MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - The Latest from the Australian Open on Thursday (all times local):
12:10 a.m.
Rafael Nadal swept aside 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 on Thursday to advance to the third round of the tournament the Spaniard won in 2009.
The 14-time major champion won on his third match point in 2 hours, 13 minutes.
Nadal, who lost in the first round here last year to Fernando Verdasco, is looking to win his first major since the 2014 French Open. He had two lengthy stints on the sidelines last year and played only four matches after a fourth-round exit at the U.S. Open.
He will play Alexander Zverev in the third round. The 24th-seeded Zverev beat Frances Tiafoe in straight sets earlier Thursday.
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11:25 p.m.
Eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem is through to the Australian Open’s third round after beating Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in the last match at Margaret Court Arena on Thursday.
Thompson was attempting to come back from two sets down for the second match in a row. He lost the first two sets to Joao Sousa on Tuesday in the first round, but came back for a five-set victory.
Thiem will next face Benoit Paire, who beat Fabio Fognini 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 earlier Thursday.
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9:35 p.m.
Serena Williams has managed to do what another six-time Australian Open champion couldn’t achieve on Thursday - advance to the third round. Williams, playing on the same court that saw six-time winner Novak Djokovic lose in five sets to wild-card entry Denis Istomin, beat Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-4.
It was their first meeting since Williams won their French Open final in 2015.
Safarova had saved nine match points in her first-round match, but there were no such theatrics in this one.
The Czech player double-faulted on break point in the seventh game of the second set, and Williams clinched the match three games later.
Williams will now play Nicole Gibbs, who beat another American, Irina Falconi, 6-4, 6-1.
The second-seeded Williams is bidding to become the first player in the Open era to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles. She lost in the final here last year to Angelique Kerber, but clinched her 22nd major, tying Steffi Graf, at Wimbledon.
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8:25 p.m.
Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni has beaten third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round of the Australian Open, her best performance at the tournament in 19 years.
“’’t’s amazing. Oh my God, it’s been so long since I won a match or two. Well, this is the first time ever in Australia,” she said. “As I’m getting older, it seems I’m getting better.”
The 34-year-old Lucic-Baroni tends to play well against the top players at the Slams - she’s also beaten Simona Halep at the French Open and U.S. Open in recent years.
Lucic-Baroni won the 1998 Australian Open doubles title with Martina Hingis at the age of 15. She also made the 1999 Wimbledon singles semifinals before quitting the sport for several years.
“I was a little baby back then,” she says of her early success. “Now, I can be maybe more relaxed. I said to myself today on the court, don’t worry, be happy.”
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7:15 p.m.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic is out of the Australian Open, beaten 7-6 (8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 by wild-card entry Denis Istomin in a second-round match on Thursday.
Istomin made the vital break in the fifth game of the deciding set, then held service the rest of the way in the marathon 4 hour, 48-minute match on Rod Laver Arena.
The match featured a little bit of everything.
In a 15-minute opening game, the six-time champion Djokovic saved six break points. In the second set, he appeared to hyperextend his left leg in the third game, and spent much of the following break stretching it over a chair.
In the 10th game of that set, Djokovic saved two sets points after serving a double-fault.
But Djokovic broke in the following game to lead 6-5, then held his service with four consecutive points to take the set.
Djokovic clinched the third set when he successfully challenged a line call.
Istomin had a set point in the 10th game of the fourth set, then went ahead 5-1 in the tiebreaker before slamming down an ace to send it to a fifth-set decider.
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6:45 p.m.
Novak Djokovic and Denis Istomin are going to five sets in their second-round match at the Australian Open.Istomin won the first set 6-7 (8), Djokovic came back to win the next two sets 7-5, 6-2 and Istomin sent it to a decider with an ace for a 7-6 (5) win in the fourth set.
The match, which is 4 hours, 12 minutes and counting, has featured a little bit of everything.
In a 15-minute opening game, the six-time Australian Open champion Djokovic saved six break points. In the second set, he appeared to hyperextend his left leg in the third game, and spent much of the following break stretching it over a chair.
In the 10th game of that set, Djokovic saved two sets points after serving a double-fault.
But Djokovic broke in the following game to lead 6-5, then held his service with four consecutive points to take the set.
Djokovic clinched the third set when he successfully challenged a line call.
Istomin had a set point in the 10th game of the fourth set, then went ahead 5-1 in the tiebreaker before slamming down an ace to send it to a fifth-set decider.
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6:40 p.m.
When Jennifer Brady was planning her trip to Melbourne to play the Australian Open, she didn’t give herself a chance to go very far. She only booked her hotel through the first Friday of the tournament.
The 21-year-old American will now need to extend her reservation after saving five match points on Thursday to beat Heather Watson 2-6, 7-6 (3), 10-8 and advance to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
And her flight? She’ll wait and see how the rest of the tournament goes.
“I only bought a one-way here,” she said. “I’m not going home.”
