Krejcikova in fourth round
French Open champion rallies from a set down
French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova rallied from a set and a break down against No. 26seeded Jelena Ostapenko to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 and advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time.
The fourth-seeded Krejcikova will next play two-time Australian champion Victoria Azarenka, who ousted 15thseeded Elina Svitolina 6-0, 6-2.
In other results on Day 5, fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari beat No. 28 Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1 to move into a fourthround match against American Jessica Pegula, who beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Azarenka is into the fourth round for the first time since 2016 after overpowering Svitolina.
Azarenka accumulated nearly twice as many winners, 17, as unforced errors, nine, and never faced a break point. Svitolina
made mistake after mistake, 26 unforced errors in all.
Azarenka improved to 5-0 against Svitolina.
The 24th-seeded Azarenka won the title at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013, and she also has been the runner-up at the U.S. Open three times, most recently in 2020.
Judges reveal reasons
Three Australian Federal Court judges on Thursday revealed their reasons
for backing a government order to deport tennis star Novak Djokovic, explaining they did not consider the “merits or wisdom of the decision.”
The judges on Sunday unanimously endorsed Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision to deport the 34-year-old Serb following an urgent court challenge on the eve of what was to be Djokovic’s first match in defense of his Australian Open title. Djokovic accepted
the verdict and flew from Melbourne to the United Arab Emirates hours later.
Chief Justice James Allsop and Justices James Besanko and David O’callaghan on Thursday released a 27-page explanation of why they rejected Djokovic’s challenge.
“The court does not consider the merits or wisdom of the decision,” the judges said. “The task of the court is to rule upon the lawfulness or legality of the decision.”