(Melbourne) Favorite Aryna Sabalenka beat Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Sabalenka is seeking a third crown in four years, at the Australian leg of the Grand Slam. Her next rival will be the young Canadian Victoria Mboko, 16^e in the world.

“I never really spoke to him. I never had the chance to interact or train with her. I saw her outside, she said of the 19-year-old Torontonian. She is a very good player and a fighter. She plays very good, aggressive tennis. »

Sabalenka led 40-0 in the 12th^e game of the first set, before having to play a tiebreaker. She took control 3-0, but lost the next three games.

The favorite snatched the set with a backhand along the line, on a second ball from her rival.

In the second set, Sabalenka blew a 4-0 lead, making the score 4-4. She once again had to win the tiebreaker.

“Anastasia was incredible,” Sabalenka said, on the field. I was always on my heels. There are days when you just have to keep fighting. It was a serious battle. »

Last year, Sabalenka was defeated in the final by Madison Keys at this tournament.

Later in the day, American Coco Gauff (No. 3) drew on her resources to come from behind and defeat her compatriot Hailey Baptiste in three sets of 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

The Czech Karolina Muchova easily corrected the Polish Magda Linette 6-1, 6-1, while the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva ended the fairy tale of the Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3.

(Melbourne) Favorite Carlos Alcaraz admitted to having lost the drop shot battle against Frenchman Corentin Moutet, despite his victory in the third round at the Australian Open tennis tournament.

Moutet varied his shots against Alcaraz on Friday at the Rod Laver Arena. His mix of drop shots, spin balls, between-the-legs shots, half-volleys, angled volleys and even a spoon serve kept the world number one on his toes.

However, Alcaraz only needed a little over two hours to eliminate his opponent, thanks to a victory in three sets of 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. The clash, however, did not prove to be a walk in the park despite the final score.

“When you face a player like Corentin, you never know what to expect,” explained Alcaraz during his on-field television interview. I really had fun on the pitch. As you could see, we both hit some great shots. Great points. »

There were tense moments, like in the second set, in which Alcaraz let a 3-0 lead slip away to trail 4-3.

As spectacular as ever, the 22-year-old Spaniard responded with some spectacular shots, which helped him keep his composure.

In the first round, Moutet (no. 32) was booed by the public for his spoon serve during a match point. This time, the Australian public gave him a much warmer welcome.

After winning a point late in the match with a perfect, deep lob in the corner, he celebrated his victory by raising his fist. When he held on during this game with a winning volley, he greeted the crowd by removing his cap.

Alcaraz will now face American Tommy Paul (No. 19), who advanced to the next round when Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (No. 14) retired while losing 6-1, 6-1.

“We had some really good battles against each other,” Alcaraz admitted. The matches are always played at a very high level. »

Earlier Friday, Daniil Medvedev (No. 11) erased a two-set deficit to defeat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3.

“After the first round, I was very angry with myself because I hadn’t done better. It cost me dearly in the second, analyzed Medvedev, winner of the 2021 US Open and three-time finalist at Melbourne Park. In the third run I had to let go and focus on what I needed to do. »

American Learner Tien (No. 25) beat Nuno Borges 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-2 to secure a meeting against Medvedev.

Zverev and De Minaur reach the eighth

World No.3 Alexander Zverev won a third match in four sets in a row to reach the round of 16, which will also be played by Australian Alex De Minaur (6^e).

In the last match of the day in the John Cain Arena, the outgoing finalist won 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 against Cameron Norrie (27^e), his seventh victory in as many duels against the Briton on the main circuit.

Triple finalist in Grand Slam, Zverev will face Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (21) on Sunday^e) for a place in the quarter-finals.

A few minutes before the German’s victory, Alex De Minaur won 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 against the American Frances Tiafoe (34^e).

The last Australian competing in the men’s draw has thus been invited for the fifth year in a row to the round of 16 of the Australian Open and will face on Sunday the Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik (10^e), or to the Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry (62^e).

Double title holder Jannik Sinner (4^e) and the ten-time winner in Melbourne Novak Djokovic (4^e) will play their third round on Saturday, respectively against the American Eliot Spizzirri (85^e) and the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (75^e).