Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka sizzled in the scorching Melbourne heat on day three of the Australian Open.
Williams, aiming once more for a record-equalling 24th singles grand slam, made serene progress from round two on what was the hottest day of the tournament so far.
It was a similar story for Osaka, who is aiming to become a two-time champion at Melbourne Park, but Simona Halep had to dig deep while Bianca Andreescu and Petra Kvitova were early casualties on Wednesday.
PLAIN SAILING FOR SERENA AND OSAKA
Williams' perfect start to the season extended to 5-0 as she swatted aside Nina Stojanovic 6-3 6-0 to set up a round-three meeting with Anastasia Potapova – the same opponent she overcame in Melbourne in the first round a year ago.
The seven-time Australian Open champion is looking forward to renewing acquaintances with the Russian.
"It's always a fun, interesting match [against Potapova]. I'm gonna go home, get ready and just do the best," she said.
"We're all out here to have fun and I'm happy to be out here, and just to be playing in front of crowd again is really cool. So every day is just fun."
Osaka, the current US Open champion and the winner in Melbourne two years ago, hammered former world number four Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena in the evening session.
The Japanese star is set to face her friend Ons Jabeur for the first time in an official match in round three.
"She's really funny," Osaka said of her next opponent. "I don't know if you guys watch any of her interviews. I think she is really funny and nice.
"I think the match I am going to play against her will be really difficult, but I'm looking forward to it."
HALEP SURVIVES TOMLJANOVIC TEST
In contrast to Williams and Osaka's comfortable wins, second seed Halep was taken to the brink by home favourite Ajla Tomljanovic, who won the first set and was serving for the match in the third.
However, 2018 finalist Halep broke back when trailing 5-4 in the decider and battled through with a 4-6 6-4 7-5 victory in a match that saw a combined 94 unforced errors (57 for Tomljanovic, 37 for Halep).
"I was expecting that she would play very hard and very strong. I expected it to be a difficult match, but it was more than I thought. But I'm really happy that I can smile now," Halep said.
"I was not that positive when I was talking to myself. I didn't talk about the score, I was just blaming myself, that I'm not strong enough to win against her. But in the end mentally I was maybe a bit stronger than her, and I didn't want to give up."
Last year's losing finalist Garbine Muguruza (14) was too good for Ludmilla Samsonova in a 6-3 6-1 win, while French Open champion Iga Swiatek (15) dispatched Camila Giorgi 6-2 6-4.
Aryna Sabalenka (7), Marketa Vondrousova (19) and Veronika Kudermetova (32) all made it through, but fellow seed Elena Rybakina (17) was beaten in straight sets by Fiona Ferro.
EARLY EXITS FOR ANDREESCU AND KVITOVA
Andreescu became the latest scalp for veteran Hsieh Su-Wei, who earned a commanding 6-3 6-2 victory and is now 4-3 against top-10 players in the slams since 2017.
Eighth seed Andreescu won the US Open in 2019 but missed the entirety of last year with a knee injury, while her preparation here was disrupted by spending 14 days in quarantine after her coach tested positive for coronavirus.
"After my first round, I thought I would feel more exhausted, but I felt amazing. Also, today the weather was a bit tricky. Being in the heart of quarantine I could have had those extra two weeks of like being in the heat and getting used to sweating and all of that," she said.
Next up for Hsieh is Sara Errani, who defeated Venus Williams 6-1 6-0. The veteran American rolled her ankle towards the end of the first set and, despite needing two medical timeouts, valiantly saw out the match.
Kvitova was a runner-up to Osaka in 2019 and appeared on course to recovery after dominating the second set against Sorana Cirstea.
But amid sweltering conditions, the Czech ninth seed went on to lose the decider.
"It was quite a rollercoaster, for sure," she said. "Unfortunately I couldn't take the chances to win the first set.
"I think that was really the key of the match. She really had a great day today; she played a good game. I didn't really bring the best tennis today. It's really hurting."
Osaka storms to victory in Madrid opener to end long wait for win on clay
Naomi Osaka comprehensively dispatched Greet Minnen on Tuesday to make a winning start to her Madrid Open campaign and earn a first win on clay for two years.
Japanese star Osaka triumphed 6-4 6-1 in only 79 minutes, swiftly booking a second-round clash against Liudmila Samsonova.
Osaka reached the last 32 at the WTA 1000 events on the hard courts of Indian Wells and Miami but had lost to Martina Trevisan at the first hurdle in the Open de Rouen on clay at WTA 250 level last week.
This was therefore a welcome return to form against Belgian qualifier Minnen and represented her first triumph on the surface since beating Anastasia Potapova at this tournament in 2022.
After an even start to the contest, the first set was level at 4-4. But Osaka then assumed full control, winning eight of nine games to race to victory.
Data Debrief: Osaka dominates on serve
Osaka was not broken at all in the match and allowed Minnen only one break-point opportunity across the whole contest.
She fired down eight aces to only three double faults, and won 13 of her 16 first-serve points in the second set.
Alcaraz: Stopping world's best Sinner not easy in Madrid
Carlos Alcaraz considers "dangerous" Jannik Sinner as the world's best player and the man to beat at the Madrid Open.
