Australian Open day 4 live scores: Alex de Minaur v Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Zverev court case

Sinner dispatched Jeser de Jong in straight sets on Wednesday, crushing the Dutchman 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to ease into the third round.

Rated as one of the best chances of denying Novak Djokovic an 11th Australian Open, Sinner sounded a warning to his title rivals after the victory.

“It doesn’t really matter who you play against. You fear against nobody, but a lot of respect for everyone. This is what I try to show to everyone,” he said.

“It’s good to play in front of you guys. It means a lot to me.”

Sinner was asked about his conditioning for the tournament and quipped on Channel 9 he was aiming for a “Baywatch” look.

“I’m happy with my physicality at the moment. Of course, it’s the dream to have the Baywatch physicality, but it’s OK,” he responded to have the crowd in stitches.

3.50PM: HUNTER BREAKS IN THIRD SET

That could be a huge moment for Storm Hunter.

After dropping the second set 6-3 against Laura Siegemund, she has the break and has held serve to go 4-1 ahead in the third.

The Aussie is potentially two matches away from her best result as a singles player at a Grand Slam.

3.30PM: COURIER JUMPS TO DEFENCE OF ‘MISUNDERSTOOD’ AMERICAN

As his feud with Novak Djokovic comes closer to being reignited at Melbourne Park, American firebrand Ben Shelton has been described as “misunderstood”.

Djokovic revealed in recent days he copied Shelton’s ‘phone hang up’ celebration after knocking him out of the US Open as a response to what he deemed a lack of respect from Shelton.

Shelton is one of the most outwardly-confident players on the tour and has been described as arrogant.

But fellow American Jim Courier said “misunderstood” was a better description.

“I would go with misunderstood,” Courier said on Channel 9.

“I think that Ben is a confident young man and has a lot of swagger on the court. Some people might not take to that, but a lot of people do.

“I think if you get to know him personally, I think you’ll fall in love with him.”

Shelton and Djokovic are on a potential collision course in the fourth round.

3PM: AUSSIE EYES ONE OF BIGGEST CAREER WINS

Qualifier Storm Hunter — ranked 172nd in the world — leads world No.78 Laura Siegemund one set to love as she eyes a place in the Australian Open’s third round.

The 29-year-old Queenslander has never reached the third round in the singles at a Grand Slam, matching her second-round appearance at the French Open when she defeated Sara Errani in the opening round at Melbourne Park.

Hunter took the first set 6-4 and players are tied at 1-1 early in the second set.

She has reached the finals of a Grand Slam as a doubles player and is a mixed doubles Gram Slam champion, but is trying to go where she never has before as a singles player.

2.40PM: DE MINAUR MAULING ARNALDI

He declared his intent to exact Davis Cup revenge and Alex De Minaur is a man on a mission today.

After taking the first set 6-3, the Aussie 10th seed has stormed to a 5-0 lead in the second set and is running rings around Matteo Arnaldi.

FOLLOW LIVE HERE in our De Minaur blog.

2.05PM: OPEN CONTENDER ALCARAZ’S FLEX APPEAL

When you’re trying to take down Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park, it pays to have a weapon up your sleeve — literally.

Nick Kyrgios was impressed by Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz’s biceps, which were on show during his straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet yesterday.

Speaking on Eurosport, where he is a commentator for the Australian Open, Kyrgios asked Alcaraz whether the singlets he wore on tour had inspired the No.2 seed to get the guns out.

“It seems like that,” Alcaraz said.

“No I had, you know, to scare the opponents in a certain way, not with my forehand or backhand. With my arms, or I am trying that.”

Alcaraz was having a laugh, but it’s pretty clear he never skips arm day.

1.40PM – WOZNIACKI OVERHELMED BY QUALIFIER

Former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki is out of this year’s tournament after falling to an opponent ranked outside the top 150.

A wildcard entry this year, mother-of-two Wozniacki was overcome by qualifier Maria Timofeeva in her second round match on John Cain Arena, 1-6 6-4 6-1.

