MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Latest from the Australian Open on Thursday (all times local):
12:45 p.m.
Former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova has advanced to the third round at the Australian Open by beating American Danielle Collins 7-5, 6-2.
Pliskova, seeded sixth, lost serve twice in a seesaw first set but pulled it out and then pulled away. She finished with seven aces.
Pliskova has won 65 matches in Grand Slams but is still seeking her first major title. She was runner-up to Angelique Kerber at the 2016 U.S. Open.
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12:25 p.m.
American Shelby Rogers has advanced to the third round at the Australian Open for the first time by beating qualifier Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-3.
Rogers hit seven aces and lost only three points on her first serve.
She came into the tournament with a career record of 1-4 in Melbourne, but at age 28 her fortunes have been on the rise. She reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open for the first time last September, and her year-end ranking was a career-best No. 58.
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11:00 a.m.
Day 4 at Melbourne Park features the No. 1 women’s player in the world and the 2020 singles champion in temperatures which are expected to be the hottest of the first week.
Top-ranked Ash Barty plays fellow Australian Daria Gavrilova and fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin plays Kaia Kanepi in afternoon matches as the second round of singles play concludes. Kenin won her first Grand Slam singles title last year with a three-set victory over Garbiñe Muguruza at Melbourne Park.
The weather forecast is for mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of 33 degrees Celsius, or 91 degrees Fahrenheit.
American 16-year-old Coco Gauff takes on fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina, a two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist, in the opening night match at Rod Laver Arena.
Another American, Michael Mmoh, will have an even tougher task, playing No. 2 Rafael Nadal. The Spanish lefthander is looking to win a men's-record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
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