Australian Open 2021: No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina and non-seeded Jessica Pegula advanced to the fourth round, while world No. 6 Karolina Pliskova crashed after a loss in straight sets against Karolina Muchova.
Elina Svitolina advanced to the fourth round by beating No. 26 Yulia Putintseva, 6-4, 6-0. (Reuters photo)
STAND OUT
- No fans in Melbourne as Elina Svitolina advances at Australian Open
- World number 6 Karolina Pliskova fell from the first Grand Slam of the year
- Jessica Pegula has advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open
World No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open after recording a straight-sets victory over No. 26 Yulia Putintseva on Saturday.
Svitolina won her marathon early in the second set, and most of the points after that. There was no crowd due to the initiation of a five-day lockdown imposed by the Victoria state government in response to a COVID-19 outbreak at a hotel.
American Jessica Pegula has advanced to the fourth round in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time by beating Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-1 at the Australian Open. Pegula, who is ranked 61st, lost the first six points but then began to dominate with her versatile play. She hit 21 winners to just 13 unforced errors and earned eight points at the net.
Meanwhile, world No. 6 Karolina Pliskova crashed in the first Grand Slam of the year after suffering a shocking 5-7, 5-7 loss to No. 25 Karolina Muchova. Karolina Muchova won the last seven games 0-5 against in the 2nd set to beat Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 7-5 and reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.