MELBOURNE: Carlos Alcaraz withstood a barrage of big hitting from a familiar foe in Yannick Hanfmann in the Australian Open second round on Wednesday, with fellow top seed Aryna Sabalenka also enduring some shaky moments before sealing progress.

Alexander Zverev’s advance was stalled by rain showers, an injury scare and feisty Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the evening session, but the men’s third seed — well beaten in last year’s final by Jannik Sinner — prevailed in four sets to safely reach the third round.

His equivalent in the women’s draw, Coco Gauff, earlier made short work of Olga Danilovic, while in-form seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and eighth seed Mirra Andreeva also romped through their contests.

Three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev needed four sets to keep his Grand Slam dream on track at a cooler Melbourne Park after days of hot weather.

After a comfortable win in the opening round, Alcaraz was given more of a workout by hard-hitting Germany’s world number 102 Hanfmann on a sunbathed Rod Laver Arena but rose to the challenge and moved on 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-2, setting up a showdown with France’s Corentin Moutet.

“To be honest, it was tougher than I thought at the beginning,” said Alcaraz, who already has six major titles but has never gone past the last eight in Melbourne. “I didn’t feel the ball that good. You know, the ball was coming as a bomb, forehand and backhand.”

The 22-year-old found himself trailing 3-1 in the first set and after getting back on level terms wasted several chances to break Hanfmann’s huge serve again.

The six-time major winner pounced in the tiebreak to wrap up a physically draining opening set in 78 minutes, however, and carried that momentum into the second set.

Hanfmann received medical treatment before the start of the third and Alcaraz showed no mercy, sealing a double break and closing out the contest on serve.

If Alcaraz does win the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam of all four majors, he would be the youngest man to do so, surpassing compatriot Rafael Nadal, who was 24 when he achieved that feat.

Sabalenka’s issues in the opener on the main showcourt came out of the blue, the Belarusian racing to a 5-0 lead against China’s Bai Zhu­ox­uan before losing three games in a row.

The world number one refocused and proceeded to mow down Bai the rest of the way, running out a 6-3, 6-1 winner to stay on track for her third title at Melbourne Park.

“She didn’t start well, but then she had the strength to step in and to change couple of things and, to put me under pressure. That was really impressive,” Sabalenka said.

Sabalenka, who is bidding for a third Australian Open title in four years, set up a clash next with Russian-born Anastasia Potapova, now representing Austria, who dispatched 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.

American title contender Gauff was at her ruthlessly efficient best as she crushed Danilovic, who ended Venus Williams’s tournament in round one.

The two-time major winner took just 78 minutes to race home 6-2, 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena. It set up a showdown next against fellow American Hailey Baptiste, ranked 70, who downed home hope Storm Hunter in straight sets.

“Near perfect,” said Gauff, whose best performance in Melbourne was a semi-final in 2024.

Ukrainian 12th seed Elina Svitolina, Turkish prospect Zeynep Sonmez and in-form Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko also won on day four, all sweeping past their opponents in straight sets.

Andreeva, the 18-year-old Russian sensation, underlined her talent with an impressive 6-0, 6-4 victory over Maria Sakkari of Greece, while the evening rain meant Italian Paolini had to swap courts to complete her 6-2, 6-3 demolition of Magdalena Frech.

Zverev had to wait through a half-hour rain delay and concern over a sore left ankle before beating Alexandre Muller 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. He was leading the fourth set 2-1 and serving at 15-0 when he had to halt the match and sit in a courtside chair for treatment.

“I took a painkiller and it was fine after that,” said the 28-year-old German, who faces Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the third round.

That match aside, ticket holders for the evening session were treated to an Australian-heavy lineup, the highlight for locals being sixth seed Alex de Minaur’s 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 win over Hamad Medjedovic.

The Australian number one, who has never been past the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam, struggled early on against the tricky Serbian but turned the match with a break for 4-2 in the second set after four deuces and next faces Frances Tiafoe, who beat Francisco Comesana 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Medvedev also surrendered the opening set to Quentin Halys but dug deep to register a 6-7 (9/11). 6-3. 6-4. 6-2 victory. “It was a very tough match, happy I managed to fight,” said the Russian, who faces Fabian Marozsan of Hungary next.

Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the 14th seed, won the first two sets but then had to struggle to beat big-serving American Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.

American Tommy Paul, Argentine duo Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Etcheverry, 10th seed Alexander Bublik and Russian Andrey Rublev also safely negotiated the second round.

While Russian flags are banned at Melbourne Park as part of measures imposed by Tennis Australia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, there were plenty of Turkish flags waving in the stands as Sonmez continued her dream run Down Under.

The 23-year-old, who has become a crowd favourite after helping a ball kid who fainted on the opening day, beat Anna Bondar 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round for the first time.

“I felt like I was at home, basically I was feeling the energy. It was really unreal,” Sonmez said of the support she received. “I really, really appreciate it. I felt very good on the court. I felt like we were all playing together.”

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2026