Wednesday at the Australian Open was marked by teenager Mirra Andreeva’s spectacular upset of sixth seed Ons Jabeur. Other notable exits on Day 4 included Caroline Wozniacki and Caroline Garcia, while defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and recent US Open winner Coco Gauff both advanced to the third round.
Caroline Wozniacki led 6-1 2-0 before Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva fought back from a set down and early breaks down in both the second and third sets to win 1-6 6-4 6-1. Playing her first main draw of a Grand Slam, the world No.170 Timofeeva, dressed in the new Bidi Badu collection, defeated Alize Cornet in the first round and then further improved her résumé with a round two victory over the 2018 Australian Open champion and a former No.1, who was playing only her second Grand Slam event since returning from maternity leave last year. Timofeeva’s third obstacle in the main draw will be tenth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil.
The 20-year-old Timofeeva said that defeating a player of Wozniacki’s stature had left her “speechless”: “I was going [into] the match without any expectations, just to show what I’m capable of and see how the match goes, and it was really great. I enjoyed every second of it.”
Another Bidi Badu apparel representative was victorious on Wednesday, as Poland’s Magdalena Frech recorded her first Top 20 victory by taking out Caroline Garcia 6-4 7-6(2) in the second round. Playing her next match after taking out two-time Aussie Open champ Naomi Osaka, 16th seed Garcia served for the second set at 6-5, but got broken in that game and the world No.69 Frech dominated the tiebreak.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka secured a confident victory of 6-3 6-2 against Czech player Brenda Fruhvirtova. Despite a competitive start, Sabalenka’s formidable power eventually overwhelmed her teenage opponent. Reflecting on Fruhvirtova’s performance, Sabalenka remarked, “For someone who is 16 years old, Brenda is doing an incredible job and I wish I was this level at that age.”
Meanwhile, US Open champion Coco Gauff advanced to the third round with a 7-6(2) 6-2 triumph over fellow American Caroline Dolehide, improving her perfect start of the season to 7-0.
