Melbourne: Sixth seed Ons Jabeur and former champion Caroline Wozniacki fell victim to exciting young Russians in the Australian Open second round Wednesday as Novak Djokovic prepared to resume his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title.
The veteran pair were no match for Mirra Andreeva and Maria Timofeeva, who emphatically stamped their mark on the opening Grand Slam of the year, which was marred by rain on day four.
But fourth seeds Coco Gauff and Jannik Sinner, along with home hope Alex de Minaur and world number 11 Barbora Krejcikova, had no trouble progressing.
Andreeva, just 16, was in scintillating form to take down 29-year-old three-time major runner-up Jabeur 6-0, 6-2 under the closed roof on Rod Laver Arena in just 54 minutes.
“Probably it was the best match (ever),” said Andreeva, a schoolgirl who burst onto the scene when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year as a qualifier. “The first set, I didn’t expect that I would play this good. Second set was also not bad. So, yes, for me it was an amazing match.”
Her reward is a third-round clash with France’s Diane Parry.
Timofeeva, a 20-year-old qualifier, was equally impressive against 2018 champion Wozniacki, who flew through the first set and was a break up in the second.
Undeterred, Timofeeva, showing impressive power, hauled herself back into the contest and ultimately prevailed against a player 13 years her senior, winning 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
“It was an honour to play here against Caroline today. I’m just beyond happy and couldn’t ask for more,” she said after setting up a testing third-round meeting with 10th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.
With play on outside courts starting more than three hours late due to rain, Sinner was one of the fortunate few to be scheduled in one of the three main arenas, which all have roofs.
The Italian wasted no time in dispatching Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena.
His next assignment in his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title will be against Argentine 26th seed Sebastian Baez or Colombia’s unseeded Daniel Elahi Galan.
US Open champion Gauff was equally untroubled in sweeping past fellow American Caroline Dolehide 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 while De Minaur and Krejcikova had easy straight-sets wins.