Second round singles action concludes on Thursday in Melbourne.
For the second in as many rounds, Iga Swiatek draws a recent Australian Open finalist. After overcoming 2020 champion Sofa Kenin in the first round, she takes on 2022 runner-up Danielle Collins on Thursday. Many other WTA Major champions will also play their second round matches, including Elena Rybakina, Jelena Ostapenko, and Victoria Azarenka.
Day 5 also sees ATP Major champs Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev in action. Plus, 2023 semifinalist Tommy Paul takes on promising young Brit Jack Draper. And Grigor Dimitrov squares off against Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis, who survived a fifth-set tiebreak on Tuesday.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Danielle Collins – 12:00pm on Rod Laver Arena
Swiatek was thoroughly tested in the first set against Kenin on Tuesday, before comfortably securing the second. She is now 16-5 lifetime at the Australian Open, where she reached the semifinals two years ago. Iga is 15-0 in her last 15 second round matches at Majors.
In her opening round, Collins outlasted three-time Slam champ Angelique Kerber in a competitive three-setter. A finalist here two years ago, Danielle now faces a four-time Slam champ, who is the player she defeated in the semis that year.
However, that victory is the only one Collins possesses over Swiatek. The World No.1 has claimed their other four encounters. Three of those came in 2023, all on hard courts, and in two of them, Danielle only managed to win one game. On Thursday, Iga is the favorite to avenge her loss here from two years ago, as her all-court game is more diverse than that of Danielle’s.
Tommy Paul (14) vs. Jack Draper – Second on Kia Arena
Paul achieved a career best performance at a Major here a year ago, advancing to the semifinals in an open part of the draw. He accumulated 46 match wins throughout 2023 at all levels, though he went 0-3 in finals. In his first time defending so many points, Tommy started off well on Tuesday, taking out Gregoire Berrere in straight sets.
Draper played a much longer match on Tuesday, requiring five sets to eliminate another American, Marcos Giron. The 22-year-old Brit was suffering in the heat, and had to rush through the end-of-match handshake to run to the trash can on the side of the court and vomit. Jack battled multiple injuries last year, but has been in strong form the last few months, reaching three tournament finals, including just last week in Adelaide.
And it was just last week when Draper defeated Paul in straight sets at that very tournament. It was also a year before in the same city where the same result occurred: a straight-set victory for Jack. With his big lefty serve, and with his body near 100% health, Draper should be favored to upset last year’s semifinalist.
Jelena Ostapenko (13) vs. Ajla Tomljanovic – Not Before 7:00pm on John Cain Arena
To say these two don’t like each other would be an understatement. Three years ago at Wimbledon, Tomljanovic was up 4-0 in the third set, when Ostapenko took a medical timeout for an abdominal injury. Jelena doesn’t have the greatest reputation when it comes to gamesmanship, so Ajla protested to the chair umpire, saying “You know she’s lying.” Tomjanovic would still prevail, but the two traded barbs at the net, as well as in press afterwards. Ostapenko said she has “zero respect” for Tomljanovic, while Ajla described Jelena’s behavior as “disgraceful.”
Ostapenko has claimed their other two meetings, in 2021 and 2022 respectively. And she’s definitely the more in-form player today. Jelena is 8-1 to begin the year, and is coming off a title run last week in Adelaide. She comfortably won her opening match this week in straight sets.
By contrast, Tomljanovic missed almost all of 2023 due to injury, and is 2-3 to start this season. She required nearly three hours to defeat Petra Martic in the opening round. All this makes Ostapenko a considerable favorite in this contentious second round matchup.
Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Daniil Medvedev (3) – Last on Rod Laver Arena
Medvedev dropped the first set on Monday to French qualifier Terence Atmane, who was eventually forced to retire in the fourth due to cramping. Daniil was the runner-up here in both 2021 and 2022, with losses to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in those finals. He hasn’t lost a second round match at a Major since this tournament six years ago.
Ruusuvuori also dropped his first set in the opening round, yet advanced in four. The 24-year-old is a good hard court player, and achieved his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal last Match in Miami. However, he is yet to advance beyond the second round at a Major, where he is now 0-7.
Medvedev has taken both of their prior matches in straight sets. And without possessing any weapons that can really threaten Daniil, it would be quite surprising if Emil can pull off the upset on Thursday night.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Sloane Stephens vs. Daria Kasatkina (14) – Kasatkina needed three sets in her opening round to defeat another American, Peyton Stearns. Stephens was a semifinalist here back in 2013, but coming into this fortnight had lost in the first round here in seven of her last eight appearances. Sloane is 3-1 against Daria, but their only hard court meeting went to Dasha.
Elena Rybakina (3) vs. Anna Blinkova – Rybakina outhit Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday evening. Blinkova has never advanced beyond the second round of this event, though she’s 1-0 against Rybakina, having defeated her seven years ago.
Holger Rune (8) vs. Arthur Cazaux (WC) – Rune didn’t play his best on Tuesday, yet played well enough to take out Yoshihito Nishioka in four. Cazaux is a 21-year-old Frenchman who earned his first win at a Major in the last round, defeating Laslo Djere in five.
Lorenzo Sonego vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Alcaraz comfortably dispatched of Richard Gasquet in his opening match. Sonego came from a set down to eliminate Dan Evans. Three years ago in Cincinnati, Lorenzo defeated Carlitos in their only prior encounter.
Clara Tauson vs. Victoria Azarenka (18) – Azarenka overcame Camila Giorgi in the first round. She is 1-0 against Tauson, a talented 21-year-old who reached the third round here in her only previous appearance.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
