Maria Sharapova, seeded 30th, provided the day’s upset as she knocked out the reigning champion, Caroline Wozniacki, in a three set thriller.   

Sharapova, who is a five-time Grand Slam champion, dominated 3rd seed Wozniacki in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win to take her to the fourth round, a stage she hasn’t reached since 2016.   

Wozniacki led 4-1 in the first set and seemed poised to take it before the Russian rallied back to take the next five games and win the set.  

Sharapova lost the second set but kept firm in the third to break Wozniacki’s serve twice and take the game. She will now face Ashley Barty, seeded 15th, on Sunday for a chance to reach the quarter finals.  

The Russian star won the Australian Open in 2008 but has struggled to reach the top of the game since returning from a doping ban in April 2017.   

“These are the types of match-ups that I haven’t really had where I could really challenge myself,” Sharapova said. 

“Whether it was a bad result or an easy two-set loss, to be in the grind of things and to have to figure out a way to be on top is what I missed.” 

 

Favourites march on  

On the male bracket, Roger Federer easily defeated Taylor Fritz in straight sets to book his seat in the fourth round.  

The Swiss maestro took only one hour and twenty-nine minutes to win 6-2, 7-5 and 6-2 to set up a meeting with Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Federer will be looking to win his third Australian Open in a row, a feat he has never achieved, and obtain his 21st Grand Slam.   

His nemesis, Rafael Nadal, continues to dominate and is also a strong favourite to take home the tournament. The Spaniard defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets and will face a tough test in the next round, where he will face veteran Tomas Berdych.  

Nadal is yet to drop a set in the competition and will be looking to obtain his second Australian Open, a competition he won in 2009.  

The Grand Slam continues tomorrow morning with some big matches including Novak Djokovic v Denis Shapovalov and Simona Halep v Venus Williams.