Keys Leads Trio Of American Top-10 Winners Into Australian Open Third Round

Madison Keys
Madison Keys (photo: Brigitte Urban)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 22, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

Since the start of last season, defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys has handled competition ranked outside the Top 50 pretty well, winning 77 percent of the time. So, it should come as no surprise that the World No. 9 from the United States would handle 92nd-ranked fellow American Ashlyn Krueger without too much difficulty Thursday afternoon.

After dominating the opening set 6-1, in which she won six straight games to close out the first set, Keys fell behind 5-2 in the second set. However, after saving a set point in the ninth game, she won five consecutive games to wrap up  a 6-1, 7-5 victory in one hour and 13 minutes on John Cain Arena to advance to the third round.

For Keys, it was her 18th win in 23 meetings against competition ranked outside the Top 50 and she did it by hitting 17 winners, breaking Krueger’s serve six times in 11 attempts and outpointing her opponent 63-48.

“I think I started really well and Ashlyn started a little bit slow,” Keys said in her on-court interview. “And then I was fully expecting her to raise her level, which she did. It just kind of got away from me a little quickly.”

After getting back to basics and resigning herself to a deciding set, Keys instead took command and won the match in straight sets.

“I just wanted to, even if I lost the [second] set, make sure I tried to get back in the set and try to figure out where my game kind of went and be able to get a few more points on the board,” Keys explained. “Once I kind of got back momentum, I just tried to sink my teeth into the set and do whatever I could to get back into it.”

Now, Keys is a win away from a round of 16 showdown with Pegula. Next, she will face former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of Czechia, now ranked No. 1,057, who advanced over No. 59 Janice Tjen of Indonesia, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and 38 minutes on Court 7.

Pegula dominates doubles partner Kessler

On Wednesday, Americans Jessica Pegula and McCartney Kessler were doubles partners, playing side by side in a first-round match on Court 15 in front of a few hundred fans at the Australian Open. A day later, they were facing each other in the singles main draw on Rod Laver Arena in the day session opener before 15,000. Sometimes, that’s tennis life when your friend becomes your foe. Or, as Pegula put it bluntly post-match, “it sucks!” 

Coming into their second-round tussle, the numbers favored the World No. 6 Pegula against No. 37 Kessler. After all, Pegula had won 11 of her last 12 meetings against fellow Americans – losing only to Coco Gauff in the Wuhan final last fall. One of those wins was against Kessler last February in the WTA Austin final.

As it happened, Pegula dominated Thursday’s second-round match from first ball to last and beat Kessler, 6-0, 6-2, in 58 minutes. She won the first eight games of the match, garnered 18 winners, made only seven unforced errors and converted six of nine break points. Pegula outpointed Kessler 53-26.

It was Pegula’s 17th second-round win in a major (including her fifth in Melbourne) and she’s through to the third round for the 17th time. Only Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens have reached that stage in Grand Slams more times in the past decade. Meanwhile, Kessler has never reached the third round at a major.

“We’ve tried to hook up for doubles so many times, and of course, the time that we are actually in the draw and ready to play, we play each other in the next round in singles,” Pegula said during her on-court interview.

“I just tried to stay loose – got off to a really good start, which I was proud of, but then I lost it right back,” Pegula added. “She’s such a good competitor so I knew that at one point she was going to find a way to start playing better and work her way into the match. I think I got a little too passive at some point, but she started ripping and being a little more aggressive. I just had to adjust a little bit more, but I did a good job of not panicking and sticking to my game plan.”

Next, Pegula will face 101st-ranked Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia, who upset No. 25 seed Paula Badosa of Spain, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and 39 minutes on 1573 Arena for her first Top 30 win.

Djokovic masters Maestrelli for 101st AO win

Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has never lost a Grand Slam match to a player ranked as low as 141st-ranked Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli, whom he faced on Rod Laver Arena during the day session.

