Naomi Osaka earned a heated Australian Open win over Sorana Cirstea as defending champion Madison Keys, Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova all advanced.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who lifted the Australian Open trophy in 2019 and 2021, recovered from a second-set blip to defeat Romanian Cirstea 6-3 4-6 6-2.
There was an icy handshake at the end of the match with Cirstea unhappy with Osaka shouting ‘come-ons’ between points.
Speaking during her on-court interview, the 28-year-old said: “Apparently [I said] a lot of ‘come-ons’ that she was angry about. Whatever. She’s a great player. I think this was her last Australian Open. Sorry she was mad about it.”
Osaka’s grand fashion statement went viral before her opening win on Rod Laver Arena.
In the second of the show courts at Melbourne Park for her second-round match, Osaka dispensed with the couture wide-brim hat, veil and parasol but still wore the jellyfish-inspired dress.
Instead, she matched a warm-up jacket in the same blue and green aquatic hues as her Nike dress and wore a visor.
Defending champion Madison Keys overcame struggles with her game to advance to the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-1 7-5 win over Ashlyn Krueger.
The 30-year-old was once again less than convincing in her victory, two days after labouring in a first-round win over Ukrainian debutant Oleksandra Oliynykova.
Keys took 23 minutes to claim the opening set with a confident display that saw the American hit seven winners and convert all three break points against her compatriot in a one-sided start to the contest.
But the current world No 9 allowed doubts to creep into her game in the second set, handing Krueger two breaks in serve with a succession of double faults that saw the 21-year-old open up a three-game lead.
Keys responded, however, by winning five games in a row to close out the match and progress to the next round.
“I started really well, and I think Ashlyn started a little slow, and then I was fully expecting her to raise her level, which she did,” Keys said.
“Once I kind of got that momentum, I tried to sink my teeth into the set, and do whatever I could to get back into it.”
Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek cruised past Marie Bouzkova with a 6-2 6-3 victory as she hunts for her first major title in Melbourne.
“It felt great playing today, I felt more free than in the first round so I wanted to go for it,” Swiatek said.
“The conditions were not easy, I don’t know if you can tell. It’s super windy, so I needed to adjust to that so I’m happy for the performance for sure.”
“This is not going to sound like I’m humble, but after winning so much, it’s hard to appreciate one match. I’m usually happy after I finish the whole tournament if I win,” she added.
“If not, I’m a bit less happy but I for sure have to learn to appreciate every match and not take everything for granted and play to win. It was a good day today and I felt good.”
Fourth seed Amanda Anisimova saw off Katerina Siniakova 6-1 6-4 and sixth seed Jessica Pegula thumped doubles partner McCartney Kessler 6-0 6-2.
Former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova, who had two surgeries on her left ankle last year and played only three games, defeated Indonesian Janice Tjen 6-4 6-4 to reach the third round.
Fellow Czech star, Linda Noskova, defeated Australian wildcard Taylah Preston 6-2 4-6 6-2.
Preston made a strong comeback in the second set but ran out of steam against the 13th seed in the decider.
The 25th seed, Paula Badosa, a semi-finalist in Melbourne 12 months ago, made an early exit, losing to the unseeded Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-4 6-4 in her second round contest.
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