Australian Open Day 7: Building momentum, Raducanu looks to upset Swiatek

After a brief appearance as an alternate at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Daria Kasatkina and her partner, figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, embarked on an offseason vacation that featured extreme opposites. It began in the balmy Maldive Islands and concluded in frigid Tallinn, Estonia, where Zabiiako was born and her family still lives.

“We mixed it up with beach holiday and cold, winter stuff,” Kasatkina told wtatennis.com last week. “Two-and-a-half weeks off. Honestly, it’s a flash -- I just close my eyes and open them and it’s time again to start.”

Indeed. Hard to believe that Kasatkina has already played in Brisbane, Adelaide and now Melbourne. The No.9 seed is into the third round after a comfortable 6-2, 6-0 win over Wang Yafan.

By nearly all accounts, Kasatkina had a terrific 2024 season that ended in the Top 10, the second year-end milestone of her career.

Kasatkina won titles on the grass in Eastbourne and, last fall, at Ningbo. They were both notable because she defeated higher-ranked opponents in the semifinals -- No.7 Jasmine Paolini and No.15 Paula Badosa -- than she did in the finals. Also on her resume were four additional WTA Tour 500 finals, in Adelaide, Abu Dhabi, Charleston and Seoul.

She was less successful in the larger tournaments.

“Unfortunately, it was consistent not on the big events,” Kasatkina said. “I would say this is something which I have to work on. Game-wise, I liked how I was going through the season. Physically, as well.

“But the emotional part when you play big events, Grand Slams, where you feel pressure, where you want to win more, this is something where there is room to improve. The game is there, it’s just these little details.”

Here’s a look at Saturday’s notable third-round matches from the bottom half of the draw:

No.2 Iga Swiatek vs. Emma Raducanu (Rod Laver Arena, 11:30 a.m.)

Head-to-head: 3-0, Swiatek, including two wins in the Stuttgart quarterfinals, 2022 and 2024.

Only 18 months separate these two, but there’s a world of difference in their Grand Slam experience.

Swiatek is one of four players in history to reach the third round in 20 consecutive majors. Raducanu is through to her first Australian Open third round ever -- and only her fourth in a Grand Slam.

“When we’re going to be out there on the court, whoever is going to play better will win, and that’s it,” Swiatek told reporters. “For sure we have different stories, but before the match, I’m not going to really think about that. I’ll just prepare based on how she plays now.”

Swiatek was a 6-0, 6-2 winner over Rebecca Sramkova in the second round, while Raducanu defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5.

“It’s going to be a match for me where I feel like I don’t really have much expectation externally,” said Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion. “I know that she was playing since a very young age, and my hours in comparison were probably, yeah, a bit comical when I was 17, 18 playing six hours a week.

“I don't think it was the same trajectory. I think now I'm working on building those foundations, and everyone kind of does things at their own pace.”

No.4 Jasmine Paolini vs. No.28 Elina Svitolina (Margaret Court Arena, 7 p.m.)

Head-to-head: 0-0.

Paolini is through to the third round for the fifth consecutive time in a major, making her the first Italian to do that since Roberta Vinci in 2013. If she can beat Svitolina, she’ll equal the mark of Francesca Schiavone’s five straight fourth rounds, going back to 2010.

Paolini defeated Renata Zarazua 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.

Svitolina, who turned 30 last September, is starting to pile up numbers herself. Her 6-1, 6-4 second-round win over Caroline Dolehide gave her 100 wins in Grand Slams, joining active players Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Madison Keys.

No.6 Elena Rybakina vs. No.32 Dayana Yastremska (John Cain Arena, 2 p.m.)

Head-to-head: 0-0.

Rybakina is trying to reach the fourth round of a major for the sixth time in seven tries and has lost only one game on her serve so far, saving six of seven break points.

But Yastremska is very much at home in Melbourne; her 10 main-draw wins here are the best in any Slam. Last year, she powered through the top quarter to become only the fifth qualifier in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

Their paths to reach this stage: Rybakina defeated wild card Iva Jovic 6-0, 6-3 and Yastremska was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Danka Kovinic.

