By Nick Mulvenney
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Ons Jabeur made a humbling early exit at the hands of teenager Mirra Andreeva but title contenders Coco Gauff and Jannik Sinner both got safely through their second-round contests at an Australian Open disrupted by rain on Wednesday.
Tunisian sixth seed Jabeur could hardly blame the conditions for her defeat given the one-sided nature of her stunning 6-0 6-2 drubbing at the hands of 16-year-old Russian Andreeva on Rod Laver Arena.
“It was probably my best match,” said Andreeva, who still has to find time for school work along with her training.
“The first set I didn’t expect that I would play this good. The second set was also not bad. It was an amazing match. I’m super happy with the level that I showed today on the court.”
Brazilian 10th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia had little trouble in her second-round encounter with a talented teen, easing past another 16-year-old Russian, Alina Korneeva, 6-1 6-2.
Reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka puts her title on the line against a third 16-year-old in Czech Brenda Fruhvirtova in the evening session on Rod Laver Arena.
The wet weather prevented the start of play on the outer courts for more than three hours but the more high-profile matches continued under closed roofs on the showcourts.
Sinner was delighted that the inclement weather forced the roof of Margaret Court Arena to be closed for his match against Jesper de Jong.
The fourth seed, who skipped all the warm-up tournaments this year, hit a rich vein of form at the end of last season on indoor courts and dominated the Dutch qualifier 6-2 6-2 6-2.
“Roof closed, it’s a little bit different. I love the conditions,” Sinner said.
“I played really well. I served good, returned also well, so it was a good match today. Now let’s see what’s coming in the next round.”
The rain finally relented and the roof was back open for U.S. Open champion Gauff’s second-round clash with fellow American Caroline Dolehide.
Initially it looked like the women’s fourth seed would follow Sinner’s lead but Dolehide dragged her into a real scrap and Gauff was forced to fight until her fourth match point to prevail 7-6(2) 6-2.
“It was a tough match. She’s a tough opponent. She plays big, pretty much, on every shot,” said Gauff.
“Not my best tennis, but a lot of improvement to look at for the next matches.”
The 19-year-old will next play another compatriot in Alycia Parks, who beat former U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 7-5 6-4 in one of the first matches completed on the outside courts.
‘REVENGE FOR AUSTRALIA’ On a good day for the United States, Amanda Anisimova continued to belie her ranking of 442nd in the world with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Nadia Podoroska
Men’s 12th seed Taylor Fritz made light work of Hugo Gaston 6-0 6-3 6-1 and Ben Shelton outfought Australian Chris O’Connell 6-4 6-1 3-6 7-6(5).
Alex de Minaur’s recent form has some in Australia thinking the 10th seed might just be the man to end the country’s 48-year wait for a home champion on the men’s side.
Australia’s recent Davis Cup final loss to Italy was on the 24-year-old’s mind during his 6-3 6-0 6-3 win over Matteo Arnaldi.
“It’s no secret that it was heartbreaking to lose the Davis Cup final at the end of last year,” he said. “Today was a little bit of revenge for Australia.”
Qualifier Storm Hunter, world number one in doubles, gave local fans more to cheer when she beat Laura Siegemund 6-4 3-6 6-3 to continue her fairytale run at her home Grand Slam.
Alexei Popyrin might be hard pushed to give Australia another winner when he takes on 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the final match of the day.
Ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova had a scare in the first round but an easier passage in the second with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 win over Tamara Korpatsch.
Caroline Wozniacki also fell victim to a young Russian in qualifier Maria Timofeeva, going out 1-6 6-4 6-1 on John Cain Arena.
“It definitely sucks and it’s disappointing. I felt like this was my match to win, and I didn’t,” said the 2018 Australian Open champion.
Wozniacki’s exit follows that of Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka in the first round, leaving the tournament without any of the trio of mothers and former champions who returned to the Grand Slam this year.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
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