Australian Open glance: Sharapova vs Wozniacki in 3rd round
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A quick look at the Australian Open:
LOOKAHEAD TO FRIDAY
The most anticipated match of the day is defending champion Caroline Wozniacki against 30th-seeded but five-time Grand Slam singles winner Maria Sharapova. They haven't played since 2015, back when Sharapova finished the year ranked fourth and Wozniacki was 17th.
"Relatively speaking, on paper, if you're looking at numbers, absolutely," Sharapova said when asked if she was the underdog. "She's No. 3 in the world. I think that speaks for itself in terms of her game, her confidence, everything else." Elsewhere in the women's third round, 2016 champion Angelique Kerber plays Australian wild-card entry Kimberley Birrell and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova takes on Belinda Bencic. In men's play, second-seeded Rafael Nadal plays Australian upstart Alex de Minaur, who was born in Spain, defending champion Roger Federer plays Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe takes plays Andreas Seppi.
FRIDAY'S FORECAST
Chance of rain showers, high of 27 Celsius (81 Fahrenheit)
THURSDAY'S WEATHER
Rain delayed play for about 35 minutes on the main show courts; longer on outside courts. High temperature of 33 C (91 F).
THURSDAY'S KEY RESULTS
Men's 2nd round: No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-5, 6-4; No. 4 Alexander Zverev beat Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (5), 6-4, 5-7, 6-7 (6), 6-1; Alexei Popyrin beat No. 7 Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-4, 2-0, retired; No. 8 Kei Nishikori beat Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-6 (6), 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (7); No. 12 Fabio Fognini beat Leonardo Mayer 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (5); No. 16 Milos Raonic beat Stan Wawrinka 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-7 (11), 7-6 (5); Pierre-Hugues Herbert beat No. 24 Hyeon Chung 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Women's 2nd round: No. 1 Simona Halep beat Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4; No. 4 Naomi Osaka beat Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 6-4; No. 6 Elina Svitolina beat Viktoria Kuzmova 6-4, 6-1; No. 7 Karolina Pliskova beat Madison Brengle 4-6, 6-1, 6-0; No. 16 Serena Williams beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-2; Venus Williams beat Alize Cornet 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
STAT OF THE DAY
59 — number of aces by 39-year-old Karlovic in his loss to Nishikori
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"That's almost my one year (of) aces" — Nishikori.
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