Swiatek destroys Raducanu as Sinner boosts the Melbourne defence

Iga Swiatek demolished Emma Raducanu on Saturday to sweep into the last 16 of the Australian Open, where Jannik Sinner will later step up his title defense and young tyro Learner Tien is also in action.

In a one-sided battle of former US Open champions, Swiatek cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 triumph in a statement win as she chases a first Melbourne crown.

Emma Navarro, the eighth seed from the United States, joined the Pole in the second week of the year’s first Grand Slam with a gritty three-set victory over Ons Jabeur. Sixth seed Elena Rybakina also advanced.

“I felt like the ball was listening to me,” Swiatek said after rattling off 11 straight games in a brutal display against Great Britain’s Raducanu at Rod Laver Arena.

The 23-year-old Swiatek has won five majors, but she has never gone further than the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.

She faces “lucky loser” Eva Lys next.

“I feel a lot fresher than the last two years,” Swiatek said.

“The last two years I felt a lot more tired and also a little more stressed.”

Swiatek will be a big favorite when she meets Germany’s Lys.

The 128th-ranked Lys defeated Jaqueline Cristian of Romania in three sets to become the first “lucky loser” in women’s singles to reach the fourth round since the event moved to Melbourne Park in 1988.

Navarro credited her billionaire father for teaching her “toughness” as she battled through 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 against three-time Slam finalist Jabeur.

Navarro has become a three-set specialist, with no WTA player playing more since the start of 2024, with the American 23-9 over the distance since then.

The daughter of billionaire businessman Ben Navarro, founder of Sherman Financial Group, she praised her father, who was at the farm, for her perseverance.

She remembered how he took her and her siblings on six-hour bike rides when they were children.

“We came up with a concept — to ride a bike and cry,” Navarro, 23, said.

“I learned a lot of toughness growing up. A big thank you goes to him.”

Also on day seven, former Wimbledon champion Rybakina of Kazakhstan needed a medical time-out to treat a back spasm before winning 6-3, 6-4 against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.

World number four Jasmine Paolini, who reached two Slam finals last year, will meet another Ukrainian in Elina Svitolina later.

American Danielle Collins, who has become a pantomime villain after thanking hecklers for “paying my bills”, is also in action.

The world number 11, runner-up in the 2022 Australian Open final to Ash Barty, will get another chance to win over the Australians in the crowd when she faces fellow American Madison Keys.

– Ten time? –

Italian world number one and defending champion Sinner meets American Marcos Giron as he bids for a place in the round of 16 in an evening match at Rod Laver Arena.

Sinner can meet 13th seeded Holger Rune in the fourth round if the Dane gets past Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.

There will be intense interest in 19-year-old qualifier Tien, who stunned three-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev in a five-set epic.

The youngster downed a pepperoni pizza to celebrate after his 4 hour 48 minute marathon against Medvedev that ended at almost 3am on Friday.

He will need to recover quickly from the challenge of 69th-ranked Corentin Moutet of France.

Tien’s win over Medvedev made him the second-youngest American man in the Open Era to reach the third round in Melbourne – behind only 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras in 1990.

Fourth seed Taylor Fritz faces timeless French veteran Gael Monfils and remaining home hope Alex de Minaur takes on Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo.

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