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Australian Open Day Four: Teen Sensation Mboko and Rublev Triumph

The Straits Times
January 21, 20261 day ago
HIGHLIGHTS-Tennis-Australian Open day four

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At the Australian Open, top seed Aryna Sabalenka and 13th seed Andrey Rublev advanced. Canadian teen Victoria Mboko made a comeback win. Australian hopefuls Talia Gibson and Storm Hunter were eliminated. Elina Svitolina was the first to reach the third round. Play began with matches across main courts.

Jan 21 - Highlights of the fourth day at the Australian Open on Wednesday (times GMT): 0400 GMT - TEEN SENSATION MBOKO ADVANCES Canadian teen Victoria Mboko defeated American Caty McNally 6-4 6-3 to advance. Trailing 3-0 in the second set, 19-year-old Mboko won six games in a row to complete the comeback. 0330 GMT - RUBLEV BEATS FARIA Russian 13th seed Andrey Rublev overcame issues with his serve to defeat Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-4 6-3 4-6 7-5 to advance to the next round. READ MORE Tennis-Top seed Sabalenka sees off Bai to progress to third round Short shift for Sinner, Keys through as Osaka makes bold Melbourne statement Osaka opens 'jellyfish season' with stylish win at Australian Open Ukraine's Oliynykova finds joy in Grand Slam debut despite first-round loss Injury-hit Monfils bows out of final Australian Open with guns blazing 0225 GMT - EXITS FOR HOME HOPES GIBSON, HUNTER Australian wildcard Talia Gibson had three match points but could not finish 23rd seed Diana Shnaider off, the 21-year-old losing 3-6 7-5 6-3. Gibson's compatriot Storm Hunter was also eliminated after losing 6-2 6-1 to Hailey Baptiste. 0155 GMT - SABALENKA BLAZES PAST BAI World number one Aryna Sabalenka cruised to a 6-3 6-1 win over China's Bai Zhuoxuan to reach the third round. 0145 GMT - SONMEZ, CERUNDOLO ADVANCE Turkish 23-year-old Zeynep Sonmez, who emerged as a crowd favourite after helping a ball girl on day one, defeated Hungarian Anna Bondar 6-2 6-4 to progress to the third round. In the men's draw, 18th seed Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina beat Damir Dzumhur 6-3 6-2 6-1. 0130 GMT - SVITOLINA WINS IN STRAIGHT SETS Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, the 12th seed, cruised past Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova 7-5 6-1 to become the first player through to the third round. 0000 GMT - PLAY STARTS ON THE MAIN SHOWCOURTS Play started on the main showcourts at Melbourne Park with Ukrainian 12th seed Elina Svitolina taking on qualifier Linda Klimovicova of Poland at John Cain Arena. Women's top seed Aryna Sabalenka was due to start the day on Rod Laver Arena at 0030 against China's Bai Zhuoxuan while fiery Russian Andrey Rublev, seeded 13th, battles Jaime Faria on Margaret Court Arena, also at 0030. ORDER OF PLAY ON WEDNESDAY (Prefix number denotes seeding) ROD LAVER ARENA Day session (0030 GMT/1130 AEDT) 1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Bai Zhuoxuan (China) 1-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) v Yannick Hanfmann (Germany) Night session (0800 GMT/1900 AEDT) Hamad Medjedovic (Serbia) v 6-Alex de Minaur (Australia) Iva Jovic (U.S.) v Priscilla Hon (Australia) MARGARET COURT ARENA Day session (0030 GMT/1130 AEDT) Jaime Faria (Portugal) v 13-Andrey Rublev (Russia) 3-Coco Gauff (U.S.) v Olga Danilovic (Serbia) Night session (0800 GMT/1900 AEDT) Maria Sakkari (Greece) v 8-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) 29-Frances Tiafoe (U.S.) v Francisco Comesana (Argentina) JOHN CAIN ARENA Day session (0000 GMT/1100 AEDT) 12-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) v Linda Klimovicova (Poland) 11-Daniil Medvedev (Russia) v Quentin Halys (France) Night session (0600 GMT/1700 AEDT) Elena-Gabriela Ruse (Romania) v Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia) 3-Alexander Zverev (Germany) v Alexandre Muller (France) REUTERS

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    Australian Open Day 4 Highlights: Mboko & Rublev Advance