Aussie coughs up lead as Open finalist calls for rule change amid injury fear; local vs Djoker — Australian Open LIVE

Aussies Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson are attempting to turn into giant-killers, and follow Alex de Minaur into the Australian Open’s third round, on night four at Melbourne Park. Follow live below!

Thompson, who turned fan seating arrangements into a talking point with his proclamation the Australian Open was “the wokest tournament”, led off the night session on Margaret Court Arena against No.7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. It sits a set-all, 6-4 6-7(6).

Thompson is bidding for his fourth career win over a top-10 player, after recording two in 2023, including a three-set victory over Tsitsipas at Indian Wells.

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The winner of their clash will face unseeded Frenchman Luca Van Assche, after he upset No.25 seed Lorenzo Musetti in five sets earlier on Wednesday.

Meanwhile on centre court Popyrin is facing the massive challenge of ending world No.1 Novak Djokovic’s five-year unbeaten run at the Australian Open, the winner to face No.30 seed Tomás Martín Etcheverry in the third round.

The pair got underway relatively early after defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka’s avoided the fate of many of her colleagues who fell to a teenage sensation – this time Czech qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova, who is just 16 years old – with a quick 6-3 6-2 win.

THOMPSON vs TSITSIPAS

Jordan Thompson’s bid to knock off former Australian Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas got off to an almost perfect start, earning multiple break points in the opening game of the match before the Greek star held on.

Thompson continued to give Tsitsipas difficulty though.

“Good start for him. A little unlucky he hasn’t broken,” John McEnroe said on Nine.

Tsitsipas quickly became frustrated at fans moving to their seats between games – the issue which triggered Thompson’s fury in the first round – and asked the chair umpire if the rules could be changed mid-match.

“Maybe you can inform them that maybe they should keep it the same way. Is that possible?” he asked.

Tsitsipas’ indifferent start to the match then saw Thompson gain the opening break for a 4-3 lead, comfortably holding from there for a 6-4 first set win.

“I’m loving his aggressiveness. He has taken it to Tsitsipas. He is not sitting way back hoping for some mistakes,” McEnroe said.

While Thompson was playing well, the bigger story of the match was Tstisipas’ poor play.

“I’m a bit surprised to see him miss this many forehands,” McEnroe said.

But fellow commentator Todd Woodbridge believed Tsitsipas was playing hurt.

“He is nowhere moving as well out into the corners as he normally does, particularly out to the backhand,” he explained.

“You watch him when he runs to the ball. He just continues running in a straight line very deliberately. He hasn’t got the adjusting straight back into getting into the neutral part of the court as dynamically as he normally does.”

The pair also pointed out it was “unusually quiet” in Tsitsipas’ player’s box.

With no break point opportunities earned or given the second set moved into a tiebreak where Tsitsipas earned the quick mini-break after a lengthy rally, then another when Thompson failed to serve and volley.

The Aussie quickly recovered one, then saved three set points – the last, at 5-6, when Tsitsipas butchered a smash. That still left Thompson to defend a set point on his own serve and a poor backhand gave the Greek the second set, 7-6(6).

Thompson was then broken to begin the third set.

O’CONNELL FALLS SHORT AGAINST AMERICAN YOUNG GUN

A third Aussie in action this evening, Christopher O’Connell, pushed American young gun and No.16 seed Ben Shelton to the brink on John Cain Arena, 6-4 6-1 3-6 7-6(5).

He was keeping things tight with last year’s quarter-finalist before allowing Shelton his first break point while serving to stay in the opening set – which the American gladly claimed to win it 6-4.

Shelton then handed O’Connell two break points early in the second set but with what commentator John Millman predicted will become the “best serve on tour”, the American held his nerve – including a 200 km/h second serve ace – before breaking the Aussie in the very next game. He soon took the second set 6-1.

With his tournament life on the line O’Connell lifted, finally cracking Shelton’s serve and holding from there for a 6-3 third set.

But after earning a break for 3-4, O’Connell gave it right back to Shelton, and the American survived the tiebreak 7-6(5).

“That Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi chant, I hear it when I sleep at night,” Shelton quipped post-match.

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