Despite what appeared to be a one-sided first set on paper, the 2018 Australian Open winner was forced to dig deep against her 20-year-old opponent during some lengthy games.

Timofeeva then got her game going in the second set.

This is Timofeeva’s Grand Slam debut and she holds a world ranking of 170.

Wozniacki stepped away from tennis after the 2020 Australian Open and had two children – Oliva and James.

Her first Grand Slam back was the US Open last year, where she made the fourth round.

The 33-year-old progressed to the second round after her first-round opponent – 20th seed Magda Linette – was forced to retire due to injury during the second set.

Wozniacki said after her first match that she felt she had “nothing to lose and everything to win” at the Australian Open this year.

1.30PM: DEMON ON COURT FOR SECOND ROUND CLASH

Alex de Minaur is on court a little earlier than expected today – following the stunning straight sets defeat of sixth seed Ons Jabeur in the first match on Rod Laver Arena.

The Australian will be firm favourite to advance to the third round when he takes on Matteo Arnaldi, and he should be fresh after a shortened round-one match against Milos Raonic, who retired with a hip complaint.

If you’re keen to follow live updates of that match, we’re running a separate blog over here.

1.20PM: TEEN PHENOM DESTROYS IDOL, SIXTH SEED IN SHOCK

A 16-year-old rising star has made her mark on the Australian Open, pulling off a huge upset win over sixth-seed Ons Jabeur on Rod Laver Arena.

Russian-born Mirra Andreeva – competing in her first Australian Open at only the fourth Grand Slam of her career – sent Jabeur packing with an emphatic 6-0 6-2 second-round win on Rod Laver Arena.

Jabeur was lost for answers after the first set, seeking guidance from her coach Issam Jellali during the break in play.

Her racquet went flying during the second set as she attempted to reach a shot at the net and her frustration became clear.

The Tunisian champion, 29, was a runner-up at Wimbledon last year and was previously a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in 2020.

It was Andreeva’s first win over a top-10 player.

“I was really nervous before the match because I’m really inspired by Ons,” Andreeva said.

“Before I started to play on a WTA Tour, I always watched her matches and I was always so inspired by the way she plays. Now I had a chance to play against her and, honestly, in the first set I showed amazing tennis. I honestly didn’t expect that from myself. I just wanted to go to play on this big court for the second time and just to enjoy tennis, just to enjoy the time, and I did.”

Andreeva was asked what had changed in her game, to which she replied: “I just feel like I am a bit more mature than I was before.”

She was reminded: “You’re only 16”, before she responded, “Well, that’s true, but last year I was 15”.

1:10PM: TWO-TIME CHAMP CALLS OUT AUS OPEN HYPOCRISY

Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka has pointed out the hypocrisy behind the tournament’s pledge to be more sustainable – despite continuing to sell plastic products throughout the Melbourne Park grounds.

The Australian Open has for the past few years made a concerted effort to be more environmentally friendly, partnering with Australian startup Samsara two years ago to recycle thousands of plastic bottles throughout the two-week event.

But the presence of plastic in all other areas of Melbourne Park is jarring for Azarenka, who expressed her confusion after a first-round win against Camila Giorgi on Tuesday.

“We have water bottles that are recyclable, but then we have plastic everywhere around. What are we actually doing?” said Azarenka, who won back to back titles in Melbourne in 2012-13.

“It’s like one step we’re trying to take to absolutely sustainability and et cetera, but you’re selling plastic all over the stadium.

“And those big bottles, I don’t know how much I have to drink. So to me it’s confusing.

“I want to make sure that we do something that is important. But like this, it looks like – what’s that sentence – smoke and mirrors? You can say that?

“I don’t like that. If we’re going to do something important as try to be sustainable, okay, let’s actually do that.

“But if you look at all the things around, we have chocolate individual wrappers all over the stadium. What are we doing?”

12.50PM: RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

Yes, it’s that time again – a weather update from Melbourne.

