Australian Open 2026: Gauff and Sabalenka Dominate to Reach Third Round

A "near perfect" Coco Gauff and world number one Aryna Sabalenka both blasted their way into the Australian Open third round with efficient victories. French Open champion Gauff needed just 77 minutes to sweep aside Serbia's Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-2. Two-time winner Sabalenka spent even less time on court, overpowering China's Bai Zhuoxuan 6-3 6-1 in 72 minutes. The top 10 women's seeds all remain in the tournament on day four in Melbourne, with Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva playing later on Wednesday. Danilovic ended American legend Venus Williams' Australian Open singles campaign in the first round but was no match for two-time major singles champion Gauff on Margaret Court Arena. Gauff 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 did not relent from there, consolidating a break for a 3-0 lead in set two before serving her way to victory - and a third-round meeting against fellow American Hailey Baptiste. Gauff hit 14 winners and made 17 unforced errors against Danilovic, with just one double fault. It was a significant improvement on her opening match, in which she was hampered by seven double faults and 31 unforced errors. "Near perfect," was how Gauff summarised her performance afterwards.