No.8 Emma Navarro vs. Ons Jabeur (Margaret Court Arena, 11:30 a.m.)

Head-to-head: 1-0, Jabeur, 2022 Charleston in straight sets

Navarro has lived dangerously, winning two three-set matches fraught with tension, running the total to 30 matches that went the distance over the past year-plus. That said, she is also one of only six players to get to the third round of the past five majors. 

Navarro was a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 winner over Wang Xiyu. Jabeur, despite suffering the effects of chronic asthma, took care of Camila Osorio 7-5, 6-3.

Jabeur was a quarterfinalist five years ago in Melbourne, losing to eventual champion Sofia Kenin. After a difficult season, she’s trying to regain the form that brought her to three Grand Slam finals in a span of one year. She’s not there yet.

“I don’t want to be greedy just after coming back from an injury,” Jabeur said. “Sometimes I get angry because I feel like I’m getting back there, but every time something happens. I just need to be patient and just kind of execute the shot that I normally do during practice.

“But I am very hopeful for the future.”

No.9 Daria Kasatkina vs. No.24 Yulia Putintseva (Kia Arena, not before 1 p.m.)

Head-to-head: 2-1, Kasatkina. They split matches last year, with Putintseva winning in Madrid and Kasatkina taking the Ningbo quarterfinals.

Kasatkina has been to the third round here twice -- and had the misfortune to run into Serena Williams (in 2016) and Swiatek (2022). This one seems more doable.

Putintseva could prove a tough out, though. She’s been incredibly consistent, lining up for the main draw in Melbourne for the past 13 years, something only three others can say.

To get here, Kasatkina defeated Wang Yafan 6-2, 6-0 and Putintseva was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Zhang Shuai.

No.10 Danielle Collins vs. No.19 Madison Keys (Rod Laver Arena, second night match)

Head-to-head: Keys, 2-1, breaking a deadlock with a 6-1, 6-2 win last year at Strasbourg.

Both Americans were extended to three sets by qualifiers in the second round. Collins got past Destanee Aiava 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2, while Keys outlasted Elena-Gabriela Ruse 7-6(1), 2-6, 7-5.

These two have been competing for a long, long time.

“It’s pretty cool, pretty full-circle moment to go from 10-and-unders and 12-and-unders to playing on one of the biggest stages in the world,” Collins said. “It’s like sometimes comes down to the flip of a coin, right? Madi has been playing some great tennis. She’s been on a heck of a tear the last couple weeks.

“The only thing I can really think about is the fact we were pen pals when we were 10 years old. Yeah, we go back really far, are good friends.”

Both players have an extraordinary record in Melbourne. Collins is 18-6 with a run to the 2022 finals. Keys is 29-10 with two semifinal appearances, in 2015 and 2022.

Collins has been struggling with a foot injury, which required medical attention during her win over Aiava.

No.15 Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Veronika Kudermetova (1573 Arena, not before 2:30 p.m.)

Head-to-head: 2-2. Haddad Maia won two of their three matches in 2024, in Wuhan and Seoul.

Haddad Maia came in at 0-3 (United Cup and Adelaide) but has rallied nicely. She defeated Erika Andreeva in straight sets to arrive here.

Kudermetova reached the quarterfinals in Hobart and upset No.22 Katie Boulter in the second round.

[LL] Eva Lys vs. Jaqueline Cristian (Court 3, not before 12:30 p.m.)

Head-to-head: 3-0, Lys -- all in the past two years and all in three sets.

How about this turn of fortune? Lys lost in the last round of qualifying and now finds herself in the third round of a major for the first time. In fact, the 23-year-old German had lost five of six previous main-draw matches at Grand Slams.

Cristian defeated Lucia Bronzetti 7-5, 7-5, and also advances to the third round of a major for the first time. It's a golden opportunity for both players to make their debut in the second week of a Slam.