MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — LOOKAHEAD TO THURSDAY
Andy Murray tries to back up his first-round victory over Matteo Berrettini by winning again and earning a trip to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2017. The 35-year-old Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion and a five-time runner-up at Melbourne Park. He now faces Thanasi Kokkinakis after playing Berrettini for more than 4 1/2 hours in the first round. Kokkinakis didn't complete his first-round match until Wednesday, because it was halted by rain when Kokkinakis was five points from victory on Tuesday. Novak Djokovic is also in action in the second round as he continues his quest for a record-extending 10th Australian Open title and 22nd Grand Slam trophy overall. That would tie the men’s record currently held by Rafael Nadal, who lost in the second round Wednesday after hurting his hip. The most intriguing women’s match on Thursday’s schedule pits WTA Finals champion and No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia against 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.
THURSDAY’S FORECAST
Cloudy. High of 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius).
WEDNESDAY’S KEY RESULTS
Women’s First Round: Varvara Gracheva beat No. 8 Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-1.
Women’s Second Round: No. 1 Iga Swiatek beat Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-3; No. 3 Jessica Pegula beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 7-6 (5); No. 6 Maria Sakkari beat Diana Shnaider 3-6, 7-5, 6-3; No. 7 Coco Gauff beat Emma Raducanu 6-3, 7-6 (4); No. 10 Madison Keys beat Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2; Anhelina Kalinina beat No. 15 Petra Kvitova 7-5, 6-4; No. 24 Victoria Azarenka beat Nadia Podoroska 6-1, 6-0.
Men’s Second Round: Mackenzie McDonald beat No. 1 Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 7-5; No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Rinky Hijikata 6-3, 6-0, 6-2; No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Alex Molcan 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; No. 7 Daniil Medvedev beat John Millman 7-5, 6-2, 6-2; No. 15 Jannik Sinner beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; No. 16 Frances Tiafoe beat Shang Juncheng 6-4, 6-4, 6-1; No. 29 Sebastian Korda beat Yosuke Watanuki 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.
STAT OF THE DAY
70 — Number of shots in a point won by Jason Kubler during his 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 loss to No. 18 Karen Khachanov. The point lasted about 1 1/2 minutes and ended when Kubler hit a backhand that clipped the net tape and landed on Khachanov's side of the court. It allowed Kubler to break Khachanov and make it 5-all in the second set.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Before, I wasn’t really up to beating a guy like that or even believing I could. Today I believed it more and showed that. I was on a mission more than on a vacation.” — Mackenzie McDonald, after beating Rafael Nadal in the second round. The other time they played, at the 2020 French Open, Nadal won 6-1, 6-0, 6-3.
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