After two rounds of drama, which included the elimination of more than half of the seeded women in their draw and the final match for a tennis icon, round three began on a rainy day in Melbourne. Due to the weather, only the three covered courts were in use early in the day.

Sharapova Overcomes Challenge to Advance

In a match between two players with a significant height differential, Maria Sharapova met Lauren Davis in Rod Laver Arena. In what turned out to be a competitive match, Sharapova would advance 6-1 6-7 6-0.

It was evident fairly quickly that the power from Sharapova would be a difficult task to solve for the diminutive Davis. The Russian launched into Davis’ serves and groundstrokes, immediately placing her in a defensive position. She would not allow the American to use her quickness advantage and easily took the first set.

It appeared there would be more of the same in the second set as Davis was forced to scramble to stay in games and quickly found herself in another hole. But she was able to turn the set in her favor, breaking the veteran twice as she forced Sharapova to move around the court. With her confidence level elevated, Davis stayed in points and forced the 28-year-old into some errors. However, Sharapova would even the set, which went to a tiebreak. There, the feisty Davis would take advantage of some errors and even the match.

But after a short break between sets, Sharapova came back focused and with an edge. She would capitalize on her big serve, while Davis struggled with hers, and the five-time major champion closed out the match comfortably. The Russian would finish the match with 16 aces.

Goffin Advances to the Fourth Round

It was a matchup between two very different styles as 15th seed David Goffin met 19th seed Dominic Thiem. After a competitive battle, it was Goffin taking the match between the two rising talents 6-1 3-6 7-6 7-5.

In the first set, the counterpunching Goffin gained control swiftly, using his quick footwork and tremendous angled strikes. But in the second set, it was the baseline power of the Austrian that changed the flow of the match. However, in a third set that went back and forth and featured compelling rallies, both players found success, and a number of quality points resulted. The set advanced to a tiebreak as the Belgian seemingly ran down every shot from Thiem’s racket. He would gain control and take the tiebreak with ease.

The intense battle continued into the fourth set, where the aggressive Goffin would find an early break advantage. After he was unable to even the set early, Thiem would finally find a break late in the set and appeared to have some momentum. However, Goffin would immediately gain another service break and this time would serve out the match. It was an entertaining match between two players who have elevated their play over the last couple of seasons. There is a good chance that these two will square off many more times in the future.

Federer Moves into Third Round

Roger Federer met the player known as “Baby Fed” in Rod Laver Arena on Friday. He would defeat Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-4.

The third seed played consistent tennis in the first set and found a break midway through that tilted the momentum in his direction. The single break was all the veteran needed as he would close out the set. However, in the second set, Dimitrov battled back into the match with an early break of service of his own, constructing points to his advantage. Federer had chances to strike back quickly, but Dimitrov fought him off, and the confident Bulgarian evened the match.

Wary of the potential momentum change, Federer appeared to become more aggressive, attacking the net and pressuring Dimitrov with sharp, powerful groundstrokes. The tactic was successful, and he took a stranglehold on the third set. And in the fourth set, it was a shaky service game by Dimitrov that opened the door for Federer. He would take advantage and would not waver on his service games the remainder of the set, advancing to the third round and a meeting with Goffin.