The men’s event was lifted by several five sets matches. Three seeds managed to survive into the last 32- Shapovalov (14) defeated Kwon; Busta defeated Griekspoor and Garin defeated Martinez.
Unseeded Seb Korda also won a five setter over Moutet, 7-6 (6) in the fifth. He’s had two very different victories now this event. Wonder what round 3 will bring him- he faces Busta. That could be some match.
Upsets.
Hurkacz (10) was defeated in straights by Mannarino.
Other notable results were:
Alcaraz (31) beating the experienced Lajovic in straights. Alcaraz reaching his seeded position after his breakout US Open ’21 is a very positive sign. He can clearly handle the pressure. Would anyone be shocked if he defeated Berrettini (7) in round 3?
Meanwhile, Kecmanovic has taken good advantage of Djokovic being removed from his path- he beat Paul in straights. In the third round, he’ll face 25th seed Sonego. What is interesting for me about Kecmanovic, for reasons of nostalgia, is that’s he is coached by David Nalbandian. It’ll be fascinating to see how that pairing plays out once Kecmanovic starts going deep in draws. Is he going to be a big match player- we don’t know just yet, but the match versus Sonego could give us a glimpse.
In the women’s game, Anismova defeated Bencic (22) in straights.
Madison Keys continues her unseeded journey through the draw. I’m always tipping her to win a slam. I wonder, now that she’s going under the radar, if she’ll be able to do it here. She has Gauff’s conqueror Qiang Wang in round three and then potentially Badosa (8) in round 4.
Sorribes Tomo (32) went down in straights to the dangerous Kostyuk.
26th seed Ostapenko came back from a set down to beat Riske. Could be interesting there. The 2017 Roland Garros champ will face the 2021 one, Krejcikova, in the third round. Both were shock winners. Will they bring out the best in each other for a place in the fourth round?
I’d say things were getting more interesting at the Australian Open. It seems to be a slow burner, but going in the right direction.
Here’s to day 4!
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