Nadal, Halep roll on as shocks rattle Australian OpenRafael Nadal beat fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the third roundMELBOURNE: World number one Rafael Nadal and Wimbledon champion Simona Halep dodged an exodus of seeded players as the shocks kept rolling at the Australian Open on Saturday. A day after Serena Williams and title-holder Naomi Osaka fell by the wayside, second seed Karolina Pliskova crashed out to leave another gaping hole in the women's draw. Pliskova and Osaka's exits mean two of the top three women's seeds are out of the running, clearing obstacles for the likes of Halep and 2016 winner Angelique Kerber. Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, the sixth seed, won only one game against Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, the world number 31, as she bombed out 6-0, 6-1. Kerber beat Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 to set up a meeting with Russia's 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who knocked out Pliskova 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3).

Source: Bangkok Post January 25, 2020 07:52 UTC