Alcaraz marches on at Australian Open as Swiatek roars back

MELBOURNE - Carlos Alcaraz said he reached a "great level" as he booked his ticket for the Australian Open third round on Thursday after Iga Swiatek staged an astonishing comeback to stay alive.

The Spanish world number two matched his best Melbourne result by reaching the last 32 with a 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 7-6 (3/7) win against Italy's unseeded Lorenzo Sonego.

The two-time major champion, who struck 43 winners on Rod Laver Arena, found himself all square at one set apiece despite not facing any break points in the first two sets.

But he brushed off the loss of the second set, breaking early in the third set, and came out on top in the fourth-set tie-break in windy conditions.

Alcaraz will meet Chinese wildcard Shang Juncheng next as he ramps up his drive towards a maiden title in Melbourne.

"I'm really happy with my performance today," said the 20-year-old. "I think both of us played such a great level, high intensity.

"Even if I lost the second set, I think I played a good game. We put on a show, both of us, making good points and some hot shots as well. It was a great match."

Alcaraz, who missed the 2023 Australian Open due to injury, is aiming to become the third man in the Open Era to win three Grand Slams before the age of 21, after Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander.

He also has the chance to supplant Novak Djokovic as world number one.

SWIATEK DRAMA

Earlier, Polish women's world number one Swiatek was up a set and a break in her second-round match against Danielle Collins before faltering badly and slipping to a 4-1 deficit in the deciding set.

But just as she appeared to be heading home, she reeled off five straight games to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 and extend her winning run to 18 matches.

"Oh my God, I was at the airport already," joked Swiatek, who has never won the Australian Open.

"It wasn't easy. I felt like I had the momentum going and then she started playing suddenly two times faster and I had no idea how to react to that for a couple of games. I came back, and I thought the only thing I could focus on was myself."

The four-time Grand Slam champion will face unseeded Czech player Linda Noskova next.

On a day packed with drama at Melbourne Park, sixth-ranked Alexander Zverev and Casper Rudd, the 11th seed, were pushed to the brink before both came through their matches in fifth-set tie-breaks.

Facing a second consecutive second-round exit in Melbourne, Germany's Zverev came back to win 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (10/7) after a gripping contest lasting four-and-a-half hours on Margaret Court Arena.

"A lot of the times I was a spectator in the match," said Zverev. "I was just witnessing whether he's going to hit a winner or miss. That's not a nice feeling to be in, especially in the important moments.

"To be honest, he probably deserved to win the match more than me today, but that's tennis sometimes."

Zverev faces Alex Michelsen next after the unseeded American teenager upset Czech 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka.

It was a similar story for three-time Grand Slam finalist Ruud, who was taken to a deciding set by Australia's Max Purcell, which he won 10-7.

The Norwegian will next meet British 19th seed Cameron Norrie, who came back from two sets down to beat Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri.

Women's world number five Jessica Pegula was ousted 6-4, 6-2 by young French star Clara Burel, becoming the highest seed to depart the tournament so far, but former US Open champion Sloane Stephens beat Russian 14th seed Daria Kasatkina in three sets.

In the evening session, Kazakh third seed Elena Rybakina, last year's defeated finalist, takes on unseeded Russian Anna Blinkov.

World number three Daniil Medvedev is in action against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori.