Australian Open: Marketa upsets second seed Jabeur, Bencic advances to third round

Melbourne [Australia], January 19 : Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova caused an upset by defeating the number 2 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia to advance to the third round of women's singles competition at the ongoing Australian Open on Thursday.
Marketa defeated Jabeur by 6-1, 5-7, 6-1. She won the first set by a thumping margin, lost a closely fought second set before making a comeback in the final set to win it comprehensively.
The 23-year-old was facing wrist issues over the years, causing her to watch the action from the sidelines after reaching her first majors final at 2019 Roland Garros and then for another six months last year as she recovered from a surgery.
"I had a difficult time breathing. Not sure what is happening. Marketa played a good match and deserved to win. I will do my best to come back stronger," said Jabeur after the match as quoted by WTA.
Marketa's next challenge will be the 17-year-old compatriot Linda Fruhvirtova, the youngest player left in the draw.
On the other hand, Belinda Bencic from Switzerland also reached the third round of the tournament by downing USA's Claire Liu.
Bencic won the match by 7-6(3), 6-3.
Earlier, No.5 seeded Aryna Sabalenka's stunning start to the year continued as she notched a triumph over dangerous Shelby Rogers to reach the third round of the ongoing 2023 Australian Open on Thursday.
It took one hour and 27 minutes for Sabalenka to overpower Rogers 6-3, 6-1 here at Rod Laver Arena.
In their two prior meetings, both in 2022, Sabalenka had triumphed over Rogers, the world's number 51. On Cincinnati's hardcourts, however, Rogers had pushed Sabalenka to 6-4 in the third set. Furthermore, Rogers has defeated three Top 10 opponents at Grand Slam events, including Ashleigh Barty, the former World No. 1 at the US Open in 2021.
Rogers was able to score first, grabbing a 3-1 lead in an opening set full of drawn-out games, despite Sabalenka saving roughly 80% of the break points she had faced throughout her strong start to the year.
In the beginning of the opening set, Sabalenka hit some unrefined forehands, but she improved as the game went on, putting extra force behind her backhand service returns. Overall, the No. 5 seed won five straight games to seize the one-set advantage.
In the second set, Sabalenka saved a break point and held for a 1-1 tie by slamming a backhand winner. From that point on, she was unaffected and won the match with a backhand crosscourt shot.
Sabalenka will lock horns with former regular doubles partner, No.26 seed Elise Mertens, in the third round battle. Mertens of Belgium set up the Sabalenka meeting by beating Lauren Davis of America 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted one hour and 12 minutes.
"It was a great match. Always a tough opponent to play against, and I'm super happy that I was able to finish this game in two sets," WTA.com quoted Sabalenka as saying after her win.