Australian Open 2020: Karolina Pliskova breezes past Laura Siegemund in straight sets to secure spot in third round

Melbourne: Second-seeded Karolina Pliskova continued her strong recent form at the Australian Open by advancing to the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Laura Siegemund.

“I'm happy to get through — this was an ugly match for me,” she said.

Last year at Melbourne Park, Pliskova lost to eventual champion Naomi Osaka in the semifinals after saving four match points to beat Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

The rain at Melbourne Park has abated and play is underway on about half the outdoor courts after they had to be washed down due to an overnight dust storm.

Heavy showers delay play in outside courts

Rain and an overnight dust storm from the northwest of Melbourne is playing havoc with the Australian Open schedule.

First heavy morning showers delayed play on all outside courts. That combined with an earlier dust storm left a layer of red on some outside courts, making them unplayable in the morning.

Melbourne Park staff used high-pressure hoses to clean court surfaces before light rain showers began falling in the early afternoon, forcing officials to close the roofs at the three main arenas. The rain became heavier later, and suspended play in the only two matches that had started on outside courts.

In the first completed match at Rod Laver Arena, two-time Grand Slam singles champion Garbine Muguruza beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Bencic, Vekic advance to third round

Sixth-seeded Belinda Bencic and Donna Vekic have advanced to the third round at Melbourne Park. Bencic beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 7-5 while the 19th-seeded Vekic defeated Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-2.

Heavy morning rain showers delayed play on the outside courts from at least 90 minutes to up to three hours. Play began on schedule as well on the other two venues with retractable roofs — Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal was scheduled to play the second night match at Rod Laver Arena against Federico Delbonis. Local hope Nick Kyrgios was also set to play a night match at Melbourne Arena against French veteran Gilles Simon.

The rain stopped late morning and the weather is mostly cloudy with gusting winds.

 

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