Four Americans occupied third-round spots in the third quarter of the Australian Open draw, and three made the last 16 – Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, alongside a lone Chinese, Wang Xinyu – after a match on a hot Saturday at Melbourne Park.
It started to get a little warm. I just tried to use the ice towels as much as possible, just pre-cool a lot. Not necessarily that it felt that hot at this point, but if it did start to creep, or if something happened and we go to a third, I definitely think it could zap you pretty quickly, with how hot it could get. The fact that we haven’t played as much in the warm temperatures is what appeals to people, I think. You have zero tolerance for it, and then suddenly it comes out of nowhere. We’re used to it happening here, but it’s hard to prepare for it. Jessica Pegula
Fourth seed Anisimova defeated compatriot Peyton Stearns 6-1 6-4 in 71 minutes to set up Wang for a place in the quarter-finals; while sixth-seeded Pegula was a 6-3 6-2 winner over Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva in 66 minutes, and defending champion Keys, the No. 9 seed, defeated former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-3 6-3 in 75 minutes.
Keys and Pegula meet Monday in an All-American matchup between two Top 10 players, vying for a spot in the Final 8, and both know each other on and off the court as cohosts of the Player’s Box Podcast, along with Desirae Krawczyk and Jennifer Brady, which they formed last summer.
Almost exactly a year ago, Anisimova was hovering outside the Top 30, rising to a career-high No. 3 at the start of the 2026 season, while she enters this year’s Australian Open with her highest seeding at a Grand Slam.
However, Stearns went into the match with a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head clash, the result of a three-set win in Madrid last year, but Anisimova leveled the score with a quite emphatic straight-set win on Saturday, using her double-handed backhand and devastating pace to deadly effect at Margaret Court Arena.
“It’s just always been my best shot,” she said of her backhand. “I like using it. I like to go down the line, but I actually like to cross as well. So I think it’s hard to predict where I’m going to hit the ball and that’s why I think that makes it so special.”
As temperatures soared, the Floridian remained unfazed.
“I think it’s just the fact that we had so many outdoor courts in the summer,” she said. “It was always so hot. I hated training in the summer, but you know what, at least it paid off a little bit. But it’s just great to play here, and even when it’s so hot, it’s nice to have a challenge.”
Anisimova marks her 18th consecutive victory in a Grand Slam match and enters the second week with confidence as the only current player to have defeated all four major champions last year: Coco Gauff in Beijing, Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon, Iga Swiatek at the US Open and Keys in the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
The fourth seed has yet to drop a set this week, and she never seemed in real danger of doing so here despite Stearns’ late charge.
Anisimova saved a break point in the opening game before breaking her compatriot for a 2-0 lead and then adding another break to go 5-1 ahead, serving out the set in just over half an hour.
Just when it looked like she would cruise to victory with a 5-2 lead in the second, Stearns fought off a match point and broke for the second time in three games, closing the gap to 5-4, saving another match point and finally succumbing to a forehand winner that sent Anisimova to the fourth round for the second year in a row.
“I just tried to stay focused, do the things I wanted to do, focus on my serve,” Anisimova said. “I made quite a few mistakes when I was 5-2 up. Yeah, I just tried to regroup and do what I could to close things out because obviously it wasn’t easy playing against her.”
Ultimately, Anisimova was the more aggressive of the two, with her 30 unforced errors more than double Stearns’ 14, but she also produced 14 winners to Stearns’ 6, including the one that mattered most, the last.
© Lalta Zhang/Getty Images
Anisimova next faces Wang
Their match was postponed after Melbourne’s heatwave led to the suspension of all matches on outdoor courts shortly before 3pm after conditions were determined to have reached Level 5 on the AO’s heat stress scale, causing a schedule backlog.
The mercury at Melbourne Park peaked at 38.5°C at 5:30 PM local time and was still hovering in the mid-30s after 8:00 PM, sending spectators rushing away in search of shade as play continued with the roofs closed at the Rod Laver, John Cain and Margaret Court arenas.
A 10-minute cool-down break is allowed between the second and third sets for women’s matches, and between the third and fourth sets for men’s singles, with play starting at 10:30 am instead of 11:30 am, to try to beat the heat.
