World No. 1 Kerber Thrashes Pliskova; Muguruza Moves to 4th Round
Defending champion Angelique Kerber beat Kristyna Pliskova 6-0 6-4.
World number one and reigning champion Angelique Kerber wasted no time in racing into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Kristyna Pliskova on Rod Laver Arena on Friday.
The 29-year-old German served poorly in the first set and had a minor wobble in the second, but recovered her composure to progress comfortably to a meeting with American Coco Vandeweghe.
Pliskova, the left-handed twin of US Open finalist Karolina, finally got on the scoreboard when she held serve in the ninth game of the contest and immediately broke when Kerber badly miscued a backhand at the net.
With men's champion Novak Djokovic having been knocked out in the second round on the same court a few hours earlier, Kerber will be delighted that she recovered to win in two sets after being taken to three in her first two matches.
Muguruza Moves to Fourth Round
French Open champion Garbine Muguruza advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Anastasia Sevastova.
The pair had played twice before — both on hardcourts last year — and Muguruza won them both in straight sets.
Muguruza has matched her best previous results in Melbourne. She lost in the fourth round in 2014 to Agnieszka Radwanska and in 2015 to eventual champion Serena Williams.
The seventh-seeded Muguruza will next play Sorana Cirstea, who beat American Alison Riske 6-2, 7-6 (2) earlier on Friday.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
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