No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka avoided the upset bug in the second round of the Australian Open with an efficient 6-3, 6-2 defeat of 16-year-old qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova in 67 minutes, her ninth straight victory at Melbourne Park.

No.107-ranked Fruhvirtova was one of three 16-year-olds to have made Round 2, the most at any Grand Slam since the 2005 US Open. Earlier on Wednesday, another of those, Mirra Andreeva, had delivered an upset against Ons Jabeur 6-0, 6-2.

However, the defending champion has been reliable in matches where she's been the heavy favorite of late. Sabalenka has now won 34 of her past 36 matches, dating back to July 2019, against opponents ranked outside the Top 100. The only exceptions in this stretch were both former Top 20 players, Kaia Kanepi at the 2022 Australian Open and Sofia Kenin at Rome 2023.

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How the match was won: Against the Czech teenager, Sabalenka navigated some tight early moments before taking control with a mid-match streak of seven straight games. 

Though Fruhvirtova went down an early break after a pair of nervy double faults, she showed her promise when she found a smart wrong-footing backhand winner to break Sabalenka back and level at 2-2. That wing also garnered Fruhvirtova a pair of pinpoint winners down the line in the closing stretch of the match.

In between, though, Sabalenka was rampant. She thumped 30 winners, including four aces, outweighing her 22 unforced errors. Quick to come forward whenever Fruhvirtova threw up a high defensive shot, Sabalenka also won 10 out of 12 net points, and effectively moved Fruhvirtova off court with sharp angles as well as raw power.

She will next face No.28 seed Lesia Tsurenko, who defeated Rebeka Masarova 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round at the Australian Open for the second time, and first time since 2013.

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In Sabalenka's words: "She's incredible player for someone 16 years old. I mean, I think first six games was really great level, then I kind of step in and start playing little bit better. 

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"I'm not thinking about confidence. I'm just trying to play my best. If it goes to two sets, I'm happy to win it in two sets. If it's going to be three sets, I don't care. I just try to focus on myself and fight for every point. It's not like these two matches give me confidence. It's tennis. You have to be ready for anything."

Avanesyan upsets Sakkari, Kostyuk saves match point

No.74-ranked Elina Avanesyan closed out Wednesday's play at nearly 1 a.m. with a 6-4, 6-4 upset of No.8 seed Maria Sakkari in 1 hour and 43 minutes.

Avanesyan had scored a nomination for Newcomer of the Year in last month's Hologic WTA Tour Awards, having reached the last 16 of Roland Garros as a lucky loser. The 21-year-old delivered a composed, intelligent performance to notch her first career Top 10 win over Sakkari, who has fallen in the first week of her past eight majors.

Mixing up high defensive shots with sudden injections of pace and slice, Avanesyan kept Sakkari pinned far behind the baseline and was largely able to play the match on her own terms. The Greek player was unable to consistently read Avanesyan's change-ups or stay on the front foot herself, and committed 43 unforced errors in total.

Avanesyan will next face Marta Kostyuk, who saved one match point to knock out No.25 seed Elise Mertens 5-7, 6-1, 7-6[6] in an enthralling contest. Mertens had come into the match with a 22-1 record in Grand Slam second rounds, but was unable to convert her opportunity at 6-5 in the decider on Kostyuk's serve.

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The 2-hour, 53-minute tilt was the longest of Day 4, and featured an array of hot shots as both players pulled off miraculous gets, charged the net at every opportunity and deployed all manner of creative shotmaking. No.37-ranked Kostyuk returns to the Australian Open third round for a third consecutive year.

Mertens' loss means that a first-time Australian Open semifinalist is now guaranteed in the third quarter of the draw. US Open champion Coco Gauff and Roland Garros semifinalist Beatriz Haddad Maia are the only players remaining in that section who have been to the last four of any major.