By the end of his 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory, achieved in two hour and 15 minutes, the 38-year-old Djokovic proved that his vastly superior experience – not to mention his 24 major titles – were too much for Maestrelli, whom was making his Grand Slam debut in the Australian Open. The Serbian, who lost just seven games against Maestrelli, is through to the third round in Melbourne for the 18th time in 21 appearances. He outpointed Maestrelli 102-69.

“I didn’t know much about him until yesterday actually … it happens more often than not these days for me,” Djokovic said his win, which was contested in breezy conditions. 

“Respect is always there, and you don’t underestimate anyone. He’s got a big serve, he’s got a big game, obviously, he’s still lacking experience on the big stage but he’s got the game to go far and to go high in the rankings so I wish him that.”

 

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With Djokovic’s latest triumph – his 101st match win at the AO – he’s accumulated 399 Grand Slam victories, putting him one away from becoming the first player in tennis history to record 400 match-wins at the majors. Next, he will face No. 75 Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, who defeated 318th-ranked Jerry Shang of China, 7-6 (8), 6-2, 6-3, in two hours and 14 minutes on Court 7.

Forza! Musetti wins battle of the Lorenzos

World No. 5 and fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti breezed past fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena to win the battle of the Lorenzos. The 23-year-old Musetti, a quarterfinalist at the other three majors, put his friendship with the 40th-ranked Sonego – they’ve been Davis Cup teammates – aside for a few hours. Now, he’s through to his second-straight AO third round after withstanding 41 winners from Sonego. Musetti outpointed his opponent 113-90.

“It was not an easy match to prepare, to play and to deal with because Lorenzo is one of my best friends on tour,” Musetti said. 

“We recently had a title together in doubles [in Hong Kong], so we shared a lot of nice memories, so it is not easy to separate those things in the court.”

Next, Musetti will face No. 24 Tomas Machac of Czechia, who upset No. 31 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), in three hours and eight minutes on ANZ Arena.

Around the Australian Open

• Two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner of Italy won his 16th-straight match at the Australian Open with his 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 88th-ranked wild card James Duckworth of Australia in an hour and 49 minutes on Rod Laver Arena Thursday evening. The victory extended his overall win streak at all events to 17 matches. He’s won his last 12 contests without losing a set.

“I felt like I was returning very, very well today. Also, the serve was really good so I’m very happy about my performance,” Sinner said during his on-court interview. He fired 18 aces, won 86 percent (43 of 50) of his first-serve points and finished with 31 winners and five breaks of Duckworth’s serve. He outpointed Duckworth 94-62.

“I feel like I’m in good shape at the moment. I know how much hard work I’ve put in so the body feels good. Also, the mind is in a good moment. The first tournament [of the year] is always very, very special for all of us. 

“It’s a very special tournament for me, and this is a very special court in the past years. Let’s see what’s coming this year.”

Next, Sinner will face 85th-ranked American Eliot Spizzirri, who advanced to the third round of a major for the first time after beating qualifier Wu Yibing, ranked No. 168, of China, in five sets.

• Three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka, who received a wild card into his final AO, became the first player aged 40 or over to reach the third round of a major since Ken Rosewall (at age 44) at the 1978 Australian Open. Wawrinka, 40, broke the 48-year drought by defeating 21-year-old French qualifier Arthur Gea, ranked 198th, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-3), in four hours and 33 minutes on KIA Arena. The 2014 Australian Open champion Wawrinka, competing in his 20th AO, struck 63 winners to reach the round of 32 at Melbourne for the first time since 2020.

 

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“It’s my last Australian Open so I’m trying to last as long as possible,” Wawrinka said afterward. “I’m always going to fight, I’m always going to leave everything on the court, always trying my best, trying to push myself.”

It sets up a third-round match between Wawrinka and No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz of the United States, who defeated No. 101 Vit Kopriva of Czechia, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in one hour and 58 minutes on John Cain Arena.

• Other men’s seeds advancing: No. 8 Ben Shelton of the United States; No. 12 Casper Ruud of Norway; No. 15 Karen Khachanov of Russia; No. 16 Jakub Mensik of Czechia; No. 22 Luciano Darderi of Italy; and No. 30 Valentin Vacherot of Monaco.

