Australian Open 2019: Day 3 Upsets

Day three of Australian Open 2019 has officially wrapped up and all matches of the day have concluded. Most of the usual suspects advanced to Round three of the Grand Slam. The likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, Karen Khachanov, Angelique Kerber, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova breezed through.

Meanwhile, others like Marin Cilic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Grigor Dimitrov, Diego Schwartzman and Belinda Bencic struggled slightly. However, there were a few 5-setters, like Nikoloz Basilashvili, Alex de Minaur Thomas Fabbiano, Roberto Bautista Agut and Diego Schwartzman.

Unlike the first two days, the number of big names knocked out early have lessened. However, there are still a few well-known named that have been bundled out of contention.

Kevin Anderson

The 2018 Wimbledon runner-up was stunned in four sets by American player Frances Tiafoe. The final score read 4-6 6-4 6-4 7-5 in the 20-year old’s favour. Anderson looked out of sorts during the match and even had to call the trainer on court during the third set. Tiafoe will next face Italian veteran, Andreas Seppi, who beat Jordan Thompson with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Gael Monfils

The Frenchman was defeated in four sets by another American, Taylor Fritz. The final score read 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 in Fritz’ favour. Now, the 21-year old will have to face Roger Federer in the third round on Friday. Federer himself, breezed past British player Dan Evans with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Kiki Bertens

The Number 9 seed was stunned by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as she slumped to a 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 defeat. Pavlyuchenkova will next face Aliaksandra Sasnovich who defeated Number 20 seed, Anett Kontaveit. The Estonian was knocked out in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3.

These three big players will be going no further in the Australian Open 2019 tournament and the next day promises some tasty matchups. Some of these clashes to look forward to are, Novak Djokovic vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, and Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic.