Key events
Off we go on Laver, De Minaur serving in the first game of set three, and he quickly records a love hold. Medjedovic might’ve benefitted from the break because the match, though level, was getting away from him, but having now lost five games on the trot, he badly needs to serve out this next one.
On Laver, our players are back out and warming up. That’s not the case elsewhere, but it won’t be long.
My aged C crashes – there’s one for the Great Expectations firm – but we’re back now and not too far away from a resumption.
The clean-up operation is under way, which tells us the rain has stopped. I guess we’ll be under way again in around 15 minutes, confirmation to come when I get it.
Zverev has broken Muller in set three to lead 1-1 4-2; Paolini leads Frech 4-1; Tiafoe and Comesana are level at 2-2; and Muchova leads Parks 4-2 in the third.
They don’t think it’ll be a long delay, but it is coming down heavily for the now, so let’s go around the courts.
Back with Norrie, he and Nava are palying a fourth-set tiebreak, during which I fully expect him to dial in again. He secures a mini-break for 4-3, but no sooner has he punched the air, three points from victory, then the rain starts hammering down.
I wonder how Demon’s feeling in himself. His interview after losing to Musetti at the ATP finals was hard to watch, and a perfect encapsulation of the agony of being brilliant but not brilliant enough.
But then he beat Taylor Fritz, granting himself perspective.
Only to lose to Sinner, as he always does. I remember Andy Murray saying that after losing the 2012 Wimbledon final to Roger Federer, he had to process the prospect of never winning a major, not easily done. In the event, he then won Olympic gold and the US Open, but that route doesn’t look open for De Minaur, who doesn’t have the weapons to beat the more powerful men on the biggest stages.
De Minaur endorses his break then races to 0-40 and three set points, caressing a glorious return down the line from way outside the tramlines. Again, though, Medjedovic’s serve gets him out of some trouble, but at 30-40, he hooks a forehand wide and we’re level at a set apiece.
Moving around the courts, Zverev has just broken Muller to lead 1-1 3-1; Paolini leads Frech 2-1 on serve; Norrie leads Nava 6-1 7-6 4-6 5-4, on serve; Muchova leads Parks 3-1 in the third; and Comesana has won the first game against Tiafoe.
De Minaur raises a further break point, but Medjedovic’s forehand is a shot, and he unleashes it to restore deuce … only to net one when next down advantage. The crowd goes wild and he leads 7-6 2-4, but is this the beginning of the end?
De Minaur hasn’t had much in the way of opportunity so far, but Medjedovic gets involved in aggro with his box notching breaking opportunity of his own, serving in the next game, a double takes him down 0-40. So he responds with a second-serve ace, then a second-serve service-winner, then a huge serve and clean-up volley. That’s outstanding behaviour, but Demon restores deuce in what might be a pivotal game: if Medjedovic sees it out, he’s here for the long haul, but if he doesn’t, it might be a turning point.
Terrific hitting from Muller, serving at 3-6 5-4, saves break-back point, and from there he closes out the set! That’s six games out of seven, and the no 3 seed is in a match.
Muchova has got herself going, coming back from behind to force a decider against Parks, and she leads 2-0 in the third, while Norrie has just spurned a breaking opportunity – and he’s had a few this set – up 2-1 3-3 against Nava,
Next on Laver: Francis Tiafoe (29) v Francisco Comesana. I’m not, though, going to watch that one; I’m moving Medjedovic 7-6 1-2 De Minaur to my main screen, taking Zverev back from phone to laptop, replacing it with Frech v Paolini.
i said earlier that Zverev had taken over against Muller, up a set and a break. Well, Muller now leads 5-3 i the second, the match done changed.
Andreeva is happy. When she saw the draw, she though “Wow!”, two really good and aggressive players, but it helps that she didn’t have time to ease into the tournament and had to be focused from the start.
She likes the pressure of having won Adelaide and though conditions are windier in Melbourne, she’s in match rhythm, which is good.
Her relationship with Conchita Martinez, her coach, is so much fun – Martinez knows she’s got a gem, and seems to be doing a really good job of balancing elite-sport seriousness with teenage frivolity.
