WHILE rain affected the outside courts, all four of the men’s top eight seeds in action on day four progressed to round three of the Australian Open. In particular, fourth and fifth seeds Jannik Sinner and Andre Rublev wasted no time, running through their opponents in under two hours.

Sinner upped his level to beat a Dutch hopeful for the second round running, thrashing qualifier Jesper de Jong 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. The Italian fan favourite faced zero break points in the one hour and 43 minutes of game time, credit to winning 86 per cent of his first serve points.

“I was very calm and stable throughout the whole match,” Sinner said. “I served good, returned also well, so it was a good match today… It doesn’t really matter who you play against. You fear nobody but have a lot of respect for everyone. This is what I try to show to everyone.”

Rublev took four fewer minutes to dispatch world number 35 Christopher Eubanks, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The Russian was similarly successful off his first serve, winning 85 per cent of points and blasting 38 winners for just 16 unforced errors.

Local hope and 10th seed Alex de Minaur also proved efficient in his straight sets win over Matteo Arnaldi, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3. Having gone down to team Italy in last year’s Davis Cup final, the victory provided a semblance of redemption for the Australian on home turf.

de Minaur was far too polished for his unseeded opponent, who committed 52 unforced errors in the one-sided two hour match. Those numbers saw de Minaur take out 50 per cent of receiving points, while also converting nicely at the net to win 18 of 19 forays forward.

“I think so far I have done what I needed to do to win the matches,” de Minaur said. “It hasn’t been probably the prettiest of levels or my best level. I played two opponents where maybe I haven’t been allowed to be as aggressive as I would like, because they’ve got a lot of firepower.

“But I do think I’ve got a lot more to show… it is a long two weeks if you want to get to the end of the tournament, and that’s ultimately the goal. Now, I have learnt that the first week is all about getting through, finding ways to get through.”

Elsewhere, world number one Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak to 30 matches at Melbourne Park after defeating Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. Like Popyrin, fellow Australians Jordan Thompson and Chris O’Connell took a set each off seeded opponents.

The former went down to 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6, while the latter fell to American Ben Shelton, 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6. It means de Minaur is the sole Aussie left in the men’s draw, while qualifier Storm Hunter rages on in the women’s draw.

Three seeds fell on day four, with the highest being American number 17 Frances Tiafoe. Argentine number 22 Francisco Cerundolo joined him in falling in straight sets, while Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti (25) faded badly to go down in five sets.

RESULTS:

2024 Australian Open, Day 4

A. de Minaur (10) [AUS] def. M. Arnaldi 6-3, 6-0, 6-3
N. Djokovic (1) def. A. Popyrin [AUS] 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3
J. Sinner (4) def. J. de Jong (Q) 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
S. Tsitsipas (7) def. J. Thompson [AUS] 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6
B. Shelton (16) def. C. O’Connell [AUS] 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6
A. Rublev (5) def. C. Eubanks 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
T. Fritz (12) def. H. Gaston (LL) 6-0, 6-3, 6-1
T. Machac def. F. Tiafoe (17) 6-4, 6-4, 7-6
S. Baez (26) def. D. Galan 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
K. Khachanov (15) def. A. Kovacevic (Q) 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
T. Etcheverry (30) def. G. Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
F. Cobolli (Q) def. P. Kotov 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
S. Korda (29) def. Q. Halys 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
L. Van Assche def. L. Musetti (25) 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0
A. Mannarino (20) def. J. Munar 6-3, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, 6-3
F. Marozsan def. F. Cerundolo (22) 7-6, 6-4, 6-2