Gauff beats Raducanu, advances to third round

Coco Gauff was twice a point away from being pushed to a third set by Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open but steadied herself and went on to a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory Wednesday in the first head-to-head meeting between two young stars of tennis.

“This was a long-anticipated matchup,” said the seventh-seeded Gauff, who was the runner-up to No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the French Open in June. “Basically since the draw came out.”

The 18-year-old from Florida moved into the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2020. She’s the youngest seed in the women’s field.

Raducanu, a 20-yearold who represents Britain, hasn’t made it past the second round at a Grand Slam tournament since she won the 2021 U.S. Open as a teenager. That made her the first qualifier to claim a major trophy.

Currently ranked 77th, Raducanu has been dealing with an ankle injury.

In other notable women’s action Wednesday, Swiatek beat Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-3, American Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed, beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 7-6 (5) and No. 15 Petra Kvitova fell 7-5, 6-4 to Anhelina Kalinina.

NBA: G Donovan Mitchell missed the Cavaliers’ game against the Grizzlies with a strained left groin. It’s not yet known if Mitchell will miss multiple games. He’s averaging 28.4 points per game in his first season for the Cavs . ... Suns F Cameron Johnson is expected to return from a knee injury Thursday against the Nets. Johnson was averaging 13 points per game in his first season as a starter, but he tore the meniscus in his right knee Nov. 4 and has missed more than two months.

NFL: ESPN reported that the Cowboys still plan to have Brett Maher kick in Sunday’s divisional-round game against the 49ers, but they will sign Tristan Vizcaino to the practice squad as insurance. Maher missed four extra points in Monday’s wild-card win against the Buccaneers.