Reigning women’s champion Naomi Osaka and top seed Ashleigh Barty are on course for a potential fourth-round showdown as they picked up wins in their respective second-round matches in the Australian Open.
On the men’s front, Rafael Nadal ramped up his march toward an unprecedented men’s 21st Grand Slam crown but needed five match points to put away tenacious qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.
The impressive Barty, chasing a first title at her home Slam, barely broke sweat as she breezed past Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1 in just 52 minutes in the heat of Rod Laver Arena in their second-round encounter.
Not to be outdone, defending champion Osaka rushed through the first set 6-0 against Madison Brengle but then had a couple of dicey moments in the second set, before polishing it off 6-4, greeting the beaten American with a smile at the net.
Rivals Barty and Osaka, who share six major titles between them, are now one victory away from a last-16 showdown at Melbourne Park.
But first Barty, the Wimbledon champion and hot favorite in Melbourne, faces a potentially tricky task against 30th seed Camila Giorgi.
“She is an incredible ball striker and one of the most athletic girls out there,” said the world No. 1 of the experienced Italian.
The ultra-consistent Barty, who won the title at a lead-up tournament in Adelaide, hasn’t dropped her serve for 48 straight games over five matches this year.
Japan’s Osaka faces American Amanda Anisimova, who sprang a shock in defeating Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
Osaka, the winner of the 2019 and 2021 Australian Opens, has vowed to have more fun on court this year, following a difficult last year in which she said she had suffered depression.
“I am a bit of a perfectionist. I feel that if I compare myself to the past I will never be satisfied,” she said, to cheers from the crowd.
In-form eighth seed Paula Badosa, who won the Sydney warm-up tournament, and French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova both sailed through to round three in two sets. -Agencies
