Djokovic wins after fans exit due to lockdown
The Australian state of Victoria entered a five-day coronavirus lockdown to curb a local outbreak of the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain. The restrictions began at 8 a.m. Friday ET, right as Novak Djokovic was entering the fifth set of his thirdround Australian Open match against Taylor Fritz.
And so we were left with the peculiar sight of fans being forced to depart Rod Laver Arena during a taut match between the world's No. 1 player, who was labouring through an injury, and an up-andcoming American, before it ended.
This year's Australian Open was more or less the world's first major sporting event to allow spectators in any significant fashion, with a daily allowance of 30,000 fans, or about 50 per cent of Melbourne Park's capacity.
But the crowds didn't make it through the tournament's first week.
Djokovic, who's hoping to add to his record tally of eight Australian Open titles, was able to pull out the 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory, but appeared to injure his foot early in the third set and said afterward he didn't know if he would be able to continue in the tournament with Sunday's fourth-round match against Canadian Milos Raonic.
“I'm just hopeful that whatever is happening will feel better,” Djokovic said.
The 14th-seeded Raonic advanced with a 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Marton Fucsovics.
Meanwhile, in an all-Canadian matchup of good friends, No. 20 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime swept aside No. 11 seed Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 7-5, 6-3.
Auger-Aliassime will now face Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, who upset No. 8 seed Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Also winning were Dominic Thiem (3) and Grigor Dimitrov (18).
On the women's side, 10th-seeded Serena Williams posted a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Anastasia Potapova.
Williams, 39, is chasing Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam championships. She'll continue her quest against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the seventh seed, who breezed to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Ann Li in a 60-minute match.
Also winning were Simona Halep (2), Naomi Osaka (3) and Garbine Muguruza (14).
And in women's doubles, Canada's Sharon Fichman and partner Giuliana Olmos, as well as Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez and Heather Watson, advanced to the third round, while Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Bethanie Mattek-Sands were eliminated.