Australian Open Day 4: Osaka and Muchova collide in must-see matchup

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It’s hard to imagine a better dance card this early in a Grand Slam.

Wednesday features a terrific trio in the draw’s top half: No.1 Aryna Sabalenka

, No.3 and No.5 Zheng Qinwen -- three of the four semifinalists from a year ago. They’re the only players among the elite gathered here who have yet to lose this year.

Sabalenka, 6-0, is looking for her 16th straight win at the Australian Open. Where does that profound chemistry come from?

“I just love people, love crowd,” Sabalenka said. “I love all the support I feel during basically every match I played there. I think it’s all about the atmosphere, the way they cheering for me. It’s just incredible feeling.”

Australian Open: Scores | Schedule | Draws

Clearly, the fans feel the same way. On Day 2, over 95,000 attended the day and night sessions, setting a single-day record for Melbourne. Wednesday’s second-round matches, highlighted by the standout showdown between Karolina Muchova

and , could attract an even larger crowd.

No.20 Karolina Muchova vs. Naomi Osaka

Head-to-head: 2-1, Muchova, who won last year’s second-round match at the US Open 6-3, 7-6 (5) less than four months ago.

Osaka’s first-round rematch with Caroline Garcia

avenged a 2024 loss in Melbourne -- now Osaka would like to notch a similar victory over Muchova. Osaka said she’s excited.

“Having the opportunity to see what I can do,” she told reporters. “Obviously, I fell a little short in the US Open, but my outfit was spectacular. Once you get a difficult draw, you can prove that you’re the best of the best. So for me it’s the most fun moment.”

Osaka has been the best of the best four times in majors, including the 2019 and 2021 Australian Opens. Still, that second title in Melbourne was her last one. Osaka has yet to regain that elite form, but she’s won five of six matches this year, including a finals appearance in Auckland and that three-set win over Garcia.

Muchova, who reached the semifinals in New York after beating Osaka, is a big ask. She’s a four-time Grand Slam semifinalist and was a 6-1, 6-1 first-round winner over Nadia Podoroska

No.1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

Head-to-head: 0-0.

After wrapping up her 71-minute, straight-sets win over Sloane Stephens, Sabalenka was asked if she sets match goals in terms of dropped games.

“Oh, my God, if I would set these kinds of goals, I wouldn’t be able to play a match,” she said. “I would get crazy on myself. So there are no goals like specific games. It’s just go out there, compete, and do your best.”

Which has been quite enough, thank you. Next up is Bouzas Maneiro, a 22-year-old Spaniard ranked No.54. She defeated Sonay Kartal

in straight sets.

Aryna Sabalenka

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No.3 Coco Gauff vs. Jodie Burrage

Head-to-head: 1-0, Gauff, a 6-1, 6-1 fourth-round victory at 2023 Eastbourne.

Gauff was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over former Aussie champion Sofia Kenin

, raising her record to 6-0 this young season.

Burrage, ranked No.173, defeated Leolia Jeanjean

6-2, 6-4.

Gauff doesn’t have a clear memory of that win two years ago, but Burrage does. She’s going to have to adjust from playing in the anonymity of Court 13 to one of the larger show courts.

“I’m going to take it to her, see if I can get more games than last time, which wasn’t very many,” Burrage said. “I feel like I’m in a different spot to the last time I played her. I have not hit on any of the big courts, so I need to try and do that.”

No.5 Zheng Qinwen vs. Laura Siegemund

Head-to-head: 0-0.

Zheng’s first outing of 2025 began with a rocky first set.

“I start to feel nervous already since yesterday because I felt special emotion for Australian Open,” said Zheng, who advanced to last year’s final. “But when I feel nervous, actually I play better. I’m more concentrated.”

She was serving for the first set at 5-3 against qualifier Anca Todoni

but contrived to lose three straight games before winning the tiebreak. The final score was 7-6(3), 6-1.

Meanwhile, Siegemund was a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 winner over Hailey Baptiste

No.7 Jessica Pegula vs. Elise Mertens

Head-to-head: 3-0, Mertens, who has won six of their seven sets played.

Both players were finalists last week. Pegula lost to Madison Keys

in Adelaide, while Mertens fell to McCartney Kessler in Hobart.

As usual this time of year, Pegula has an eye back on the United States as the Buffalo Bills team her family owns is still alive in the NFL playoffs. Pegula did her first media session before the Bills beat the Denver Broncos to advance to Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Jessica Pegula

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“Just makes me nervous -- it’s kind of like a Slam,” Pegula said. “Playoffs start, you have the favorites, but you never know what’s going to happen.”

It’s the same in tennis. Mertens was a 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 comeback winner over qualifier Viktorija Golubic

after saving two match points, while Pegula won 6-3, 6-0 over wild card . Mertens is ranked No.34, but she’s never lost to Pegula.

No.12 Diana Shnaider vs. [WC] Ajla Tomljanovic

Head-to-head: 0-0.

At 20, Shnaider is one of the Hologic WTA Tour’s rising stars. She won four titles last year and is 3-2 for the season after a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto

Tomljanovic, the 31-year-old Australian who defeated Ashlyn Krueger

in three sets, is looking to advance to the third round here for the first time in 10 tries.