The news, as it was before, is good-ish. The weather is definitely clearing up but it takes time to dry all of the outside courts.

So it’s been confirmed there’ll be no play on outside courts until at least 1.30pm. Fingers crossed for no further rain today.

12.35PM: SIXTH SEED BAGELLED IN AUS OPEN SHOCKER

– Chris Cavanagh

Ons Jabeur is having a nightmare on Rod Laver Arena at the moment – and a huge upset is brewing, with women’s sixth-seed Ons Jabeur having a battle on her hands against 16-year-old rising star Mirra Andreeva.

The Russian-born Andreeva took the first set in commanding fashion, 6-0 in just 20 minutes.

Jabeur was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in 2020 and was the runner-up at Wimbledon last year.

Currently ranked No.47 in the world, Andreeva is competing at just her fourth Grand Slam and first Australian Open.

Jabeur was spotted in an animated conversation with her coach after the first set.

12.00PM: WOZNIAKI CONTINUES HOT OZ OPEN START

– Chris Cavanagh

One-time Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki is continuing her strong start to her first tournament in four years at Melbourne Park, holding qualifier Maria Timofeeva at bay in the first set of her second-round match.

The 2018 Australian Open champion, Wozniacki took the first set 6-1 in 45 minutes against an opponent 13 years her junior.

It was not all easy for Wozniacki, with her final service game going to deuce four times as Timofeeva continued to push.

Wozniacki progressed to the second round after her first-round opponent – 20th seed Magda Linette – was forced to retire due to injury during the second set.

Wozniacki stepped away from tennis after the 2020 Australian Open and had two children – Oliva and James.

Her first Grand Slam back was the US Open last year, where she made the fourth round.

11.45AM: RAIN CONTINUES TO MESS WITH AUS OPEN PLANS

It’s definitely easing, but the rain is still delaying play on the outside courts at Melbourne Park.

And it will do so until at least 12.30pm, according to officials.

There is some live tennis, however, thanks to the roofed stadiums. Early matches on Margaret Court Arena and Rod Laver Arena are about to get underway and Caroline Wozniacki’s first-round clash with qualifier Maria Timofeeva heading towards the end of the first set on John Cain Arena.

11.30AM: AUSTRALIAN OPEN WEATHER UPDATE

– Chris Cavanagh

It’s been a wet morning at Melbourne Park, but the rain is clearing in welcome news for Australian Open organisers.

Melbourne’s soaking summer continued overnight and into this morning, with the city receiving some 19.2mm of rain to 11am.

However, the radar shows the worst of the storms have now passed and the afternoon is clearing up.

Australian Open organisers announced earlier this morning that there would be no play on the outside courts before midday as a result of the rain.

Play on John Cain Arena is beginning as scheduled at 11am, while matches on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena are due to begin at midday.

The forecast for the rest of the week looks much better, with 0-1mm of rain possible on Friday but no rain expected on any other days.

11AM: TENNIS BAD BOY QUERIES DOMESTIC ABUSE PROBE

Controversial tennis player Tennys Sandgren has hit out at the tennis media for grilling Australian Open stars on the domestic violence charges levelled at sixth seed Alexander Zverev.

News of Zverev’s abuse allegations – and confirmation that he would stand trial in Germany in May – swept through Melbourne Park on Tuesday, with players grilled on the topic and in particular how it impacted Zverev’s role on the professional tour players’ council.

One by one the players from leading names Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud, to another member of the players’ council, Grigor Dimitrov, were probed on the topic.

All declined to comment in any detail, citing a lack of knowledge on the case.

But Sandgren objected to the line of questioning.

“Why are the press asking players about domestic violence? Like yes domestic violence is bad why the weird ‘got ya’ game?” he asked on Twitter.

“We are independent contractors bro go ask the ATP big wigs chill tf (the f**k) out.

“It’s not the players job to make sure another player is in good standing with the atp.

“The fact that he’s on tour playing makes it self-evident that he is. But of course they know that.”

