MELBOURNE: Spain's Rafael Nadal was at his dominant best against Pablo Carreno Busta on Saturday, brushing aside his compatriot 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to move into the fourth round at the Australian Open. Top seed Nadal has not been beaten by a fellow countryman since losing to Fernando Verdasco at Melbourne Park in 2016 and extended his winning streak against Spanish players to 18 matches with his win over 30th-ranked Carreno Busta. Nadal, bidding for a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title, faced no breakpoints and struck 42 winners to just seven unforced errors in the one hour and 38-minute contest on Rod Laver Arena.
Kerber marches on
Angelique Kerber moved into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3 win over Camila Giorgi, extending her unbeaten record against the Italian to 5-0. The German 17th seed, who won the title in 2016, was barely troubled in the first set as the erratic Giorgi served up eight double faults and 20 unforced errors. However, Giorgi cut out the misfires and dialed in her groundstrokes in the second set, striking a forehand winner in the tie-break to level the match. Kerber upped her game in the third set against her 102nd-ranked opponent, breaking the Italian to go up 5-3 before serving out the victory in two hours and eight minutes.
Pavlyuchenkova beats Pliskova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova secured her first career victory in seven attempts over world number two Karolina Pliskova as the Australian Open lost another high seed in the third round.
Russian Pavlyuchenkova battled to a 7-6(4), 7-6(3) win over the second-seeded Czech, who joined defending champion Naomi Osaka and 23-times Grand Slam winner Serena Williams in making third-round exits.
Pavlyuchenkova had a 4-1 lead in the first set and a 2-0 lead in the second before being taken to tiebreaks but won the key points to clinch victory in two hours, 25 minutes. She will next meet three-times Grand Slam champion, Angelique Kerber, in the fourth round.
Halep cruises into the fourth round
Romanian player Simona Halep advanced to the fourth round with a comprehensive win over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. Halep won the third-round clash in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. The 2019 Wimbledon Champion showed excellent skills and clinched the first game in just 29 minutes. The second set saw Halep and Putintseva break one another before the former took control, sealing the match as a drop shots from the Kazakh fell into the net.
Rublev continues winning streak
Russian Andrey Rublev extended his winning streak to 11-0 for the season after coming back from a set and a break down to defeat 11th seed David Goffin of Belgium 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(5) in the third round. The lanky 22-year-old arrived in Melbourne having won titles in Doha and Adelaide at the start of the season while he also won all four singles matches he contested at the season-ending Davis Cup Finals in November.
Rublev, currently at his career-high ranking of 16, had not lost a Tour-level match since Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat him in the first round at the Paris Masters in October.
Bencic thrashes Kontaveit
Sixth seed Belinda Bencic's hopes of exploiting a string of upsets at the Australian Open lasted exactly 49 minutes on Saturday, just long enough for a ruthless Anett Kontaveit to administer a 6-0, 6-1 third-round thrashing at Melbourne Park.
Stress-free Zverev cruises past Verdasco
Seventh seed Alexander Zverev credited a stress-free life off the court for his strong run at the Australian Open after marching into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco. Zverev arrived in Melbourne lacking confidence after losing all three of his singles matches at the inaugural ATP Cup to Australia's Alex de Minaur, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Canada's Denis Shapovalov.
Fourth seed Russian Daniil Medvedev reached the next round as he beat Alexei Popyrin of Australia 6-4 6-3 6-2. Fifth seed Dominic Thiem of Austria beat Taylor Fritz 6-2 6-4 6-7 6-4 to reach the fourth round.
Fifteen seed Stanislas Wawrinka moved after John Isner of US retired when the Swiss opponent was leading 6-4 4-1. Tenth seed Goel Monfils beat Ernest Gulbis 7-6 6-4 6-3. In the women’s section, Iga Swiatek beat Donna Vekic 7-5 6-3. Agencies