The round of thirty-two at the 2024 Australian Open is underway. In the day’s opening match, Jannik Sinner continued his steady progress into the latter stages with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 over Sebastian Baez.
He was joined by other top seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov, who all progressed during the day session at Melbourne Park with relatively comfortable victories.
Novak Djokovic got back to business on Rod Laver, moving through with a straight sets win against Etcheverry after labouring through his first couple of matches. He’ll face Adrian Mannarino in the last sixteen after the Frenchman won his third five-set match on the bounce to take out Ben Shelton.
You can see the full results from day five below.
Day Five 2024 Australian Open Round of 32 Results
| Winner | Loser | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic (1) | Tomas Martin Etcheverry (30) | 6-3 6-3 7-6(2) |
| Jannik Sinner (4) | Sebastian Baez (26) | 6-0 6-1 6-3 |
| Andrey Rublev (5) | Sebastian Korda (29) | 6-2 7-6(6) 6-4 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) | Luca Van Assche | 6-3 6-0 6-4 |
| Alex de Minaur (10) | Flavio Cobolli (Q) | 6-3 6-3 6-1 |
| Taylor Fritz (12) | Fabian Marozsan | 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 |
| Karen Khachanov (15) | Tomas Machac | 6-4 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(5) |
| Adrian Mannarino (20) | Ben Shelton (16) | 7-6(4) 1-6 6-2 7-6(3) 6-4 |
Tsitsipas Tops Van Assche
After making hard going of his first two matches in Melbourne, Stefanos Tsitsipas bagged his first straight sets win thanks to a 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 victory against Luca Van Assche.
The Greek used his more imperious game to dominate large parts of the match, and while he wasn’t flawless, facing nine break points, he saved eight of them and dug himself out of a 0-3 hole in the third set to set up a fourth-round showdown with Taylor Fritz.
My team tried, but ultimately, it’s my decision if I’m going to be fired up or not; I felt like I had a sore start in both [previous] matches, and I just wanted something different this time. It’s not easy always having to fight back and show your best tennis in the second set. I wanted to go out here today and show that passionate and determined Stef from the very beginning. Tsitsipas on his fast start vs Van Assche.
Djokovic Back to Business
Normal service resumed on Rod Laver Arena for Novak Djokovic as he dispatched Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (2) to reach the fourth round for the sixteenth time in his career.
After not playing at his best during the first two rounds, the Serb looked far more on song from the baseline, and a single break of serve decided the opener.
That first set settled Djokovic nicely, and he dominated the second set, breaking twice to establish what appeared to be an unassailable lead.
The third saw no discernible drop in level from the top seed as he pushed to create several inroads. However, Etcheverry dispatched Murray and Monfils in straight sets in his first two rounds, taking his game up a notch to force a tiebreak.
Djokovic carried in a 17-2 in Grand Slam tiebreaks across 2023, and you soon saw why; a double mini-break early doors moved him into a strong lead, which he didn’t relinquish, finally taking it 7-2.
It was a great match, I think. The best performance I had during this tournament. Obviously I’m pleased with the way I played throughout the entire match, particularly the first two sets. He stepped it up, raised his level of tennis probably one or two levels in the third set and we went toe-to-toe. In the tie-break, I guess I just found the right shots, the right serves, and closed it out in straights. Djokovic on his win over Etcheverry.
Mannarino Magic Sinks Shelton
20th seed Adrian Mannarino pulled off the upset with a 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 against 16th seed Ben Shelton.
Heading into 2024, Mannarino has been in fine fettle, having landed three ATP titles last season, and in the battle of the two lefties, the Frenchman’s guile and ability to spread the court proved the difference maker.
His return of serve also proved deadly, as Shelton couldn’t rely on his 140mph bombs for free points, with most of his heavy serves coming back with interest.
Mannarino has now played three five-setters in the opening three rounds, spending over 15 hours on the court, and he’s up to 17 in the world rankings. His reward is a match against Djokovic in the last sixteen on Sunday, which might be a step too far given his physical exploits so far.
As for Shelton, he could not match his quarter-final run from last year, but he played a decent match, and after going up two sets to 1, he could easily have played himself into the round of 16.
However, Mannarino has a sneaky way of working his way back into matches, using that variety with some timely net approaches. Before you know it, he’s all over you on the scoreboard.
Remember the torrid time he gave Federer in Basel a few years back? Despite being classified as a man in the twilight of his career at 35, he’s proving the perfect foil to the one-dimensional power forehand game we saw prevalent on tour today. Allez!
Last match, I was fighting in the fifth set, and the crowd came to cheer for me, and they brought me this little push at the end that helped me to win the match, and today again, you know I was not even thinking about my legs I was I was not even exhausted, just kept going all the time and the crowd they’re part of it so thank you guys. Mannarino on the crowd support helping him over the line.
Other Matches of Note
- Sinner Cruises Into Last 16: A routine 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 win for the Italian in under 2 hours against Sebastian Baez, and he’s looking sharper round by round.
- Khachanov Makes Steady Progress: The Russian perenially goes under the radar with barely anyone mentioning him, and he’s into the second week with a 6-4, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5) win against Tomas Machac. Khachanov is defending semi-final points from last year, and he faces Sinner next.
- Fritz Manouvers Past Marozsan: A 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win for the 12th seed against Fabian Marozsan. The Hungarian used his trademark drop shot to good effect in the early stages, but Fritz got into the groove, tracking down Marozsan’s variety to comfortably progress in four sets.
- Rublev Routs Korda: Andrey Rublev kept his perfect record against Seb Korda with a comprehensive straight set, and he’s yet to drop a set in their three previous meetings. A matchup he likes and he was able to rip the ball throughout. 6-2, 7-6(6), 6-4
Australian Open Day 7 Round of 32 Matches
- Tommy Paul (14) vs Miomir Kecmanovic
- Juncheng Shang (WC) vs Carlos Alcaraz (2)
- Ugo Humbert (21) vs Hubert Hurkacz (9)
- Arthur Cazaux (WC) vs Tallon Griekspoor (28)
- Grigor Dimitrov (13) vs Nuno Borges (LL)
- Cameron Norrie (19) vs Casper Ruud (11)
- Felix Auger-Aliassime (27) vs Daniil Medvedev (3)
- Alexander Zverev (6) vs Alex Michelsen
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