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MELBOURNE, Australia – Coco Gough has yet to lose a match or even a set at the Australian Open – or, indeed, this season. She advanced to the fourth round with a straight-sets 6–4, 6–2 win over 2021 US Open runner-up Laila Fernandez at Melbourne Park.
While there have been plenty of surprises in the men’s bracket so far, most of the top women have progressed through the draw without any problems. That included wins over two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Australia, No. 3 Goff, No. 11 Paula Badosa and No. 14 Mira Andriva.
However, No. 7 seed Jessica Pegula was defeated by world No. 55 Olga Danilovich in straight sets.
The Serbian player hit 28 winners and saved the six break points he faced as he defeated the US Open runner-up 7-6 (3), 6-1. It was Danilović’s third career win against a top ten player.
Two-time champion Naomi Osaka of Australia pulled out with a strained stomach muscle after dropping the first set of her match against Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic.
Men’s winners in third-round action included No. 2 Alexander Zverev, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 7 Novak Djokovic, No. 12 Tommy Paul and No. 15 Jack Draper. Djokovic – who has won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open – overcame some midmatch breathing difficulties to see off No. 26 Tomas Machak 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on the night.
“I think I played really well,” Djokovic said. “I’m very happy with my game.”
Alejandro Davidovic Fokina had a much tougher path, coming back from two sets down for the second straight match to save two match points to beat 19-year-old Jakub Mencic 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-2. Davidovich Fokina became the first man since 2005 to win back-to-back in Australia from 0-2 down.
“All these years I have had many ups and downs,” said Davydovich Fokina. “I decided this year to fight on every point.”
Alcaraz’s next opponent will be No. 15 Jack Draper.
A year ago, 2023 US Open champion Goff had her best run in Melbourne, reaching the semifinals before losing against Sabalenka, who extended her winning streak at the tournament to 17 matches with a 7-6 (5), 6 win over Clara Towson. 4.
Like Goff, Sabalenka is undefeated through early 2025. They may meet in the semi-finals this time as well.
Goff needed just 75 minutes to surpass the 30th-seeded left-hander Fernandez. Goff was broken just once and compiled an 18-7 advantage in total winners.
It was Gough’s second recent victory against Fernandez after defeating him in the United Cup team competition. It’s part of Goff’s 8-0 record so far this season, 16-0 in sets.
That made it “difficult,” Goff said, “because he knows what to expect, and I definitely think he played a little different today.”
That prompted Goff to change things up, as he seeks his second major championship. After being somewhat disappointed with her Grand Slam performance in 2024, she tweeted to her coaching staff and tweaked her serve and forehand mechanics a bit — even if the season ended with a WTA Finals title.
“Tennis feels so high stakes, but it really isn’t. I’m very lucky to do what I do — get paid to do it,” said Goff, 20, from Florida.
“The biggest thing I learned last year was not to take anything for granted,” Goff said, “and I realized this time is going by way too fast. … I’m just trying to enjoy it while I’m here. “
Neither Sabalenka nor Towson have served that well at Rod Laver Arena. Maybe it was the sun. Maybe it was the wind. Maybe it was the slow court conditions.
The first seven games of the match were all breaks, and Tauson held first, leading 5-3. But then Sabalenka started to go.
“I’m very happy that I was able to push myself,” Sabalenka said. “I told myself, ‘Well, girl, you’re tough.’ Many times, I thought I was done.”
Next up is a matchup with 17-year-old Andreeva, who won 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 against No. 23 Magdalena Frech. Badosa just beat No. 17 Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 and 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 27th seed, beat Laura Sigmund 6-1, 6-2. Siegmund took a big step forward after defeating No. 5 Qinwen Zheng, who was runner-up to Sabalenka in Australia last January and won gold in her last match at the Paris Olympics in August.
Alcaraz dropped a set for the first time this week but defeated Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2, Zverev 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and Jacob Fearnley. Paul defeated Robert Karbeles Bena 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-0. Draper defeated Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) to set up a fourth-round meeting with Alcaraz.
