Australian Open Day 4 Women’s Recap: Gauff & Andreeva Make Statements

Half of the second-round women’s matches at the Australian Open were completed on Day 4. Some of the WTA’s best young stars, including two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, and Victoria Mboko all played. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was also among those in action. We summarize who impressed, which players had a day to forget, and pick the best match below.

Australian Open Day 4 Women’s Recap

Who Looked Good

Coco Gauff produced her best performance of the season so far against Olga Danilovic. The Serbian’s powerful left-handed forehand proved ineffective against the world No. 3’s world-class backhand. Gauff’s forehand also held up well throughout the contest, and that allowed her to race to a swift 6-2 6-2 victory. She will face fellow American Hailey Baptiste in the next round.

Aryna Sabalenka also dropped only four games against Zhuoxuan Bai. Despite fighting hard and never letting her head drop, the Chinese player could not cope with the two-time Australian Open winner’s powerful groundstrokes. After a somewhat competitive opening set, Sabalenka dominated the second and prevailed 6-3 6-1.

Mirra Andreeva continued the trend of losing four games in her evening battle with Maria Sakkari. The BNP Paribas Open winner benefited from a poor start from her experienced opponent, winning the opening set 6-0. Sakkari significantly improved in the second, and fans were treated to some quality shot-making from both opponents. Ultimately, Andreeva played well enough to avoid a third, triumphing 6-0 6-4.

Who Looked Bad

Emma Raducanu was eliminated from the Australian Open on Day 4. The former US Open champion fell 6-7 2-6 to Anastasia Potapova after a performance littered with errors. Potapova, usually a defensive player, hit some great shots in the tiebreak, and Raducanu seemed unable to get over that in the second set. Afterward, the Briton spoke about how using variety rather than hitting consistently hard wasn’t working, which some took as a dig at her coach, Francisco Roig.

Italian Open winner Jasmine Paolini’s contest with Magdalena Frech was underwhelming because of the Pole’s poor level. The 2024 Wimbledon runner-up won 6-2 6-3 without having to play well. Frech only held serve twice throughout, and never looked comfortable despite good previous performances at the Australian Open.

Ajla Tomljanovic, Priscilla Hon, and Storm Hunter failed to give their home Australian fans anything to cheer about. Tomljanovic fell in the second round in Melbourne for the seventh time after a 4-6 4-6 defeat to Elena-Gabriela Ruse, while Hon and Hunter only managed three games against Iva Jovic and Hailey Baptiste.

Match of the day

Karolina Muchova’s 4-6 6-4 6-4 win over Alycia Parks and Clara Tauson narrowly progressing past Polina Kudermetova 6-3 3-6 7-5 were entertaining matches. However, they were bested by Diana Shnaider’s dramatic encounter with Talia Gibson (watch highlights here). Unlike Tomljanovic, Hon, and Hunter, Gibson played excellently in front of her home fans.

The 21-year-old swiftly settled into the match and exchanged lengthy rallies with Shnaider. From 2-2, Gibson broke three times to secure the opening set 6-3. Shnaider wrested the momentum back in the opening six games of the second and led 4-2. However, she suddenly could not live with Gibson for the next three and a half games, and found herself match point down at 4-5 30-40.

Shnaider’s courage in front of the partisan crowd from that moment was outstanding. She saved the first match point with an ace before fending off two more by generating forced errors. The shell-shocked Gibson only won two more points in the next two games, allowing Shnaider to take the set 7-5.

Although the home favorite took the opening two games in the third, she eventually ran out of steam. Shnaider played more consistently and completed a 3-6 7-5 6-3 victory after a performance filled with guts and mental fortitude. However, Gibson can also be proud of her performance, and she has a big future in the sport.