Sandgren is no stranger to courting controversy.

In 2022, he pulled out of the Australian Open due to the COVID vaccine mandate – ending a decade-long run of competing at the tournament.

He was also a vocal critic of the tournament’s quarantine measures in 2021, when he flew into Australia while COVID-positive at the height of the pandemic’s grip on Australia.

The outspoken star has previously been linked to the controversial alt-right, and deleted tweets after denying far-right sympathies.

10.30AM: ‘WE WANT REVENGE’: HEWITT’S DEMON PLEDGE

Alex de Minaur will have extra motivation when he faces Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi later this afternoon.

Not only is a spot in the Australian third round on offer, but Australian legend Lleyton Hewitt believes the world No.10 will be out for revenge after last year’s Davis Cup heartache.

Arnaldi put Italy on the path to victory in the Davis Cup semi-finals when he toppled Alexei Popyrin, before De Minaur was rolled by Jannik Sinner.

And the defeat still stings the Australians, with Hewitt admitting to having nightmares about the missed opportunities as he suggested de Minaur will want to take it out on the rising Italian star.

“We want revenge. I’m still having nightmares where Arnaldi won a cliffhanger against Alexei Popyrin,” Hewitt, Australia’s Davis Cup captain, said on Wednesday.

“If we were somehow able to win that match we would have held up the Davis Cup trophy. That’s been tough. That will be in the back of Alex’s mind.”

“It was a tough pill to swallow. To come so close yet again two years in a row. I know how much it hurts the boys. That will drive them on to bigger and better things.”

10AM: DAY FOUR START DELAYED BY RAIN

A day after the temperatures soared into the 30s, leading to players battling in the heat – and England’s Jack Draper vomiting in a bin after a gruelling five-set win – Melbourne’s weather is showing it’s full range today.

Because, of course, it’s raining.

That means there’ll be no play on the outside courts until midday at the earliest – and we could be facing a backlog of matches if there are any significant delays.

9.30AM: WHY POPYRIN CAN RATTLE DJOKER

It’s the toughest test in world tennis, but can Australian upstart Alexei Popyrin pull off the shock of the tournament tonight and dethrone the king of Melbourne Park?

Popyrin will be on centre court later tonight with world No.1 Novak Djokovic eyeing off more Australian Open glory.

It’s a seemingly impossible task, but retiring Australian star John Millman has said the young star has the weapons to unsettle Djokovic.

While Millman had an 0-3 record against the Serbian star, he said Popyrin was better equipped to pull off an upset.

“The thing that I didn’t have that Alexei has is a serve. He’s got an amazing serve,” Millman told Channel 9.

“He’s tidied up his action a little bit with (Belgian great) Xavier Malisse.

“He won’t be wasting any of those emotions pre-game, and he’s going to have to come out swinging, because that’s the only way to beat Novak. You have to hit him off the court.”

8.45AM: FEMALE STARS IN ACTION ON WEDNESDAY

Aryna Sabalenka faces her second consecutive qualifier today as she looks to get her title defence off to a flyer.

Sabalenka will be on centre court ahead of Novak Djokovic, facing Czech qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova.

The powerful Belarusian second seed dropped just one game in obliterating her first-round opponent, with Fruhvirtova set to face more of her wrath.

US Open champion Coco Gauff, who romped through her first match, will follow on from Sinner against fellow American Caroline Dolehide in her quest for a maiden title at Melbourne Park.

Other players in action include women’s sixth seed Ons Jabeur against exciting Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva and former champion Caroline Wozniacki.

8.15AM: AUSSIE STANDS IN NOVAK’S WAY

Novak Djokovic resumes his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title Wednesday against home hope Alexei Popyrin.

Serbian superstar Djokovic dropped a set against unheralded Croat Dino Prizmic in his opening clash and will not want to do repeat the feat against 43rd-ranked Popyrin.

But the 10-time Australian Open winner heads into the night match on Rod Laver Arena with lingering concerns over his health after admitting he was “a bit under the weather” against Prizmic.

