Slam champs Krejcikova, Ostapenko book Melbourne third-round spots

Eight Grand Slam champions were scheduled to play their second-round matches at the 2023 Australian Open on Wednesday.

On Rod Laver Arena, three-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek held off Camila Osorio in the day session. 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu took a loss in the Laver night session, where she was defeated by No.7 seed Coco Gauff.

Here are snapshots of the others’ results as they come in:

Anhelina Kalinina def. (15) Petra Kvitova 7-5, 6-4

World No.39 Kalinina of Ukraine took out a Grand Slam champion by ousting two-time Wimbledon titlist Kvitova of the Czech Republic in just under two hours on John Cain Arena, under a closed roof.

Kalinina reached the third round of a major for the first time in her career with the upset of No.15 seed Kvitova. Kvitova had been the Australian Open runner-up to Naomi Osaka in 2019.

In a key turning point, Kalinina gritted out a 15-minute, seven-deuce game to break for 6-5 in the first set, converting her fifth break point of that tussle. Kalinina went on to win from there, lining up a third-round showdown with another Czech major champion, Barbora Krejcikova.

(20) Barbora Krejcikova def. (Q) Clara Burel 6-4, 6-1

2021 Roland Garros champion Krejcikova took 1 hour and 29 minutes to dispatch French qualifier Burel and move into a meeting with Kalinina.

Krejcikova, who reached the Australian Open quarterfinals last year, had six more winners and eight fewer unforced errors than former Junior World No.1 Burel. Krejcikova improved to 2-0 in their rivalry, having also prevailed over Burel in the qualifying rounds of 2018 Roland Garros.

(17) Jelena Ostapenko def. Anna Bondar 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-0

2017 Roland Garros champion Ostapenko of Latvia survived a 2-hour and 37-minute showdown with Hungary’s Bondar to clinch a third-round spot in Melbourne for the fourth time in her career.

Ostapenko fought back from 5-3 down to swipe the first set, then held on after the loss of the second set to sweep through the final-set bagel.

One more win would be a breakthrough for Ostapenko: she has never reached the Round of 16 at a hard-court major (either the Australian Open or the US Open). Her third-round opponent will be World No.95 Kateryna Baindl.

(Q) Cristina Bucsa def. Bianca Andreescu 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-4

Spain’s Bucsa made the third round of a Grand Slam event for the first time in her career after saving a match point and triumphing in a topsy-turvy affair against 2019 US Open champion Andreescu of Canada.

Bucsa, who cracked the Top 100 for the first time this week, was behind by a set and a break before reeling off five straight games and holding a set point at 5-1 in the second set. But Andreescu fought all the way back into a tiebreak, where she held a match point at 6-5.

Bucsa used superior defense to stave off that match point, then converted her third set point with a passing winner down the line. Bucsa held on in the third set to complete the upset, and her reward will be a third-round clash with World No.1 Iga Swiatek.

More to come…