Australian Open Day Five Scores: Sharapova, Anisimova Get Huge Upsets
No. 2 Angelique Kerber def. Kimberly Birrell 6-1, 6-0
No. 30 Maria Sharapova def. No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki is out of the Australian Open after losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to Maria Sharapova in the third round.
Sharapova broke Wozniacki's serve in the seventh game of the third set with a forehand to the open corner, then dropped both arms and screamed in delight.
She held serve in the next game to lead 5-3, then broke Wozniacki's service again in the last game, clinching the match on her second match point when Wozniacki's backhand return went wide.
Five-time major winner Sharapova, the 2008 Australian Open winner, will play Australia's Ash Barty in the fourth round.
No. 5 Sloane Stephens def. Petra Martic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5)
Sloane Stephens survived two tough tiebreak sets to beat No. 31-seeded Petra Martic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) and advance to the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
The fifth-seeded Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, will next play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-0, 6-3 earlier in the day.
No. 8 Petra Kvitova def. Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-4
Petra Kvitova took down Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-4 to make it into the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in over a year.
The two-time Wimbledon champion failed to make it past the third round in any of the Grand Slams last year but booked her ticket to the next round at the 2019 Australian Open with a straightforward win over the Swiss player.
Kvitova now faces a fourth-round match against American Amanda Anisimova, who has taken Melbourne by storm with a number of impressive wins against higher-ranked opposition.
Amanda Anisimova def. No. 11 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2
Amanda Anisimova has beaten 11th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The 17-year-old American is the youngest player still in contention in the women's draw at Melbourne Park and has dropped just seven games against seeded players in the last two rounds. She broke Sabalenka's serve four times in the 65-minute match and fended off the only breakpoint chance she faced.
Anisimova, who beat No. 24 Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-2 in the second round, has never gone as far in a major. She had first-round exits in her two previous appearances in the main draw.
Sabalenka won the title at Shenzhen to start the season and reached the fourth round at last year's U.S. Open.
No. 15 Ashleigh Barty def. Maria Sakkari 7-5, 6-1
Local favorite Ashleigh Barty has become the first player through to the fourth round at Melbourne Park with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Maria Sakkari at Rod Laver Arena.
Barty received treatment for an apparent stomach muscle ailment at the end of the first set but appeared not to be affected for the rest of the 82-minute match.
Barty will play either Maria Sharapova or defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in the next round. They play their third-round match later Friday at Rod Laver Arena, with defending men's champion Roger Federer's match against American Taylor Fritz in between.
Rain forced a continuing delay to the start of matches on outside courts. The roofs on all three main arenas were closed.
Danielle Collins def. No. 19 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2
Danielle Collins has beaten No. 19-seeded Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2 at the Australian Open to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time.
The 25-year-old American, who opened with an upset win over No. 14 Julia Goerges, had never previously won a main-draw match in five previous Grand Slam tournaments.
Against Garcia, she converted four of her five break points and was only broken once.
Her next match is against either No. 2 Angelique Kerber, the 2016 Australian champion, or 240th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, the Australian wild-card entry who ousted No. 29 Donna Vekic in the second round.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 Rafa Nadal def. No. 27 Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
Rafael Nadal has 19-year-old Australian Alex de Minaur's number - or numbers, really, and they are 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Nadal's victory over de Minaur in the third round of the Australian Open came by that score, as did the 17-major champion's win when the two met at Wimbledon last year.
De Minaur came into the Australian Open on a high having won the Sydney International last week but was outclassed by Nadal, who will play Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.
It was Nadal's third match in a row against an Australian, having beaten James Duckworth and Matthew Ebden in the first two rounds.
''Even playing against an Australian like Alex, I feel like the crowd - some part of the crowd - is with me,'' said Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open champion.
No. 3 Roger Federer def. Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5, 6-2
Federer ensured his 100th Australian Open match was over and raised his racket to acknowledge the Rod Laver Arena crowd.
The six-time champion conceded only three points on his first serve in a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 win over 21-year-old American Taylor Fritz, who was bidding to reach the fourth round at a major for the first time.
Federer is into the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam event for the 63rd time.
''I think I wanted to get out of the blocks quickly. I knew of the threat of Taylor,'' Federer said. ''I think I had extra focus today.''
He will next play Stefanos Tsitsipas, who had a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 win over Nikoloz Basilashvili to become the first Greek man to reach the fourth round at multiple majors.
No. 22 Roberto Bautista Agut def. No. 10 Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
No. 15 Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4
Stefanos Tsitsipas is through to the fourth round at Melbourne Park with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 win over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Tsitsipas broke the Georgian player's serve to take a 4-3 lead, then had a match point on Basilashvili's serve at 5-3. He served out the match in the next game, winning when Basilashvili hit a forehand into the net.
Tsitsipas is the first Greek man to reach the round of 16 at two tennis majors. Next he will face defending champion Roger Federer.
Tsitsipas received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct from chair umpire Alexandra Robein when he became angry after having his service broken while serving for the third set at 5-4. While serving for the first set, he had to stop because of a screaming infant in the Margaret Court Arena crowd.
Rain and wet courts continued to delay the start of play on all the outside courts. Play went ahead on the three main show courts with the stadium roofs closed.
Tomas Berdych def. No. 18 Diego Schwartzman 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
No. 20 Grigor Dimitrov def. Thomas Fabbiano 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
Frances Tiafoe def. Andreas Seppi 6-7 (3), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Frances Tiafoe has advanced to the fourth round at Melbourne Park, his first appearance in the Round of 16 at any Grand Slam.
The 20-year-old American beat 34-year-old Andreas Seppi 6-7 (3), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Court 3, where matches began 2 1-2 hours late because of morning rain.
The No. 39-ranked Tiafoe beat fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson in four sets in the second round, and followed it up with a biceps-slapping celebration that drew plenty of attention.
He will next play 20th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Thomas Fabbiano 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 earlier Friday.