Wang and Noskova were tied at 2-2 when play was stopped at the Kia Arena, and they did not resume until 7:30 p.m., when the Chinese advanced to the fourth round.
Keys and Pegula were up first, posting a string of wins in just under an hour to beat the heat, while Anisimova said she took an ice bath before and after her match to help her cope with the “really tough” conditions.
All three of the top Americans are based in Florida and felt the combination of that base and their early start helped them deal with the heat.
“It was starting to get a little warm,” Pegula said. “I just tried to use the ice towels as much as possible, just pre-cooling a lot.
“Not necessarily that it felt that hot at the moment, but if it did start to creep, or if something happened and we go to a third, I definitely think it could zap you pretty quickly, with how hot it could get.
“The fact that we haven’t played as much in the hot temperatures, I think, is what appeals to people. You have no tolerance for it, and then suddenly it comes out of nowhere. We’re used to it happening here, but it’s hard to prepare for it.”
Sixth seed Jessica Pegula advanced with a straight sets win against Oksana Selekhmeteva, playing early in the day to try to beat the construction heat on Day 7 of the Australia Open
© William West/AFP via Getty Images
The 31-year-old Pegula’s flat, aggressive game translates well to the hard courts of Melbourne Park, leading to just twelve unforced errors, half the number committed by Selekhmeteva.
Despite her opponent’s three aces throughout the match, Pegula’s steady 88% of first serve points ultimately kept her ahead.
“I played pretty well, depending on how I felt,” Pegula said. “I wanted to stick to a strategy, but sometimes you go out and you feel something different with the way you hit the ball, but luckily I think everything worked out pretty well today.”
Pegula has reached the quarter-finals of all four Majors, three times at the Australian Open, and Keys now stands between her and a fourth AO quarter-final.
“I’ve been working so much on my game, trying to become a better player in all circumstances,” Pegula said. “So hopefully I’ll just be ready for whatever comes next.”
Madison Keys kept her AO title defense on track with a two-set win over former Karolina Pliskova at Melbourne Park on Saturday
© Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Keys booked her place in the fourth round with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Pliskova, her 10th win in a row at Melbourne Park, after shocking her Grand Slam ‘hoodoo’ from last year’s Australian Open.
“I would pat myself on the back for that, and I’m glad I got through that match and made it to the fourth round,” Keys said. “Gives you a confidence boost when you’re pushed so you can find your best tennis, so to speak. And I think that’s always something important for me. I just try to really trust my game in those moments and believe in myself and be OK no matter which way they go. As long as I stand up for myself, I try to do the right things.”
While Keys was on her career-defining run to silver 12 months ago, Pliskova was back home in a snowy environment. She had to miss the first Grand Slam of the season due to a left ankle injury, which required two operations and sidelined her for more than a year.
Now 33 and admitting her ankle will likely never be the same, Pliskova has accepted that a major title is unlikely to be in the cards.
Just a year ago, Keys had accepted the same fate before embarking on her most unexpected fortnight and claiming the AO title.
This is her first experience as a defending Grand Slam champion, and after struggling to find her flow in her opening match, the American has risen to the challenge in subsequent rounds.
On Saturday, she took just 19 minutes to take a 4-0 lead at Rod Laver Arena against an understandably rusty Pliskova, playing her first tour-level event since the 2024 US Open.
The former WTA ace queen won just 44% of the points on her first serve and had to quickly find some rhythm to reverse the flow and regain some confidence.
It took more than 10 minutes but she eventually held on to get on the board and, with a glimpse of the past, effortlessly smashed a forehand winner on the way to a break for 2-4.
The pair had met only once before, in the 2020 Brisbane International final, which the Czech won in a three-set thriller, and Keys was determined not to be drawn into another drawn-out affair as the mercury crept up.
After dropping three straight games, Keys reasserted herself, and two games later, four straight backhand winners gave her the opening set in 43 minutes.
After finding her feet, the American grabbed the only break of the second in the 8th game before crossing the line comfortably to finish with 25 winners, including 6 aces, and set up a Last 16 showdown against her good friend Pegula.
Former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova played her first tour-level tournament since losing at the 2024 US Open after being sidelined by two operations on her left foot
© Phil Walter/Getty Images
#Melbourne #American #trio