Australian Open: No fans as Nadal, 3 U.S. women eye 4th Rd

Posted February 12, 2021 6:00 am

The Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - A quick look at the Australian Open:

LOOKAHEAD TO SATURDAY

There will be no spectators allowed on site for Day 6 of the Australian Open as a lockdown imposed by the Victoria state government begins because of new COVID-19 cases in the area. Rafael Nadal continues his attempt for a men's-record 21st Grand Slam singles title when he takes on Cameron Norrie, while three American women will attempt to join Serena Williams in the fourth round. Shelby Rogers will play No. 21 Anett Kontaveit, No. 22 Jennifer Brady takes on qualifier Kaja Juvan and Jessica Pegula faces Kristina Mladenovic. Kaia Kanepi, who beat defending champion Sofia Kenin in the second round, plays Donna Vekic, while top-ranked Ash Barty plays Ekaterina Alexandrova. Men's matches include Australia's Alex De Minaur against the volatile Fabio Fognini, who got into a heated exchange with fellow Italian Salvatore Caruso after a five-set win on Thursday and had to be separated by a tournament official. No. 4 Daniil Medvedev, No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 7 Andrey Rublev all are also in action Saturday.

SATURDAY'S FORECAST

Mostly sunny, high of 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit)

FRIDAY'S WEATHER

Mostly sunny, high of 25 Celsius (77 Fahrenheit).

FRIDAY'S KEY RESULTS

Women's Third Round: No. 3 Naomi Osaka beat No. 27 Ons Jabeur 6-3, 6-2; No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka beat Ann Li 6-3, 6-1; No. 10 Serena Williams beat Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (5), 6-2; No. 14 GarbiÃ±e Muguruza beat Zarina Diyas 6-1, 6-1; No. 19 Marketa Vondrousova beat Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-4

Men's Third Round: No. 6 Alexander Zverev beat No. 32 Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3, 6-1; No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov beat No. 15 Pablo Carreno 6-0, 1-0 retired.

STAT OF THE DAY

5 - Double-faults in one game by Potapova while serving for the first set against Williams.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

'œIt's not ideal. It's been really fun to have the crowd back, especially here.'ť - Williams on spectators being banned at the Australian Open for at least the next five days.

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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

United States' Shelby Rogers makes a backhand return to Serbia's Olga Danilovic during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021.(AP Photo/Andy Brownbill) The Associated Press

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