Melbourne witnessed a masterclass in power and precision on day four of the Australian Open as two of the tournament’s foremost contenders, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, delivered emphatic statements of intent.
Reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff showcased what she described as a ‘near perfect’ performance, dismantling Serbia’s Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-2 in a commanding 77-minute display on Margaret Court Arena. The American phenom immediately imposed her authority, racing to a 5-0 lead in the opening set before sealing victory with impressive composure. Gauff’s statistical improvement was particularly notable—reducing her double faults to just one and hitting 14 winners—a significant refinement from her error-prone first-round encounter. The victory sets up an all-American third-round clash against Hailey Baptiste.
Meanwhile, world number one and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka continued her relentless form, dispatching China’s Bai Zhuoxuan 6-3, 6-1 in just 72 minutes. The top-seeded Belarusian demonstrated why she remains unbeaten in 2026, overwhelming her opponent ranked 701 places below her with characteristic power. Despite brief resistance that saw Sabalenka denied on six set points, she maintained her dominant record at Melbourne Park, where she has now won 45 of her last 50 sets. This achievement places her among Open era legends like Graf, Hingis, Seles, and Williams. Sabalenka will face Russian-born Austrian Anastasia Potapova, who advanced after defeating Britain’s Emma Raducanu.
The tournament’s top ten women’s seeds all remain in contention, with Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva also delivering a spectacular 6-0, 6-0 victory over Greece’s Maria Sakkari in just 67 minutes, underscoring the depth of competition at this year’s event.