Maria Sharapova announced her second comeback Thursday night at the Australian Open with a stunning third-round win over reigning champion Caroline Wozniacki. Sharapova beat the No. 3 seed 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in an impressive performance to move up to the Round of 16. Sharapova's best finish since returning from her suspension has been a quarterfinal appearance at last year's French Open. With a showdown looming against Ashleigh Barty, she may get a chance to match that finish.
On the men's side, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were able to advance with more sweeps. Federer topped Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5, 6-2; whereas Nadal was able to beat Alex De Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Neither player has lost a set to this point at Melbourne, and between their level of play and Novak Djokovic's, we could be on a collision course to see a Big 3 semifinal.
Sloane Stephens earned herself a tough sweep over Petra Martic, notching a pair of sets won in seven games to take the match 7-6, 7-6. Angelique Kerber is continuing to play like a woman on a mission, as she picked up a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kimberly Burrell, who never established momentum throughout the match.
Stefanos Tsitsipas won a four-set match against Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. Tsitsipas won behind a dominant serve that netted him 18 aces, and though he took only three break points throughout the match it proved to be enough. Frances Tiafoe survived against Andreas Seppi to take a five-set win 6-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a match in which he showed some impressive grit.Grigor Dimitrov swept Thomas Fabbiano, and Marin Cilic put together a remarkable comeback to reverse sweep Fernando Verdasco.
Here are the full scores from Melbourne for Thursday night and Friday morning.
Men's singles results
- No. 2 Rafael Nadal defeats No. 27 Alex De Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
- No. 3 Roger Federer defeats Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5, 6-2
- No. 6 Marin Cilic defeats No. 26 Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-3
- No. 22 Roberto Bautista Agut defeats No. 10 Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
- No. 14 Stefanos Tsitsipas defeats No. 19 Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
- Tomas Berdych defeats No. 18 Diego Schwartzman 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
- No. 20 Grigor Dimitrov defeats Thomas Fabbiano 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
- Frances Tiafoe defeats Andreas Seppi 6-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Women's singles results
- No. 2 Angelique Kerber defeats Kimberly Burrell 6-1, 6-0
- No. 30 Maria Sharapova defeats No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
- No. 5 Sloane Stephens defeats No. 31 Petra Martic 7-6, 7-6
- No. 8 Petra Kvitova defeats Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-4
- Amanda Anismova defeats No. 11 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2
- No. 15 Ashleight Barty defeats Maria Sakkarin 7-5, 6-1
- Danielle Collins defeats No. 19 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeats Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-0, 6-3
