arena goes to two-time defending champion Sinner against Australia’s James Duckworth.

Naomi Osaka, who made quite the fashion statement in her tournament opener, has another night match against Sorana Cirstea.

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