Top seeds stay on track as Gauff, Sabalenka advance in Melbourne

Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka moved into the third round of the Australian Open with commanding performances that underlined their status as two of the tournament’s leading contenders.

Gauff, seeded third, produced one of her cleanest displays to dispatch Serbia’s Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena. The American immediately established her authority by winning the first five games of the match before overcoming a loss of serve to seal the first set. She maintained the pressure in the second set, backing up an early break to move 3–0 ahead before serving her way to win against the player who had defeated Venus Williams in the previous round.

The victory marked a notable step up from her opening-round outing, with Gauff cutting down significantly on errors and serving with greater assurance. She will now face compatriot Hailey Baptiste for a place in the last 16.

World No. 1 Sabalenka was equally emphatic at Rod Laver Arena, overpowering China’s Bai Zhuoxuan 6-3 6-1 to continue her flawless start to the season. The Belarusian imposed herself immediately, using her trademark power to build an early advantage. While Bai briefly disrupted Sabalenka’s rhythm with variety and persistence in the first set, the top seed ultimately asserted her authority and eased through the second.

Sabalenka’s win further extended an extraordinary run of form at Melbourne Park, where she has dominated opponents over the past several years. Already a two-time Australian Open champion, the Belarusian is chasing another deep run as she looks to add to her growing Grand Slam collection. In the next round, she will meet Anastasia Potapova, who eliminated former US Open champion Emma Raducanu earlier in the day.

All top 10 seeds remain in the draw through day four, with some yet to complete their second-round matches. Also on Wednesday, eighth seed Mirra Andreeva dismantled Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-4 in 68 minutes, while Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini overcame a challenging opponent, multiple rain delays and a change of venue to defeat Magdalena Frech 6-2 6-2 in a second-round match that finished late at the Australian Open.