Novak Djokovic avoided his struggles of the first two rounds in a straight-sets win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Australian Open on Friday.
His fellow defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka, routed Lesia Tsurenko 6-0 6-0 while 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva recovered from 5-1 down in the deciding set to beat Diane Parry.
It was generally a good day for the big names, with Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas also winning.
Picture of the dayTweet of the dayRod back in his houseOutfit of the dayFallen seeds
Women: Beatriz Haddad Maia (10), Lesia Tsurenko (28)
Men: Ben Shelton (16), Sebastian Baez (26), Sebastian Korda (29), Tomas Martin Etcheverry (30)
Who’s up next?
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Britain’s final singles hope, Cameron Norrie, takes on Casper Ruud for a place in the fourth round.
Chinese players take centre stage in the day on Rod Laver Arena, with Zheng Qinwen meeting Wang Yafan before Shang Juncheng faces Carlos Alcaraz.
Iga Swiatek is first up in the night session against Czech teenager Linda Noskova, while Daniil Medvedev meets Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Gauff took a relaxed approach in China Open final
Coco Gauff said her China Open triumph over Karolina Muchova came down to being relaxed.
Gauff won 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes in Beijing to become the youngest winner of the tournament in 14 years.
The victory marked the 20-year-old's second WTA 1000 title, which makes her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals.
And Gauff explained she took a more relaxed approach in Sunday's showdown.
"I was just like, 'This match is not going to change my life.' I knew regardless of the result today, I was proud. I was able to overcome and still work on things that I've been practising on, too, and stick to it," she said.
"When you get that far, you're just happy to be in the final. I think it's just being relaxed. My first final, when I was 15, was the worst because you're like, 'I'm never going to get this opportunity again,' which is completely not true.
"The experience of winning in the past, I realise that, yes, winning is great. It feels great right now. But tomorrow I'm going to wake up and it's a different day, 70% of the world doesn't know anything about whether I won or lost, probably even more."
Gauff has now claimed three straight wins over Muchova, who is yet to beat the American.
"I lost to her three times in a row. I'll say very similar losses. It was always the latest rounds of the tournaments when I got many matches under the belt," said Muchova.
"It's very physical with her. I felt like second [best] always in the rallies."
Alcaraz passes stern Wu test to progress in Shanghai
Carlos Alcaraz held his nerve against a spirited Wu Yibing to progress to the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.
Having already beaten another of the home favourites, Shang Juncheng, in his opener, the Spaniard had to dig deep but prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes on Sunday.
There was nothing to split the two in the opening set, though Wu caused some real problems with his power, and successfully defended two break points in the ninth game.
The tie-break was also tight, but Alcaraz found his edge at the right time, winning the last three points.
Buoyed by the home crowd, Wu started the second set strongly too, but Alcaraz absorbed the pressure well and got the only break of the match in a three-game winning run.
With his winning streak extended, Alcaraz will now face either Gael Monfils or Ugo Humbert in the next round.
Data Debrief: Alcaraz marches on
Alcaraz has put his shock US Open exit firmly behind him, with this his 11th win on the bounce since then.
He coped well with the early pressure Wu threw at him, and put in another solid performance, hitting 11 aces and winning 71% of his points at the net (5/7).
Gauff races to second title of 2024 with China Open cruise
Coco Gauff claimed the China Open title in emphatic fashion on Sunday, bringing up her second WTA Tour trophy of the season.
The world number six defeated US Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes to be crowned the youngest winner of the China Open in 14 years.
Gauff swiftly broke the Czech's serve to propel herself into a 2-0 lead before going on to dominate the first set, which lasted only half-an-hour.
Muchova looked to be surmounting a comeback in the second set, breaking immediately, but Gauff fought straight back, and the American broke Muchova once more to race to victory in Beijing.
It was an impressive win against an opponent who had defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen en route to the final. Gauff played 24 winning shots but restricted the world number 49 to just 14.
It marked Gauff's second WTA 1000 title, making her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals, only older than Bianca Andreescu.
Data Debrief: Gauff a proven winner
Gauff, who was playing her 101st WTA 1000 match, is now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.
Her victory meant she became the second American player to win the women's singles title at the China Open after Serena Williams (in 2004 and 2013 since the inception of the tournament in 2004.
Gauff has now defeated Muchova in all three meetings in WTA events, previously beating her at the US Open and Cincinnati Open in 2023.
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