Sinner has won three titles in 2024, including his maiden grand slam crown at the Australian Open, and is the top seed in the Spanish capital.
Novak Djokovic is absent from the Masters 1000 tournament but will remain the top men's player regardless of how far Sinner advances.
And while the Italian's only appearance on clay this year saw him lose to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz knows full well what he is up against should the pair cross paths.
"He's dangerous. He's the best player in the world right now," Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament news conference.
"I think [some people] think his tennis doesn't suit well to the clay, but he has had results on clay as well.
"He can win every tournament he goes to, and obviously I'm fighting with him and with Novak to be world number one. I'm trying to stay there, but honestly it is going to be difficult."
World number three Alcaraz was unable to compete in Monte-Carlo, as well as the Barcelona Open, due to an arm injury.
However, the Spaniard is relishing the chance of returning to clay-court action on home soil when his pursuit of a 14th Tour-level title begins against either Arthur Rinderknech or Alexander Shevchenko on Saturday.
"For me, it's really important to be at 100 per cent here in this tournament," he said. "Playing here is so special.
"It's the tournament where a lot of family can come to watch my matches, a lot of friends as well, and for me it's really special to play in front of my home crowd as well.
"I would love to play at 100 per cent just to give them the opportunity to enjoy my tennis and give myself the chance to get a good result here."
Alcaraz is aiming to become the first player to win three successive Madrid Open crowns and is on a collision course to meet Sinner in the final.
The 20-year-old ended Sinner's winning streak with victory in their BNP Paribas Open final showdown last month, with that a rare blemish for the latter.
While Sinner has been the best male player this year, boasting a record of 25 wins to two losses, he believes there is still room for improvement.
"I don't want to put pressure on myself," he told reporters ahead of the tournament. "I'm living a very positive moment, winning a lot of matches.
"I just try to keep going like this. In my mind, I know that I can and have to improve if I want to win more.
"I am searching for new opportunities and I feel like that every tournament I play, there can be a good opportunity trying to show that my level has raised.
"Showing what I have improved and that's for sure something that I would like to do here. This is a new opportunity, new tournament and we'll see how it goes."
Arteta hails Arsenal resilience as crucial Chelsea clash looms
Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal for showing resilience during a difficult period and described his players as a "joy to work with" ahead of a crucial week in the Premier League title race.
All three title contenders – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City – are in action twice this week, with the Gunners taking on Chelsea and Tottenham in two huge London derbies.
They returned to the top of the table with Saturday's 2-0 win over injury-hit Wolves, but with City possessing a game in hand, the destination of the trophy remains out of their hands.
Following a difficult few days in which Arsenal surrendered control of the title race and exited the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Arteta was delighted with their response at Molineux.
"If you look at the amount of games we have played in the last few weeks, the type of games we have played, their effort is unquestionable and the results are something else," Arteta said.
"It's a joy to work with them, and it makes us realise we want to be involved in the big competitions, fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League with the level that it requires."
Chelsea's ambitions, meanwhile, are limited to securing qualification for either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League, with their hopes of silverware being dashed on Saturday.
They were guilty of spurning several golden opportunities in their 1-0 defeat to City at Wembley Stadium, with their wait for a first trophy under the Todd Boehly regime being extended.
Mauricio Pochettino, though, is choosing to take the positives from that game as the Blues bid to draw level with Newcastle United and Manchester United in the table on Tuesday.
"Now we need to take the positive things from the game," Pochettino said. "This group of players needs these types of moments and games.
"Now is the time to finish the season in the best way and then see how we can do better next season."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Leandro Trossard
Trossard scored in October's reverse fixture as Arsenal fought back from 2-0 down to clinch a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, and he has provided an invaluable source of goals from the left wing in recent games, with Gabriel Jesus struggling.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion man is enjoying his most prolific Premier League campaign, with nine goals, and only Bukayo Saka (14) has netted more for the Gunners this term.
Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson
Jackson missed several clear-cut chances as Chelsea failed to make the breakthrough against City at Wembley on Saturday, and he is perhaps running out of chances to show he can be the Blues' long-term solution in that number nine role.
Jackson's 10 Premier League goals this season have come from a total of 13.98 expected goals (xG), giving him an underperformance of -3.98. Only Dominic Calvert Lewin (-5.98) and Darwin Nunez (-4.1) have underperformed their underlying numbers by a greater margin.
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal have only lost one of their last eight Premier League games against Chelsea (five wins, two draws), going unbeaten through their last four against them. That is their longest such streak versus the Blues since they went 19 matches against them without defeat between 1995 and 2005.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games (four wins, four draws) and have scored multiple goals in each of their last six. However, that run could come to a halt at the Emirates, with Arsenal possessing a strong record in the biggest games this term.
City and Liverpool have already left north London defeated this season, and Arsenal have not lost back-to-back home Premier League games since April 2022. Chelsea should be competitive, but the Gunners cannot afford to miss this chance to pull clear of their rivals.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Arsenal 51%
Chelsea 22.5%
Draw 26.5%
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