DAY 5 MATCHES TO WATCH

No. 2 Simona Halep defeated Alja Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in 2 hours, 36 minutes to advance to Friday’s third-round match versus No. 32 Veronika Kudermetova.

Down 2-5 in the third set, Halep won three games to draw even, engage in an exhausting 11-point, 11th game, where she converted the fourth break point, then served out the match with a flourish.

Not so long ago, Halep would get down on herself in moments of duress.

“I already felt nervous before the match,” Halep said afterward. “I was talking non-stop and I was talking negative. And also I have to apologize to my team because I was very negative with them also. We talked after the match and [coach] Darren [Cahill] said that you looked like old Simo.

“I said, `No, I have improved in something.’ I was fighting until the end.”

The 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon champion pulled out five straight games when she absolutely had to have them. It will be difficult not to look past Kudermetova, because looming in the fourth round could be Iga Swiatek, who thumped Halep in the fourth round last October at Roland Garros, 6-2, 6-1.

Halep and Kudermetova, the 23-year-old Russian, have never met.

There are seven more third-round matches from the bottom half of the draw on Day 5, with the lofty goal of advancing to the second week of a Grand Slam.

SERENA’S QUEST FOR 24

There was concern when Serena Williams withdrew from last week’s Yarra Valley Classic after winning three matches, citing a sore serving shoulder. Not to worry, for Serena has dropped all of five games in her first four sets at Melbourne Park.

Anastasia Potapova, the talented 19-year-old from Russia who won her first two matches, is next. Potapova, a former Wimbledon junior champion, fell to Serena here a year ago, 6-0, 6-3 in a first-round match that clocked 58 minutes.

2021 Australian Open Highlights Day 3: Serena surges past Stojanovic

In an on-court interview following her win over Nina Stojanovic, Serena explained that thought was sometimes the enemy of execution.

“I’m still just trying to find that balance sometimes,” she told reporters later. “Even with my serve, I overthink it. It’s like, `I’m not hitting it.’ But when I don’t think about it and I’m just like, `Whatever,’ it goes in.”

Serena, who became the oldest woman to win a major, at the 2017 Australian Open, has been to four major finals since but failed to convert. The seven-time champion in Melbourne turns 40 in September and needs one more Grand Slam singles title to equal Australian Margaret Court’s record total of 24.

TOP SEEDS IN PLAY

No. 3 Naomi Osaka: Just because she’s a three-time Grand Slam champion at the age of 23 doesn’t mean Osaka is satisfied with her game.

She spent a lot of time working on her service return with coach Wim Fissette.

“That was the one thing I really wanted Wim to help me with,” Osaka said, “because when I played the finals in New York, Vika [Azarenka] was really pressing me on my serves, and I just wanted to have a return like her.”

2021 Australian Open Highlights Day 3: Osaka moves past Garcia

Osaka won that US Open final and, working with Fissette, a former coach of Azarenka’s, she’s punched up that important shot. She won a respectable 23 of 52 of Caroline Garcia’s service points and converted three break points in a 6-2, 6-3 win.

Osaka has now won 16 straight matches, in a streak that included two withdrawals. Her third-round opponent, whom she’s never played: No. 27 Ons Jabeur.

“She’s a player that can do anything,” Osaka said of Jabeur, “and I always felt like she should be where she is now – even higher.”

No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka: All she has to do is face the most surprising player of the tournament, 20-year-old American Ann Li.

After a strict 14-day quarantine, Li emerged to win all four of her matches in the Grampians Trophy last week. With a Sunday semifinal, the finals was canceled and Li was given Monday off.

On Wednesday, she won her second match in two days, defeating France’s Alize Cornet 6-2, 7-6 (6). Down two set points, Li rallied to win four straight and equal her best Grand Slam showing. After winning six matches in eight days, she was looking forward to a day off before her first-ever match against Sabalenka.

“I think that was honestly one of the toughest matches, mentally and physically,” she said afterward. “I was extremely tired.”

Sabalenka, meanwhile, beat Daria Kasatkina 7-6 (5), 6-3. She won the title at Abu Dhabi and is 8-1 for the year.

ARTS AND CRAFTS

In this era of power tennis, there is something to be said for artistry – and craftiness.

No one says it better than Hsieh Su-Wei and Sara Errani, who meet in a third-round match that will feature more slicing and dicing than an Olympic fencing match. Hsieh’s fastest serve in the second round was a tantalizing 93 miles per hour; Errani came in at an even more modest 86.

On Wednesday, Hsieh scored the biggest upset yet, sending No. 8 seed Bianca Andreescu home 6-3, 6-2. The 35-year-old from China, Taipei broke Andreescu’s serve six times. Andreescu, coming off a 15-month hiatus, was in a14-day quarantine upon arrival in Australia.

Remarkably, it was Hsieh’s eighth win over a top-10 opponent – in 10 tries.

For her part, Errani defeated 40-year-old Venus Williams 6-1, 6-0. Williams required medical attention for an ankle injury. Errani, 33, is ranked No. 134.

ON COURSE

No. 14 Garbine Muguruza: Like, Li, Muguruza was given a day off after playing five matches last week. She won her second match in two days, 6-3, 6-1, over qualifier Liudmila Samsonova. Next: Zarina Diyas, against whom she holds a 1-0 head-to-head edge.

No. 19 Marketa Vondrousova: After taking out Rebecca Marino, she has the difficult task of facing Sorana Cirstea. The 30-year-old Romanian stunned No. 9 Petra Kvitova 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. It was her first top-10 win since October 2017 and one of the best of her career. The two have yet to play.

SURPRISE ME

 No. 15 Swiatek is four-for-four in sets after defeating Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-4. Swiatek’s third-round opponent is Fiona Ferro of France.

“You’re going to get bored asking me my next opponents because usually I don’t know anything about them,” Swiatek said. “I haven’t played against her, and to be honest, I didn’t watch like many of her matches. Really, I wasn't even looking at the draw. Honestly, after a match, I didn’t know who’s my next opponent.”

This is a first-time matchup.

UPSET WATCH

No. 19 Marketa Vondrousova vs. Sorana Cirstea: After beating Kvitova, Cirstea will be feeling it. She’s 9-1 since December.