Rafael Nadal cruised into the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, while Caroline Wozniacki and Grigor Dimitrov pulled off great escapes to stay in contention.

Nadal’s quest for a 17th Grand Slam crown was never threatened by Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer, who took him to a third set tiebreak before being swatted aside 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).

The world No 1, showing no signs of the troublesome knee that bothered him late last season and interrupted his Melbourne lead-up, next plays Bosnian 28th seed Damir Dzumhur.

The best match of the day was on centre court between Dimitrov and American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald. The Bulgarian needed to call on all his experience to down the 186th-ranked player 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 8-6.

The Big News

Dimitrov survives scare

Dimitrov, who is ranked only below Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, drew on all his experience to avoid his first defeat to a qualifier at a Grand Slam.

McDonald attacked the third seed’s one-handed backhand, limiting him to only five winners in the marathon match. He also restricted Dimitrov to just 28% of second service points with the Bulgarian committing nine double faults.

McDonald, 22, was making only his second appearance at a Grand Slam after his debut at the 2016 US Open.

Kostyuk’s youngest reach a Slam’s third round since Hingis

Fifteen-year-old sensation Marta Kostyuk’s fairytale continued Wednesday as she beat local wildcard Olivia Rogowska to reach the third round of the Australian Open.

The 6-3, 7-5 win took the Ukrainian teenager’s win streak at Melbourne Park to an incredible 11 straight matches after winning the Australian Open girls’ title in 2017 and coming through qualifying this year.

Rafa pummels Mayer en route to round 3

Rafael Nadal powered into the third round in ominous form following his straight sets victory over Leonardo Mayer.

The world No.1 only dropped serve once as he reeled off a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over the 52nd-ranked Argentine in 2hr 38 min on Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal will face Bosnia-Herzegovina’s 28th seed Damir Dzumhur in the third round.

Tsonga prevails over Shapovalov in a nail-biter

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fought back to vanquish rising Canadian star Denis Shapovalov in a five-set thriller.

The 15th seed looked dead and buried trailing 2-5 in the final set before 18-year-old Shapovalov faltered and the experienced Frenchman seized the initiative.

Tsonga stormed into the third round after a 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 win in 3hr 37min on Margaret Court Arena and will face either Australian 17th seed Nick Kyrgios or Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in the third round.

Wozniacki survives a tense three-setter

World No 2 Caroline Wozniacki produced a great escape against little-known Croat Jana Fett, saving two match points and rallying from 5-1 down in an epic third set to keep her dream of a first Grand Slam title alive.

She looked out for the count, and was struggling afterwards to work out how she survived 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 against a player ranked 119.

Shot of the day

From the sidelines

Stop with the grunts, please

Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka’s screeching got so grating in her Australian Open clash with local hope Ashleigh Barty late Tuesday that the irritated centre court crowd began mocking the 19-year-old. Herald Sun carried an online poll asking its readers if the grunting had gone too far in the match and over 90% of the respondents said yes.

Source: hearldsun.com.au

Snake for Svitolina, Goffin gets a koala

You won’t find a lot of koalas in Belgium. And, there aren’t many David Goffins in Australia. So, here’s what happened when the two met.

Looks like Elina Svitolina didn’t find her animal as cute as Goffin’s koala. The snake, however, seemed to enjoy the world No 4’s company.

Tough loss but high praise for Shapovalov

In perhaps the best of men’s singles matches today, Denis Shapovalov went down in five sets to veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Canadian teen went down 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 in searing heat. He, however, looked at the defeat as “an opportunity to learn”. Among those who felt bad for Shapovalov’s loss was the legendary Rod Laver.

Kostyuk’s mom after her record-breaking win: “Leave the phone, eat well”

Like most 15-year-olds, Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk is never far from her mobile phone.

So one of her first thoughts was to check all her congratulatory messages after becoming the youngest player to reach the third round since Martina Hingis in 1996.

“Well I take the phone, and I had to eat at the same time,” she told reporters.

“My mum told me leave the phone and eat properly. “I was quite hungry – and at the same time I had to check!”

“Once I entered WhatsApp, I had to put (down) the phone, and I think, ‘no’. I didn’t still reply to a lot of people.”

Quotable quotes

“That was crazy, I don’t how I got back the in the match.”

–Caroline Wozniacki reeled off 10 points in a row from two match points down to ignite a stunning comeback win against world No 119 Jana Fett.

“Well, I heard a lot of times that I’m talented, and I know that, but I know that only talent will not help me to play good.”

–Fifteen-year-old Marta Kostyuk after becoming the youngest player to reach the Australian Open third round in over a decade.

“I would suggest to everyone to try to win in three. That would be the easiest solution.”

–Dennis Shapovalov’s reply when asked if Grand Slam matches should be best-of-three.

“One sport is bigger not only when the top guys wins a lot of money. Is bigger when a sport creates a lot of jobs. If there is 300 people living from tennis is better than if there is only 100.”

–Rafael Nadal weighs on the recent debate about the alleged fight for more prize money.

With inputs from AFP