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Swiatek powers into Raducanu clash as Fritz fires Melbourne warning
Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round showdown with Emma Raducanu in the Australian Open on Thursday while Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title.
Later on day five in Melbourne, men's defending champion Jannik Sinner and last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev will both be in action.
Medvedev is looking to avoid becoming the third top-10 player to be knocked out by a teenager when he faces Learner Tien, 19, of the United States.
Another rising star in Joao Fonseca, 18, faces unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
Women's second seed Swiatek raced past world number 49 Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 while Britain's Raducanu reached the third round for the first time in Melbourne by beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5.
"I felt really solid today and it was a really efficient game," said Poland's Swiatek.
Her victory sets up a high-profile clash against the 2021 US Open winner for a place in the last 16.
Raducanu, seeking to climb up the rankings after an injury-hit 2024, said she was looking forward to the challenge of playing against the five-time Grand Slam champion.
"It will be a very good match for me. It's an opportunity to test my game, see where I'm at," she said.
Elena Rybakina, the sixth seed and former Wimbledon champion, powered past American wildcard Iva Jovic in straight sets.
Emma Navarro, the eighth seed from the United States, will face Ons Jabeur next after battling through three sets to beat China's 108th-ranked Wang Xiyu.
The Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia's Camila Osorio.
"Very, very tough to breathe," she said, adding that she may not have continued if she had lost the first set.
Fourth seed Jasmine Paolini faces Renata Zarazua of Mexico to round off the night on Rod Laver Arena.
- Fired-up Fritz -
Fritz scorched through to a third-round clash against Gael Monfils with another emphatic win and has dropped just eight games in the tournament so far.
The American fourth seed was untouchable on Margaret Court Arena, swatting aside Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 in 82 minutes.
Fritz only gave up five games to blitz past Jenson Brooksby in the first round and has spent barely three hours on court.
"Always feels great to come out and play a match like that," said Fritz, last year's US Open finalist and yet to drop serve in his pursuit of a first major crown.
"I played well in my first round too so I'll be high on confidence going into the third round."
Australia's main hope Alex de Minaur dismantled American Tristan Boyer in straight sets.
Italian world number one Sinner won his first-round clash in straight sets and will hope for another quick victory when he takes on Australian wildcard Tristan Schoolkate.
By contrast, Russian firebrand Medvedev seems to like winning the hard way.
Four of his seven matches in Melbourne went the full distance a year ago, including his defeat in the final to Sinner.
And he needed another marathon to beat the 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej on Tuesday in the first Grand Slam of the year.
Fifth seed Medvedev was 3-5 behind and on the brink of going two sets to one down against the Thai player when he saw red, slamming his racquet into the net camera repeatedly until they were both in bits.
S.Abato--INP