• Six-time major champion and this year’s No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 44 Marie Bouzkova of Czechia in 79 minutes on John Cain Arena. Swiatek, twice a semifinalist in Melbourne, hit 31 winners, converted five of eight break points and outpointed Bouzkova 63-43. 

• No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States, playing at a career high ranking of No. 4, won her fourth-straight match over a player from Czechia after defeating No. 45 Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-4, in an hour and 43 minutes on Margaret Court Arena to move into the third round. Anisimova struck 31 winners and broke Siniakova’s serve four times. She outpointed her opponent 87-67. Next, Anisimova will face No. 68 Peyton Stearns of the United States, who advanced over No. 81 Petra Marcinko of Croatia, 6-2, 7-5.

• Other women’s seeds advancing: No. 5 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan; No. 13 Linda Noskova of Czechia; No. 16 Naomi Osaka of Japan; No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium; and No. 31 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.

• Among the upsets: Women –  No. 10 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, who lost 126th-ranked qualifier Nikola Bartunkova of Czechia, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, in two hours and 12 minutes on ANZ Arena, snapping Bencic’s 12-match winning streak; and No. 24 seed Jelena Ostapenko, who fell to No. 46 Wang Xinyu of China, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 19 minutes on Court 6. Men – No. 21 Denis Shapovalov of Canada, who lost 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to No. 70 Marin Cilic of Croatia, in two hours and nine minutes on 1573 Arena.

Thursday’s Australian Open results

Friday’s Australian Open order of play

Quick hits

According to the WTA, Tuesday’s first-round singles match between 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens of the United States and former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of Czechia was the first time a main draw match at a Grand Slam had taken place between wo women ranked outside the Top 1,000.

The 32-year-old Stephens came to Melbourne sporting a 13-match losing streak going back to July 2024 and was ranked No. 1,102nd. She strung together three wins in qualifying just to make the main draw. Meanwhile, Pliskova, 33, had been inactive since a severe left ankle injury suffered at the 2024 US Open nearly ended her career and her current ranking has plummeted to No. 1,057.

As it happened, Pliskova, whose best result in Melbourne had been reaching the semifinals in 2019, beat Stephens, 7-6 (7), 6-2, in an hour and 33 minutes on KIA Arena. The win advanced her to play No. 59 Janice Tjen of Indonesia in the second round on Court 7 Thursday – and she won that match, too.

By the numbers

• With Jannik Sinner’s second-round win over James Duckworth, he maintains his perfect record against Aussies at the Australian Open. He’s won all five matches he’s played against Australian players in Melbourne and has won his last 27 matches against Australian players at ATP Tour-level. Duckworth was the last Australian player to beat Sinner, at Toronto in 2021. It was a straight-set second round win.

• Another record-setting crowd made its way into Melbourne Park on Day 5 of Australian Open 2026. A total of 103,956 fans were on hand, a total day tournament record – breaking the previous record set on Wednesday of 103,720. It also broke the Total Day 5 record of 95,881 set last year. The cumulative main-draw attendance through five days is 508,430.

“Quotable …”

“Looking back, I would not change a thing. … You can’t really push someone, in my opinion. Everyone was telling their kids to learn from others’ mistakes. I think we actually learn from our own mistakes. You can’t push someone, unless you’re going to break the guy. Maybe the results will come, but you make break a person.

“I was really pragmatic in a way that I knew with what I was doing, I’m not capable of things and I’m not capable of being a stable Top 20, Top 30 player. I knew it, so I gave full responsibility to myself. I was like, ‘Alex, you like it like this. You’re happy. You have your kids and your wife. You do whatever you want and you’re still like an actual player that’s still Top 50.’ And I was happy., Looking back, I would not change a thing.”

– Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, asked during his post-match news conference Wednesday following his second-round win over Marton Fucsovics if he felt like he wasted some of the earlier years of his career by not having his current mindset and dedication, which has lifted him into the ATP Top 10 for the first time in his career.

 

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