MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — LOOKAHEAD TO FRIDAY
Coco Gauff continues her quest for a first Grand Slam title when she plays her third-round match at the Australian Open. The 18-year-old from Florida takes on another American, Bernarda Pera. Gauff reached her first major final at last year's French Open before losing to Iga Swiatek. Gauff, who won the WTA warm-up event in Auckland, has yet to drop a set at Melbourne Park this year. She is trying to become the youngest winner of the Australian Open since Martina Hingis won the first of three straight titles in 1997 at age 16. The top-seeded Swiatek and No. 3 Jessica Pegula will look to move a step nearer to a semifinal showdown by winning matches Friday. Swiatek plays Cristina Bucsa, a Spanish qualifier, while Pegula meets Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. The No. 3-seeded man, Stefanos Tsitsipas, faces Tallon Griekspoor, while Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion and runner-up in Melbourne the past two years, plays 29th-seeded Sebastian Korda of the United States.
FRIDAY'S FORECAST
Mostly sunny. High of 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius).
THURSDAY'S KEY RESULTS