“Look, it is what it is. You just have to try to deal with it and get over it and accept the circumstances and try to make the most of it,” he said.

Should he come through against the Australian, the world number one will face a third-round clash against veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils or Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who ended Andy Murray’s tournament.

Men’s fourth seed Jannik Sinner is also in action, against Dutchman Jesper de Jong on Margaret Court Arena as he looks to maintain his recent impressive form, which has included a win over Djokovic.

Men’s seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, last year’s losing finalist, meets Australian Jordan Thompson, but is not worried about a hostile crowd, with a big Greek contingent in Melbourne.

7.45AM: ALCARAZ HELPS BREAK STUNNING GRAND SLAM RECORD

The 2024 Australian Open has broken new grand slam ground with a record 30 seeded men’s players progressing to the second round.

When No.2 seed Carlos Alcaraz dismissed Richard Gasquet in straight sets late on Tuesday night he put the bow on an incredible three days that saw only No.18 Nicolas Jarry and No.31 Alexander Bublik fail to progress.

Never in the history of Grand Slam tennis have 30 seeded men’s players reached the second round.

The previous record was 29, which has happened five times: US Open (2001, 2015) and Australian Open (2005, 2009, 2014).

7.00AM: DEMON’S REVENGE MISSION AGAINST DAVID CUP CONQUEROR

He survived the early stumbling block of Milos Raonic and now Alex de Minaur has revenge in mind when he goes to war with tricky Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the second round on Wednesday.

De Minaur was forced to dig deep into his bag of tricks on Monday night to survive the super serve of Raonic, who eventually retired early in the third set with a hip injury.

His next test is world No. 41 Arnaldi, who has shown a knack for knocking Aussies out of big tournaments and is fast becoming public enemy number one Down Under.

Arnaldi, 22, outdueled Alexei Popyrin in last year’s Davis Cup Finals as Italy went on to lift the trophy with a 2-1 victory over Australia.

Though de Minaur was matched against world No. 4 Jannick Sinner that day, he still feels some responsibility to get one back on Arnaldi, whom he has never played before.

“It’s no secret Davis Cup is a huge priority for me and it’s been shattering the last couple of years to get so close to the holy grail and just barely miss out — so yeah, I do associate Matteo as the guy that beat us in the Davis Cup Final,” De Minaur said.

“So I’ll do my best to hopefully get some revenge. He’s a quality opponent but I’ll be ready for it.”

Arnaldi rose 91 spots in the ATP Rankings last year off the back of some impressive scalps, including a straight-sets win over world No. 11 Casper Ruud and three-set victories against No. 22 Cameron Norrie and No. 23 Jiri Lehecka.

The Italian also sent Aussie Jason Kubler out in the first round of the US Open and twice defeated Popyrin, including the Davis Cup Finals tie.

He opened his maiden Australian Open campaign with a straight-sets win over Queenslander Adam Walton on Sunday and now has the Aussie No. 1 in his sights.

But de Minaur is different gravy, especially this version.

After his incredible start to 2024, which began with three top 10 scalps in the United Cup – including Novak Djokovic – de Minaur will be heavily favoured going into this one.

Win and he will set up a third round meeting with another unseeded player.

Many are already eyeballing a mouth-watering fourth round clash with world No. 5 Andrey Rublev as the first real test of de Minaur’s credentials.

But the Aussie, who has never gone beyond the fourth round at the Australian Open, said his focus was firmly on Arnaldi.

“To be completely frank I have no idea about my draw,” De Minaur said.

“I don’t look at the draw, I don’t like it, I think it’s a way of getting ahead of yourself and there’s no moment like the present.

“For me the only thing I’m really focused about is my next opponent which is obviously Arnaldi.

“(He) is a quality Italian player with a lot of firepower and he’s started the year really well, so I’m going to be ready for that battle and whatever happens, happens after that.”

Originally published as Australian Open day 4 live scores: Alex de Minaur v Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Zverev court case