Radwanska stunned by Croatian veteran

Croatian 34-year-old Mirjana LucicBaroni last night beat third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round of the Australian Open, her best performance at the tournament in 19 years.

“It’s amazing. Oh my God, it’s been so long since I won a match or two. Well, this is the first time ever in Australia,” she said. “As I’m getting older, it seems I’m getting better.”

Lucic-Baroni tends to play well against the top players at the Slams — she’s also beaten Simona Halep at the French Open and US Open in recent years.

Lucic-Baroni won the 1998 Australian Open doubles title with Martina Hingis at the age of 15.

She also made the 1999 Wimbledon singles semifinals before quitting the sport for several years.

“I was a little baby back then,” she said of her early success. “Now, I can be maybe more relaxed. I said to myself [last night] on the court, don’t worry, be happy.”

Third-seeded Milos Raonic ended one streak and continued another with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) over Gilles Muller yesterday to reach the third round at the Australian Open.

Raonic, who reached the semifinals in Melbourne last year and the final at Wimbledon, had lost both previous matches to Muller, including one when he retired with an injured hip in the second round at Wimbledon in 2012.

The Canadian’s victory yesterday maintained his record of reaching the third round at least all seven years he has contested the Australian Open.

The 33-year-old Muller entered the season’s first major after capturing his first tour-level title in Sydney last week.

Raonic was unable to defend his Brisbane title in the first week of the season but is finding rhythm quickly in Melbourne — he fired 21 aces, hit 56 winners and had only 15 unforced errors against Muller. He left the court complaining of a sore throat and will get a day off before his next match against No 25 Gilles Simon.

No 15 Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Raonic in the semifinals before winning the Brisbane International this month, moved into the third round with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Chung Hye-on. Dimitrov will next play No 18 Richard Gasquet. No 32 Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Donald Young 7-5, 6-3, 6-0.

Former world No 3 David Ferrer, who has missed the quarter-finals only once in the previous six years at Melbourne Park, recovered to beat US qualifier Ernesto Escobedo 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and set up a third-round match against fellow Spaniard and 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova and No 9 Johanna Konta carried their winning form from warm-up tournaments into the third round of the season’s first major.

Brisbane International winner Pliskova beat Anna Blinkova 6-0, 6-2 in 59 minutes, and has dropped just four games en route to the third round.

“It’s always good to be in the zone,” said fifth-seeded Pliskova. “It can always be a bit better. I’m feeling pretty good on the court, confident.” — AP