Mirra Andreeva (8) beats Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-4
Two serious opponents, two wins. Andreeva has been far from perfect, and on this form she doesn’t look ready to contest the final stages, but she’s into round three where she’ll meet Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Andreeva makes it to 40-30, and here comes match point…
Alexander Bublik (10) beats Martón Fucsovics 7-5 6-4 7-5
Not that long ago, Bublik was down a break in set three but, as we keep saying, it’s taken a while but he’s a serious pro now. Next for him comes Etcheverry.
Back on Laver, Andreeva shows her mettle, forcing a break, and well though Sakkari has contested the second set, she must now break at 0-6 4-5 to stay in the tournament.
And have a look! A serve out wide, then a viciously top-spinning forehand into the opposite corner and, as we flagged at the start, Medjedovic is a nasty opponent. He leads De Minaur 7-6(5), the no 6 seed in a proper match.
A double, though – his first of the set, on set point, and the first sign of pressure – botches the first, then a long backhand the second. It’s very serious out there, all the more so when a return down the line but wide leaves him with one more go, on serve.
Medjedovic races to a 4-2 lead against De Minaur … and it’s soon 5-2, then a return looped long means four set points.
Norrie puts him under pressure, but Nava serves out to take the third set; the Brit leads 6-1 7-6 4-6. Elsewhere, Muchova has taken over on 1573, her command of angles meaning she’s up 5-2 and within a game of forcing a decider against Parks. And on Court, we’ve got ourselves a ball-game, Sakkari springing into life after losing the first set 6-0; it’s 4-3 to her, on serve, in the second.
Demon has to plough through deuce, noising up the crowd when he makes advantage and celebrating like he’s won the whole thing, but he gets to 6-6 and a first-set breaker; I can’t wait to watch this because it’s seriously intense out there. So much so that Zverev v Muller os getting lozzed from laptop to phone, with this contest moving in the opposite direction. What an honour! Such validation!
Norrie holds for 4-5 in the third, forcing Nava to serve for the set, while Zverev has taken total control against Muller, up 6-3 2-0, On Laver, Medjedovic is playing really nicely, his ability to vary spin and pace causing Demon all sorts of grief; he leads 6-5 in the first.
Now then! Suddenly Sakkari is hitting it, wellying from the back in dominant style to break Andreeva back, and to love. Suddenly, her feet are moving, she’s getting to the ball early, and belatedly we might be getting the match for which he’d hoped.
Painful cheers in the crowd as Sakkari holds against Andreeva; at 0-6 1-2, she’s on the board, but that metaphorical pat on the head will be stinging something fierce.
Zverev breaks Muller a second time to secure a 6-3 first set; Medjedovic leads De Minaur 5-4; Andreeva consolidates for 6-0 2-0; Norrie’s focus has again slipped, so he leads Nava 2-0 but trails 2-4; Bublik leads Fucsovics 2-0 but rtrails 5-2; Muchova has just broken Parks to trail 4-6 2-1; and Linette leads Li 6-3 4-0.
Sure enough, Andreeva breaks in game one of set two, Sakkari’s fight now to escape the indignity of a double bagel – or beigel.
Andreeva is having her way with Sakkari, serving out for a bagel set. Sakkari is capable of much better than this, but it’ll take something significant for her to reverse or even slow her opponent’s momentum.
Elsewhere, there were straightforward progressions for Sabalenka, Gauff, Alcaraz and Rublev, likewise Svitolina and Medvedev, while in young tyro news, Mboko and Baptiste both moved on, Tien too, but Fery lost in three to Etcheverry.
Muller bangs a forehand line, and it’s long, meaning two break points to Zverev … and he takes the first, loping in to respond to a drop and sending a backhand down the line and into the corner. He leads 4-3 in the first while, back on Court 7, we’re on serve at 2-1 in the third, Norrie up on Nava by two sets to love.
Sakkari just can’t get anything going, broken a third time for 0-5. Andreeva has her ditzy, teenage persona, but make no mistake: she’s a ruthless, remorseless killer, in the best possible way.
