Kenin's title defence crumbles

With an irresistible combination of power, depth and general weight of shot, Kanepi dismantles error-prone world No.4

In yet another example of her giant-killing capabilities, Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi hit defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin off the court in straight sets on Thursday to reach the third round.

Kanepi dismantled the errorprone world No.4 6-3 6-2 in the biggest shock of the women’s tournament so far.

On paper, it was a mismatch, pitting a Grand Slam champion against the world No.65 at MCA.

Kenin walked off the court crying after a 6-2 6-2 loss last week in a tuneup event at the site of the Australian Open and explained afterward that her left leg was sore.

With serves topping 175 kph (110 mph), Kanepi saved all seven break points she faced. And she wound up with a 22-10 edge in winners.

Her departure meant three of the top nine seeded women already were gone before midway through Day 4 at a Grand Slam tournament where routines have been disrupted by the pandemic, joining No. 8

Bianca Andreescu (the 2019 US Open champion) and No. 9 Petra Kvitova (a two-time Wimbledon winner) on the sidelines.

Serena Williams remains the last woman to successfully defend a Grand Slam title, at Wimbledon .

Top-ranked Ash Barty did manage to avoid a surprise Thursday, but she blew a big lead in the second set and survived a shaky tiebreaker to get past Daria Gavrilova 6-1 7-6 (7).

Barty is trying to become the first Australian to win the women's title at Melbourne since Chris O'Neil in 1978.

Feliciano Lopez, at 39 the oldest player in the men's draw, edged No. 31 Lorenzo Sonego 5-7 3-6 6-3 75 6-4. Lopez is appearing at his 75th consecutive Grand Slam singles event, a men's record.

Nadal advances to third round

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal on Thursday progressed to the third roundafter securing a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Michael Mmoh.

Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas was pushed all the way by No. 267ranked Australian wild-card entry Thanasi Kokkinakis in a 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-1 6-7 (5) 6-4 win that delayed the night program on Rod Laver Arena. Tsitsipas will next play Mikael Ymer, who beat 17-year-old Spanish qualifier Carlos Alcaraz in the second round.

Also advancing were No. 9 Matteo Berrettini and Mackenzie McDonald, who beat 22nd-seeded Borna Coric 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-4.

Rogers reached the third round at the Australian Open for the first time by beating Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-3. Rogers, 28, came into the tournament with a career record of 1-4 in Melbourne, but her ranking and fortunes have been on the rise of late.

Pliskova, seeded sixth, advanced by beating American Danielle Collins 7-5 6-2. In an all-American match, No. 22 Jennifer Brady beat Madison

Brengle 6-1 6-2.