Second seed Iga Świątek charged into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-0 humbling of Emma Raducanu in a meeting of former US Open champions at a sunny Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina joined Swiatek in the last 16 with a 6-3 6-4 win over Dayana Yastremska, but only after receiving treatment on her back, while eighth seed Emma Navarro and ninth seed Daria Kasatkina also advanced.
German Eva Lys became the first lucky loser to reach the women's fourth round since 1988 when she beat Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 4-6 6-3 6-3, her reward a date with Swiatek.
The Polish number one targeted Raducanu's backhand and feasted on the Briton's second serve to win the last 11 games of their contest and reach the last 16 in just 70 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
“I just enjoyed playing, I played a few shots where I thought 'yeah, this is what I practised for',” said the 23-year-old, who has yet to drop a set.
“I felt really confident so at the end I could push more and converting all those break points was really important for me.”
Swiatek converted five of the 12 break points she earned and faced none on her own serve from the hapless Raducanu, who has endured a string of injuries since capturing her only major at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
“I think it was a little bit of her playing well and me not playing so well,” said Raducanu. “That combination is probably not good and resulted in today.”
After a few days of cooler weather, temperatures started to rise on Saturday with projected highs of around 31 degrees over the weekend.
“For sure it helps,” said Swiatek. “But on the other hand you also have to keep the control, so it's a mix.
“In tennis, the most important thing is adjusting ... I felt like it was going to be a challenge to adjust but obviously from the beginning I felt like I'm playing well, my hand is fast.”
American Learner Tien kept the teenage revolution going at the Australian Open by reaching the last 16 on Saturday after 38-year-old Gael Monfils had made a statement for the older player with a stunning upset of fourth seed Taylor Fritz.
Tien (19) took out hobbling Frenchman Corentin Moutet 7-6 (10) 6-3 6-3 to continue his stunning run on his Melbourne Park debut and become the youngest man to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open since Rafa Nadal in 2005.
The American ousted fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in the early hours of Friday morning but showed no signs of wear and tear from that five-set epic as he set up a clash against Lorenzo Sonego.
“It feels great, obviously,” said the Californian. “This exceeded my expectations coming into this week, you expect to win every match but to be in the second week is amazing.”
Italian Sonego beat Fabian Marozsan 6-7(3) 7-6(6) 6-1 6-2 to book his spot in the fourth round, having ended the campaign of Brazilian 18-year-old Joao Fonseca in the second round.
Tien, Fonseca and 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik tore up the form guide by dumping top 10 seeds out in the first week, heralding the rise of a new generation to threaten the dominance of early twentysomethings Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Novak Djokovic, at 37, is still flying the flag for the golden generation in the fourth round and Frenchman Monfils joined him by coming from a set down to beat Fritz 3-6 7-5 7-6(1) 6-4, celebrating with a jig.
“I keep playing for those matches,” said Monfils. “Play big players, big stadiums, good crowd, good energy. When you’re 38-years-old, that’s what I want. I had it. I was very fortunate to win it.”
Defending champion Jannik Sinner was not at his fluent best but still had too much firepower for unseeded American Marcos Giron as he sealed a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win and reached the fourth round.
Sinner came into the contest on Rod Laver Arena having won all 13 of his previous Grand Slam meetings against players from the United States and the Italian made a quick start and never looked back as Giron’s hopes faded with the setting sun.
“Every match has it’s own difficulties,” said Sinner, who produced 35 winners but also had 37 unforced errors in a little over two hours of action.
“I struggled to return the first serve. I have room to improve but every win is great in these conditions. I’m happy to be in the next round.”
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025