On Laver – and I know Demon is Aussie, but Andreeva v Sakkari surely belongs on the main court – he and Medjedovic are 2-2 in set one, while Muller leads Zverev 3-2 on serve and Andreeva holds through a long game for 4-0 against Sakkari. Oh, and Parks has taken the first set off Muchova, 6-4, likewise Linette against Li, 6-3.
Bublik is all business these days – only the big two won more titles than him last season – and he now leads Fucsovics 7-5 6-4, despite coming dressed as Mendieta-era Middlesbrough.
Quiz question: where is this game?
Andreeva is all over Sakkari, uo 3-0 having seized a second break. Her first-round match with Vekic, a far better player than a no 8 seed would reasonably expect to face in round one, has got her nicely grooved, though it revealed forehand weakness – that flank was targeted by her wily opponent – and the first set will soon be hers.
Norrie is doing his thing again, upping it when he needs to for another mini-break and 6-2. I wonder if it’s a cognitive thing, because it’s not like he wasn’t trying his best when struggling earlier in the set, so it’s not an effort thing, but I guess focusing for hours at a time is hard if not impossible and there’s a kind of locked-in version that intensifies as the match does … and, as I type, he serves out to lead Nava 6-1 7-6(3) having saved two set points not that long ago.
Obviously Zverev finds an ace to restore deuce – he may be resigned to his fate of never winning a slam, but his serve remains one of the best shots in the game, and from there, he ends a long hold. And back with the breaker, Norrie has a mini-break and a 3-2 lead.
Meantime, Andreeva breaks Sakkari immediately for 1-0 in the first; Muchova and Parks are 3-3 in the first; Bublik leads Fucsovics 7-5 3-4 on serve; Muller leads Zverev 1-0 and has break point in game two; and Medjedovic is serving in the first game against De Minaur.
At 6-1 5-6, Norrie finds himself serving down set point, and a protracted rally doth ensue, featuring fearsome hitting from the back, until a backhand unloaded down the line is good enough for deuce. Then, on advantage, Norrie punishes down an ace, and we’ll now play a tiebreak.
Maria Sakkari has previously been as high as no 3 in the world. And though she’s also one of those players whose ranking you could never quite believe – see Kournikova, A – she’s made the semis of two majors and now, aged 30, properly knows her way around a tennis court
We’re almost ready to go on Laver and Court, so time to decide what to watch. I’m going to start with Sakari v Andreeva alongside Norrie on my main screen, then I’ll put Demon on another and Zverev v Muller on the fourth.
Again, Norrie raises break point … and this time he converts. He leads 6-1 4-5, and again, as looked the case in round one against Bonzi, it may get close, but he’s got enough class to do whatever the necessary turns out to be.
Now Nava saves two break points before holding for 1-6 5-2, but I don’t suppose it’s surprising seeing Norrie struggle given he’s come to work in his little pyjama suit.
Nava has just broken Norrie to trail 1-6 4-2, while Bublik has taken the first set against Fucsovics, leading 7-5 -1 on serve.
Preamble
G’day and welcome to the Australian Open 2026 – day four!
There’s an absolutely indecent quantity of glorious tennis ready to enrich our working day. The pick of the night matches on our show courts features Maria Sakkari against Mirra Andreeva, a second tough assignment for the most precocious tenniser in the world, but don’t be surprised if the wily Hamed Medjedvoci gives Alex de Minaur more trouble than seems likely.
Otherwise, Cameron Norrie leads Emilio Nava, Francis Tiafoe meets Francisco Comesana and Iva Jovic meets Priscilla Hon while, on the outside courts, we’ve plenty to keep ourselves compelled, including Alexander Bublik v Marton Fucsovics and Alexander Zverev v Alexandre Muller – the latter was superb in round one, beating Alexei Popyrin in five – along with a tricky one for Jasmine Paolini, who faces Magdalena Frech, while Karolina Muchova, a longtime favourite of this blog – and with good reason – takes on Adele Parks.
In the words of the worst chant and exhortation in sport, let’s go!
