Gauff rallies to despatch Baptiste in Melbourne, Jovic stuns Paolini

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIAN OPEN THIRD ROUND – WINS FOR COCO GAUFF, KAROLINA MUCHOVA AND YULIA PUTINTSEVA / JASMINE PAOLINI CRASHES OUT COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW SHOWS: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (JANUARY 23, 2026) (TENNIS AUSTRALIA – See restrictions) SHOTLIST TO FOLLOW STORY: Coco Gauff shrugged off a poor start against fellow American Hailey Baptiste on the way to a 3-6 6-0 6-3 win on Friday (January 11, reaching the Australian Open fourth round as she continues her bid for a first title at Melbourne Park. Gauff was broken twice as she lost her first set of the tournament to world number 70 Baptiste, who threatened the shock of the Grand Slam until losing her way completely in the second set. Cutting down the errors, Gauff produced her purest tennis to bagel Baptiste then broke her in the sixth game of the decider before serving out the match. Though unable to match Gauff's power and hustle, Baptiste gave the twice Grand Slam champion a proper workout before the American faces Czech 19th seed Karolina Muchova for a place in the quarter-finals who defeated 6-1 6-1. Elsewhere, American 18-year-old Iva Jovic pulled off the biggest upset of her young career when she stunned Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2 7-6(3) for her first Grand Slam last-16 appearance. The 29th seed turned the tables on Paolini, who had beaten her last year at Indian Wells and the U.S. Open, to claim her maiden victory over a top-10 player and extend her tour-leading win streak to 10 matches in 2026. Jovic had the opportunity to serve for the match before Paolini fought back to force a tiebreak, where the American showed her nerve and won the last five points to book a fourth-round clash with Yulia Putintseva. utintseva turned pantomime villain at the Australian Open on Friday after taunting a raucous crowd of Turkish supporters following her 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3 victory over qualifier Zeynep Sonmez in the third round. The Kia Arena was transformed into a sea of red Turkish flags as fans flocked to support their unlikely hero Sonmez, ranked 112th in the world, in her bid to become the first player from Turkey to reach a Grand Slam fourth round in the Open Era. Putintseva held her nerve to win the final set but it was her post-match antics that stole the show. Amid the cheering for the plucky qualifier, the Kazakh player cupped her hand to her ear and blew kisses to the Turkish fans, immediately eliciting a crescendo of boos.  (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)