Victoria Mboko from Toronto secured her spot in the third round of the Australian Open women’s singles in Melbourne by defeating American Caty McNally with a score of 6-4, 6-3. The 17th-seeded Canadian is set to face off against the 14th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark in the upcoming round. Tauson managed to clinch a victory over Polina Kudermetova of Uzbekistan in a challenging match that lasted one hour and 53 minutes.
Mboko, who swiftly defeated McNally in just one hour and 32 minutes, showcased an impressive performance with an ace, 15 winners, 24 unforced errors, and two double faults. In comparison, McNally had no aces, 14 winners, 27 unforced errors, and six double faults. Mboko dominated by winning six out of nine service games and five out of nine return games.
In the women’s doubles category, Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa partnered with Luisa Stefani from Brazil to defeat the American duo of Jessica Pegula and McCartney Kessler with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (3). Dabrowski and Stefani will now face Elsa Jacquemot from France and Emiliana Arango from Colombia in the next round.
Another noteworthy match saw Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, and her partner Timea Babos from Hungary facing a defeat against the team of Cristina Bucsa from Moldova and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez in a competitive match lasting two hours and four minutes.
In other matches, top-seeded players like Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the third round of the Australian Open. The day witnessed a record-breaking crowd attendance of 103,720 fans, setting a new full-day attendance record for the tournament.
Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, started the day with a commanding win over Bai Zhouxuan, while Coco Gauff and Alexander Zverev also progressed to the next round with impressive performances. Local favorite Alex de Minaur also secured a victory in his match against Hamad Medjedovic.
Looking ahead, day five of the Australian Open promises exciting matchups, including Novak Djokovic facing Francesco Maestrelli and defending champion Jannik Sinner taking on Australia’s James Duckworth in the prime time night slot on Rod Laver Arena. Naomi Osaka is scheduled for a night match against Sorana Cirstea.