Australian Open Day 4 - de Minaur digs deep to win, Sabalenka + Gauff sail into Round 3

In today’s episode, they unpack Carlos Alcaraz surviving a marathon 78-minute first set – the longest opening set of his Grand Slam career – before powering through on Rod Laver Arena. We discuss whether his new-look serve is edging into Novak Djokovic “copyright” territory, plus what his team are telling him behind the scenes.It was a gritty day for the other top male seeds as well, with Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur all battling through four-set wins, while Cam Norrie kept British hopes alive to set up yet another clash with Zverev who holds a 6-0 record in the H2H. Not so much joy for Emma Raducanu though, as she bowed out early in a flat second-round loss to Anastasia Potapova – we ask the big questions about form, fitness and whether she should ditch Francisco Roig.On the women’s side, the top seeds cruised. Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva all booked their places in Round 3 with minimum fuss, while we also dive into off-court banter, from Federer and Alcaraz golfing to Rublev’s elite “coffee and sleep” recovery routine. Plus look ahead to the action on Day 5 where Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina are the headline acts on Rod Laver Arena.AO Travel & Experiences Learn more and book your tickets through AO Travel & Experiences at ausopentravel.comSOCIALSFollow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus email the show [email protected] Tennis Weekly Merch through our Etsy store including limited edition designs by Krippa Design where all proceeds go towards the podcast so we can keep doing what we do!REVIEWS***Please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It really means a lot to us at HQ and helps make it easier for new listeners to discover us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.