World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner roared back on Thursday to advance to the third round of the Australian Open as Iga Swiatek staged a showdown with Emma Raducanu.

Taylor Fritz was a clear winner in his quest for his first major title, but the exciting 18-year-old Joao Fonseca was edged out in a five-set thriller.

Daniil Medvedev, beaten by Sinner in last year’s Melbourne final, will face 19-year-old Learner Tien of the USA in a later match.

Sinner lost a set for the first time in 14 games when he lost the first set to Australian wildcard Tristan Schoolkate.

But after a slow start, he regained control and edged past the world number 173 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 at the cool and airy Rod Laver Arena.

It was Sinner’s 16th win in a row, an ominous sign for his next opponent Marcos Giron.

“It’s always difficult playing against someone I don’t know very well. He played much better than me at the beginning,” said the 23-year-old Italian, who also won the US Open last year.

“I have to be very happy with my performance and never take things for granted. I’m very happy to be in the next round.”

“I can improve, yes, but I’ll get there.”

Fritz defeated Gael Monfils with a brutal punch in the third round and has only lost eight games in the tournament so far.

The fourth-seeded American was untouchable at Margaret Court Arena, defeating Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 in 82 minutes.

Fritz dropped just five games to get past Jenson Brooksby in the first round and barely spent three hours on the court.

“It always feels great to play a match like this,” said Fritz, last year’s US Open finalist who has yet to give up his serve on his way to a first Grand Slam title.

The hugely talented Fonseca was recommended for the top spot by Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, who said he saw shadows of himself in the Brazilian.

But after beating ninth seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the first round, the teenager lost to Lorenzo Sonego, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 prevailed. 3 to disappoint the loud Brazilian fans.

Sonego’s reward is a duel against Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, who also defeated 17th seed Frances Tiafoe in five sets.

Australia’s best hope Alex de Minaur defeated American Tristan Boyer in three sets and number 13 seed Holger Rune battled past Matteo Berrettini in four sets.

– Ruthless Swiatek –

Swiatek saw off world number 49 Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2, while Britain’s Raducanu reached the third round for the first time at Melbourne Park by beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5 defeated.

“Well, it will be a difficult question for sure,” said world number two Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion but never a Melbourne champion, as she sized up Raducanu.

“Emma can play great tennis. We all know that.”

Raducanu is trying to climb the rankings after an injury-hit 2024 and return to the form that brought her a surprise US Open title as a qualifier in 2021.

“It will be a very good game for me,” said the 22-year-old.

“It’s an opportunity to test my game and see where I’m at.”

Elena Rybakina, the sixth seed and former Wimbledon champion, beat American wildcard Iva Jovic in straight sets.

Emma Navarro, the American No. 8 seed, will next face Ons Jabeur after defeating China’s 108th-seeded Wang Xiyu in three sets.

Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur suffered an asthma attack during her 7-5, 6-3 win over Colombia’s Camila Osorio.

“Very, very hard to breathe,” she said, adding that she might not have continued if she had lost the first set.

Jasmine Paolini, seeded fourth, will face Renata Zarazua from Mexico in the final phase.

Djokovic, Alcaraz and women’s number one and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka are all playing in a blockbuster on Friday.

This also applies to Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, who are on a collision course and will meet in the next round if they both win.

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