The 116th-ranked Brady, who left UCLA early to play full-time on the WTA Tour, had to win three matches in qualifying to earn a spot in the main draw at Melbourne Park.
Next up is 14th-seeded Elena Vesnina of Russia for a spot in the fourth round.
“Before this, the French Open was my favorite slam. But I really like Melbourne.”
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5:55 p.m.
Sixth-seeded Gael Monfils has advanced to the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 win over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Monfils, playing in his 12th Australian Open, had his best result here last year when he made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Milos Raonic in four sets.
The 30-year-old Monfils reached the U.S. Open semifinals last September, equaling his best run at a Grand Slam tournament, and hit a career-high No.6 ranking in November.
“I still love it, that’s why I play the game,” he said.
He will next play Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Donald Young of the United States 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 earlier Thursday.
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4:45 p.m.
Third-seeded Milos Raonic maintained his record of reaching the third round all seven years he has contested the Australian Open, saving a set point in the third before beating Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Raonic clinched the win on his second match point when Muller returned a shot wide.
Muller, who won last week’s Sydney International for his first career tournament victory, officially had a 2-0 record against the Canadian. But Raonic retired from a match against him at Wimbledon in 2011 due to a hip injury, and Muller beat him at Valencia, Spain in 2012 in two close sets.
The win advanced Raonic to a third-round match against Gilles Simon, who beat Rogerio Dutra Silva in straight sets.
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3:30 p.m.
Teenager Naomi Osaka is gaining attention not only for her big-hitting game, but also her quirky sense of humor.
After losing to ninth-seeded Johanna Konta in the second round on Thursday, Osaka paid the British player a compliment for her big serve, as well as her use of “big words.”
“I heard her talk, and she sounds really intelligent,” said the 19-year-old Japanese player, who was raised mostly in the U.S. “She uses big words in her accent, and it sounds really smart.”
Konta had a laugh when told about Osaka’s comment and was at a loss for words, either big or small.
“I think, well, I haven’t really analyzed my own speech,” the Sydney-born Konta said with more laughter. “I need to chat more with Naomi!”
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2:05 p.m.
Former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki has advanced to the third round at the Australian Open for the first time in three years with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Donna Vekic at Rod Laver Arena.
Wozniacki, who reached the semifinals here in 2011, lost in the second round in 2015 and in the first round last year.
A semifinalist at the U.S. Open last September, Wozniacki’s next opponent will be a tough one: Johanna Konta, who made it to the semifinals last year before losing to eventual champion Angelique Kerber, and who improved her ranking in 2016 to 10 from 48.
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1:30 p.m.
Andy Murray was back on the practice court at Melbourne Park on Thursday afternoon, his ankle apparently not troubling him after a frightening tumble in Rod Laver Arena the night before.
The top-seeded Murray’s right shoe caught on the surface of the court during his second-round match against Andrey Rublev and he rolled awkwardly to the ground in pain.
He finished the match in obvious discomfort, limping at times and stopping occasionally to stretch.
Some 14 hours after the incident, Murray hit the practice court in front of hundreds of fans for a work-out, allaying concerns the ankle was seriously injured.
Murray is scheduled to play his third-round match against No. 31-seeded Sam Querrey on Friday.
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12:25 p.m.
Johanna Konta is through to the third round of the Australian Open after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Naomi Osaka to open play at Rod Laver Arena.
Konta, who advanced to the semifinals on debut here last year before losing to eventual champion Angelique Kerber, will next play either 17th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki or Donna Vekic.
Konta clinched the match on her third match point during an extended rally between the players that ended with Konta hitting the ball deep to the open court.
The 25-year-old Konta was named the WTA Tour’s most improved player of 2016 after moving to 10th from 48th in the rankings last year.
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12:10 p.m.
The opening match on Margaret Court Arena could possibly be the fastest - and most lopsided - all day: U.S. Open finalist Karolina Pliskova’s 6-0, 6-2 win over Anna Blinkova in 59 minutes.
Pliskova, who lost to Angelique Kerber in the U.S. Open final last September, overwhelmed the 18-year-old Blinkova, a Russian qualifier ranked 189th who had beaten veteran Monica Niculescu in the first round.
When Blinkova won her first game -after Pliskova had won 10 in a row - she smiled and raised her left arm to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd.
The fifth-seeded Pliskova advanced to the third round for the third consecutive year.
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10:55 a.m.
Johanna Konta, who made a spirited run to the semifinals at last year’s Australian Open, will attempt to advance to the third round when she kicks off Day 4 action at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
Konta plays Naomi Osaka of Japan in what should be perfect weather conditions at Melbourne Park - sunny skies, a light breeze and a late morning temperature of 19 degrees Celsius (66 Fahrenheit).
Six-time champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams had matches later in the day on Rod Laver. Djokovic was playing Denis Istomin in the last afternoon match and Williams was against Lucie Safarova to open the evening program.
Rafael Nadal, Milos Raonic and Agnieszka Radwanska also aimed to book their spots in the third round.
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