MELBOURNE, Australia — Maria Sharapova recovered from the longest, hottest match of her career to beat Alize Cornet 6-1, 7-6 (6) on Friday and reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Maria Sharapova recovered from the longest, hottest match of her career to beat Alize Cornet 6-1, 7-6 (6) on Friday and reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Her third-round match was played in high humidity but in temperatures of about 72 F, considerably cooler than the scorching 108 F conditions she endured for 3 hours, 28 minutes in her second-round win over Karin Knapp two days previously. That preceded the first match suspensions under the tournament’s Extreme Heat Policy in five years.
Again, though, Sharapova struggled to close out. She took 50 minutes between her first and last match points against Knapp, and needed almost a half-hour to finish off Cornet — she missed a match point with a wayward backhand on the Frenchwoman’s serve and then got broken twice while trying to serve out.
In the next match on Rod Laver Arena, Roger Federer — after a detour to Hisense Arena in the second round — had a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over Teymuraz Gabashvili.
He is seeded sixth after a year in which he didn’t reach a Grand Slam final for the first time since 2002. His wife, Mirka, and their twin daughters were in the arena watching against Gabashvili. The couple is expecting another child later in the year, something Federer sees as a good omen.
“The last time (Mirka) was pregnant I played fairly well, won the French and Wimbledon!” he said, in reference to 2009. “So lots of pressure there.”
Federer will next meet either 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 18 Gilles Simon
Former No. 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic had a 6-4, 7-5 win over Kurumi Nara, her third consecutive victory over a Japanese player, to set up a fourth-round match against No. 11 Simona Halep, who advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 over qualifier Zarina Diyas. Fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska had a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
No. 13 Sloane Stephens, who had an upset win over Serena Williams in the quarterfinals here last year, reached the fourth round at a fifth consecutive major with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. She will play either two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka or Yvonne Meusburger in the next round.