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Earlier, Ash Barty booked her spot in the fourth round with a comfortable win over in-form opponent Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Recap night six of the Australian Open in our blog below, including scores and the order of play.
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DEMON DONE AS FOGNINI THWARTS FOURTH-ROUND BID
Fabio Fognini has defeated Alex de Minaur, sending the Australian packing with a comprehensive three set victory (6-4 6-3 6-4) and setting up a likely contest with Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.
De Minaur, who had been in superb form to start the season, entered as favourite despite being a lower seed (21) than Fognini (16), who he is facing for the first time.
Although questions were raised over Fognini’s fitness after a marathon five-set win in the third round, the Italian was superb from the beginning of the match, striking the ball as cleanly and consistently as he has for some time.
De Minaur, who was forced to withdraw with injury ahead of last year’s event, is still yet to make the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Speaking to media post-match, de Minaur admitted even he was struggling to believe he could win late in the match given the level Fognini was at.
“Look, it’s one of those matches that you’re out there, you’re leaving it all out there, you’re doing everything you can, but you can just feel like he’s playing at another level,” he said.
“You’re kind of just hanging in there, and, I mean, it’s tough.
“It’s good to, in a way, have these matches, because I can now sit down and see what I need to improve on. I mean, it’s a constant, constant journey of improvement, and I’m not satisfied where I am. I want to not come and make third round of a slam and be content about it.
“You know, I want to be pushing deep in slams and pushing second weeks. Look, today wasn’t the day, but I’ll have more chances and I’ll definitely learn from this.”
Although Fognini broke and had a chance to serve for the first set, a sloppy service game helped de Minaur break and level the match once again.
However it was Fognini who capitalised on his second set point to break the serve of de Minaur once more and seal the opener.
Despite his marathon five-setter, Fognini’s level didn’t drop in the second set as he broke de Minaur once again and served out the set 6-3 to put the Aussie well and truly on the ropes.
Fognini’s ball striking continued to be flawless in the third set and de Minaur was simply unable to work his way back into the set after being broken.
BARTY BROKEN, RECOVERS TO START THIRD-ROUND MATCH
Ash Barty is through to the fourth round of the Australian Open, defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-4 to book her place in the second week.
Alexandrova had been in fine form to start 2021, defeating Simona Halep and Iga Swiatek in the leadup to her Australian Open campaign, during which she hadn’t lost a set.
Barty’s path to the Australian Open final has opened up even more so than when the draw was announced, with only one other top-10 seed (Elina Svitolina) remaining in the path to the final.
Alexandrova broke serve to open the match, while Barty was once again sporting heavy strapping on her left leg.
While Alexandrova was able to consolidate the break, her next service game saw Barty pounce and level proceedings.
From then on it was all Barty, with the Channel Nine commentary team noting her slice backhand had “frightened” Alexandrova before the Aussie took the first set 6-2 in a “surgical dismantling”.
Alexandrova broke Barty early on in the second set and appeared to regain some momentum but, like in the first set, Barty quickly broke back to reassert dominance.
With the 29th seed serving at 4-5 in the second set, Barty broke serve once more to seal the win.
“It was strange. Something I’ve never experienced before,” Barty said about playing without spectators. “I didn’t want it to affect my game.
“I love hearing the sound of the ball. Made it feel like practice.”
She’ll face American Shelby Rogers in the fourth round, who defeated 21st seed Anett Kontaveit in straight sets.
KOKKINAKIS, KYRGIOS COMBINE IN AUS OPEN BID
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have won through to the second round of the Australian Open men’s doubles, defeating Lloyd Harris and Julian Knowle 6-2 6-4.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis looked overjoyed on court together and didn’t need a crowd to help them entertain themselves.
The pair were a wildcard entry into the event and are set to take on fourth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot in the second round.
Both Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were in good spirits throughout the match despite tough five-set losses to end their singles campaigns, with the pair laughing between points and pulling off some audacious shots during the win.
“We just wanted to play. Hopefully it was in front of some fans but there wasn't today but that’s alright,” Kokkinakis said post-match.
“It’s more just about having fun and enjoying each others company, so any time we can we just jump on it.”
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2021 – NIGHT 6
ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY FEBRUARY 12
Play begins at 11am AEDT unless listed otherwise
Rod Laver Arena
Karolina Muchova (CZE) [25] v Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [6] 7-5 7-5
Daniil Medvedev (RUS) [4] def Filip Krajinovic (SRB) [28] 6-3 6-3 4-6 1-6 6-0
Elise Mertens (BEL) [18] def Belinda Bencic (SUI) [11] 6-2 6-1
From 7pm
Shelby Rogers (USA) def Anett Kontaveit (EST) [21] 6-4 6-3
Rafael Nadal [2] v Cameron Norrie (GBR) 7-5 6-2 7-5
Margaret Court Arena
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [5] def Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) [26] 6-4 6-0
Donna Vekic (CRO) [28] def Kaia Kanepi (EST) 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 6-4
Andrey Rublev (RUS) [7] def Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 7-5 6-2 6-3
From 7pm
Ash Barty (AUS) [1] def Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) [29] 6-2 6-4
Fabio Fognini (ITA) [16] def Alex de Minaur (AUS) [21] 6-4 6-3 6-4
John Cain Arena
From 12pm
Jessica Pegula (USA) v Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-2 6-1
Jennifer Brady (USA) [22] v Kaja Juvan (SLO) 6-1 6-3
Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [5] def Mikael Ymer (SWE) 6-4 6-1 6-1
Not before 5pm
Matteo Berrettini (ITA) [9] v Karen Khachanov (RUS) [19] 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)
Recap the Australian Open in our blog below!