Day 4 Snapshot from the Australian Open

SNAPSHOT FROM DAY FOUR AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Hsieh Su-wei – Taiwan’s world No.88 delighted her Aussie coach and former Open tournament director Paul McNamee with a stunning 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 second-round defeat of third-seeded Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza.

STAT OF THE DAY: Not one of of last year’s four women’s semi-finalists remain following the elimination of veteran Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the hands of Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Serena Williams was unable to defend her crown following the birth of her first child in September, while her sister Venus and fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe both bombed out in round one.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I hate ice baths. I completely hate them. I will go for a warn shower now because I always shower warm, then maybe my physio can say that I go in the ice bath – but I’m not really pumped for it.” – Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem after spending three hours and 48 minutes on court in 39-degree heat to reel in American qualifier Denis Kudla from two sets down.

TURNING POINT: Flashy Frenchman Gael Monfils threatened to take out six-time champion Novak Djokovic before wilting in a 4-6 6-3 6-1 6-3 defeat on Rod Laver Arena.

TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: Unseeded Maria Sharapova, in her return to Melbourne after missing last year’s event during a doping ban, will play fellow former champion Angelique Kerber in a third-round blockbuster, with French Open titleholder Jelena Ostapenko the only grand slam champions left in the women’s draw. Ominously, Djokovic is still alive in the men’s in his first tournament back after six months.

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