Anastasia Potapova and Aryna Sabalenka Set for Australian Open Third Round Showdown

MELBOURNE, Australia -- World No. 55 Anastasia Potapova has secured the next upset in the 2026 Australian Open, defeating No. 28 seed Emma Raducanu 7-6 (3), 6-2 Wednesday afternoon. The win sets up a third-round showdown with two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who advanced through to the last 32 in 1 hour and 12 minutes in a 6-3, 6-1 over Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan. Australian Open: Scores | Draws | Order of play A third meeting on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz now awaits between Sabalenka and Potapova, who most recently played in Rome last year. Both players were tested in their respective second-round matches Wednesday, but eventually prevailed in straight sets. How was the World No. 1 tested and what was going through her head? When Sabalenka raced through the first five games against Bai in 15 minutes, she looked as though she'd score a seventh consecutive win to start 2026 with ease. But after the match time doubled in the next three games -- all of which went to World No. 702 Bai, who found her footing inside Rod Laver Arena and left Sabalenka frustrated with impressive rally tolerance and variety -- the top seed found herself flummoxed. "She really stepped up in the first set, and for a minute, I was like, 'What should I do? She's crushing it,'" Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "I'm so happy that I was able to close that set. I think it gave me a little more confidence that my game was there ... I'm super happy with the win. "There are always things to improve, but I'm happy that I didn't lose that game and I was focused. I was trying to tell myself, 'One at a time, it's OK, it's going to come back, you're OK, keep fighting, keep trying,' and I'm glad I did it well." Serving at another deuce in the ninth game, Sabalenka hammered down an unreturnable serve to earn a seventh set point, cracked another to win the set, and eventually cruised through to the last 32 in 1 hour and 12 minutes, 6-3, 6-1. Despite hitting 14 of her 21 unforced errors across the first nine games, she finished the victory with 24 winners. What does Sabalenka's win mean? Sabalenka is now through to the third round of the Australian Open for the sixth year in a row. In addition to her 7-0 record to start 2026, she is also now 7-0 in second-round matches in Melbourne. She continues to win the matches she should, too. She hasn't lost to a player outside the Top 100 in more than three years -- last losing such a match to former Top 20 player Kaia Kanepi at the 2022 US Open. And it's a guarantee that she won't see that streak end in the next round. How did Potapova defeat Raducanu? Initially, it seemed Raducanu was on her way to taking the first set. With a pair of forehand winners by Raducanu and a couple of Potapova unforced errors, she sprinted to a 4-2 first set lead, and Potapova dropped her racquet and looked her coach’s corner in frustration. That’s when it all changed for the Austrian. After trading holds, Potapova trailed 5-3, but managed to set up double break point in the tenth game -- she displayed stellar court coverage after a Raducanu drop shot and hit a forehand winner, one of 25 Wednesday. "I didn't do anything different the whole match," Potapova said. "I felt like we both struggled a little bit on serve, because it was not easy conditions to play. The wind was going around, and the ball was always going away from you. It's not easy, and even though I went 5-3 down, I felt like I can still fight back, and that's what I did." The first set ultimately went to a tiebreak, where Potapova hit a pair of forehand winners and Raducanu had four unforced errors to give the Austrian to first set win. Potapova carried that first-set win into the second, getting two breaks and a hold for a 3-0 lead that propelled Potapova for victory. Potapova advances to the third round of a major for the sixth time, but first since the 2024 US Open -- and first under the Austrian flag, having switched nationalities during the off-season. She becomes the first Austrian player to reach the third round of a Grand Slam in 12 years -- since Yvonne Meusburger at the 2014 Australian Open. Previewing the Sabalenka, Potapova showdown Interestingly, Potapova has been playing with a fractured left finger, affecting her backhand. She isn't going to have a procedure, but rather let it heal on its own. Her ability to cover the court, hit winners on the run and play at the net has made the finger a non-issue. "Every time that we played before, I learned something new after the match, so I really kind of looking forward for the match," Potapova said. "I have nothing to lose. I'm in third round. I tried my best. I have a broken finger. I'm still enjoying tennis. Yeah, will just try to go there and make the best out of it." In the previous two meetings, Sabalenka's handled them with ease -- a 6-2, 6-2 win in Rome last year and 6-1, 6-2 win in Stuttgart in 2023. However, this will be third first hard-court meeting. Sabalenka's power will be a different test than what Potapova has faced as the Austrian looks to advance to Round of 16 for the first time ever at the Australian Open. Sabalenka made it known she's not thinking about previous matches against any of her opponents. "I always say, I never focus on the past," Sabalenka said to press. "Doesn't matter what the head-to-head looks like. It's always a new match, always a new battle. Every player is getting better, improving." Svitolina, Shnaider set for first-career meeting Elina Svitolina also continued her hot start to the 2026 season with a second-round 7-5, 6-1 win over Linda Klimovicova. The Ukrainian remains undefeated this year after her title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. She'll face another new opponent in Diana Shnaider in the third round, and is the first guaranteed seeded match of the tournament. No. 23 seed Shnaider saved three match points against Australian wild card Talia Gibson in a comeback 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win. "Thank God it was on my serve," Shnaider said. "I just try to go for my serve and then just rally, but don't be, like, too defensive, because obviously she's a big hitter. If would slow it down a little bit, be a little bit more defensive, she would step in and just rip it. "I just tried to be, you know, play safe, but at the same time, also aggressive so I didn't give her a lot of opportunity." Sonmez back in third round at a Grand Slam After upsetting No. 11 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round, Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez won her second-round match against Anna Bondar 6-2, 6-4 with an enormous amount of Turkish support in the crowd. She's now in the third-round for the second time at a Grand Slam, and will face Yulia Putintseva. Last year at Wimbledon, she became the first Turkish player to reach the final 32 at a Slam. "In Wimbledon when I was playing third round, it was similar to this, but I think today...I felt like I never experienced something like this," Sonmez said. "In Wimbledon also there were many people, and my first round here, too, there were many people. But today, I have never experienced something like this."