Aussie Bites: Well that was a bit dramatic

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Nuts and Bolts

Day 3 Results | Day 4 Order of Play | Updated Draws

• The Upshot: Champions adjust, and god almighty did defending champion Madison Keys and two-time champion Naomi Osaka have to do some adjusting on Day 3 at the Australian Open.
• Bracket Busters: None, really? If you thought Joao Fonsesca was going far then you weren't paying attention the last three weeks.
  • Round 1 WTA Casualties: 8
    • Day 1 Exits: 3 – [11] Alexandrova, [20] Kostyuk, [32] Vondrousova
    • Day 2 Exits: 2 – [15] Navarro, [27] Kenin
    • Day 3 Exits: 3 – [18] Samsonova, [22] Fernandez, [30] Joint
  • Round 1 ATP Casualties: 7
    • Day 1 Exits: 1 – [20] Cobolli
    • Day 2 Exits: 4 – [7] Auger Aliassime, [17] Lehecka, [24] Rinderknech, [27] Nakashima
    • Day 3 Exits: 2 – [23] Griekspoor, [28] Fonseca
• On tap for Day 4: I'll have my eye on...
  • Men: Tiafoe-Comesana, Opelka-Davidovich Fokina, Zheng-Opelka, Medvedev-Halys, Bublik-Fucsovics
  • Women: Gauff-Danilovic, Sakkari-Andreeva, Potapova-Raducanu, Muchova-Parks, Mboko-McNally, Hunter-Baptiste, Li-Linette, and Putintseva-Jacquemot because IYKYK.

Day 3 Highlights

• Day 1 and Day 2 gave us the pleasure of easing into the action. Day 3...did not. The first three hours of the day were a real test of tennis fans' patience and coping skills, as nearly every match featured a bubbling upset. The biggest one was brewing on Rod Laver Arena, where defending champ Madison Keys was UP AGAINST IT against Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova. Playing in her WTA main-draw debut, Oliynykova was doing everything right to amplify the pressure Madison had to have been feeling. Admit it, we all thought it: "Oh god, is Madison seriously going to lose in the first round to someone who has never played a tour-level match?"

• Well, Madison Keys did not lose in the first round to someone who has never played a tour-level match because Madison Keys is now a gritty veteran who plays clutch tennis when her back is against the wall, specifically ANY WALL ON ROD LAVER ARENA.

• Madison was down 4-0 to Oliynykova before pounding through her nerves to force a tiebreak, where she saved two set points from 6-4 down to take it 8-6. It took over 70 minutes steal that first set and less than 30 to win the second to seal a 7-6(6), 6-1 win. After the match, Madison had nothing but love for Oliynykova's effort and class:

• Naomi Osaka dazzled (in my opinion) in her walkout, but after a fast 3-0 start, she struggled to hit through Croatia's Antonia Ruzic. Ranked No. 65, Ruzic had no problem handling Osaka's pace from the baseline and as the match wore on, she was the one dictating with her seamless ability to redirect the ball down the line. She fell behind a break in the final set, but with Ruzic serving at 4-3, Osaka elevated. She broke to level at 4-4, then flexed with a 55 second hold that involved three clean aces, and broke again to close out the 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win.
• But DAMN that walkout:

• While Madison was fighting back on RLA, Leylah Fernandez continued a rough first round for the Canadians, falling to Indonesia's Janice Tjen 6-2, 7-6(1). Ranked No. 59 after a breakout season, Tjen is the first Indonesian woman to play the AO main draw since 2004 and the first to win a round since 1998 when Yayuk Basuki made the Round of 16.
• Argentina's Sebastian Baez came into the Australian Open undefeated in 2026 and remains undefeated in 2026. He edged out Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3.

• Seed survival: They needed five tough sets, but Karen Khachanov held off Alex Michelsen and Jakub Mensik beat Pablo Carreno-Busta.
• Collegiate excellence: Nishesh Basavareddy went the distance to beat Chris O'Connell and join Michael Zheng in the second round.
• I thought Ben Shelton might have a tough time with Ugo Humbert but I was very incorrect! 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(5).

• Joao Fonseca did a lot of pre-season media (good!) and all those big glowing features dropped over the last week. All that newsprint may have covered up the very important fact that he had withdrawn from both lead-up events due to a back injury. One would think that he would be undercooked at Melbourne Park, which he turned out to be. The Brazilian fans did all they could to get him going, but Fonseca didn't have the legs or lungs or sharpness, and American qualifier Eliott Spizzirri took him down in four sets.
• Gael Monfils left it all the court, but hats off to Dane Sweeny, who successfully Monfils'd Monfils to win in four sets with stuff like this:

• The Italians need to find a different dinner joint because first Flavio Cobolli and now Luca Darderi, who at least was able to win: "DARDERI WINS AN INSANE MATCH.... The Italian tennis player starts feeling stomach issues during the third set, he hangs in there, wins the match and then runs straight to the bathroom"

• Hubert Hurkacz and Zizou Bergs played another high-quality duel, echoing their showdown from the United Cup. Hubie – who, like, no joke, looks for REAL – won in four sets.

• Stat of the Day: ...con...grat...u...lations?

Daily Reads

• The soundtrack for this post has been the newest episode of The Body Serve, which had be laughing out loud repeatedly. The Boys are bringing it in 2026:

• On that point, The Body Serve is at 91 percent on their annual GoFundMe. Help them get over the line.
• David Kane recaps the history-making rise of Indonesia's history-maker Janice Tjen. (Tennis.com)
• Naomi Osaka teamed up with Hong Kong designer Robert Wun for her kit, which was an homage to the lucky butterfly moment during her 2021 title run as well as her daughter's favorite animal: the jellyfish. (Vogue)

Analysis: Naomi Osaka’s Butterfly at the 2021 Australian Open

Take a closer look at the iconic images of a butterfly visiting the Japanese tennis player years ago by various photographers.

Tennis In PhotographsCedar

• Lorenzo Musetti has not had a butterfly moment, but he does have daughters, so I assume the inspiration here is...Inspector Gadget?

• Oleksandra Oliynykova made a lot of new fans today in her inspired effort against Madison Keys. She's got a big personality. (Bounces)
• Oliynykova, whose father is a Ukrainian soldier, walked into press after the match with a t-shirt that read, "I need your help to protect Ukrainian women and children but I can’t talk about it here." (AP)

• Paralympic silver medalist Greg Slade is set to play his first Grand Slam since coming out. (OutSports)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gregory Slade PLY (@gregjslade)

• Look, we've all been there:

• Carlos, you'll be hearing from Novak's lawyer! (Independent)
• The Australian Open is experiencing a vibe shift (derogatory). (Herald Sun)

• Simon Cambers profiled Darren Cahill. (Esquire)

"'His skill is in the analytical stuff, but also in the way he manages the personalities. He’s coached Hewitt, Agassi, Sinner, Halep . . . how did he get the best out of all of them? This is what I don’t understand. My personality would mesh with somebody and it’d be fun. But then with others, you’ve kind of got to make it work. You put those four personalities together – they’re very different people.'" 

• Cambers also looked into the numbers to see what exactly Jannik Sinner is doing to change his game. (ESPN)
• Alison Riske would like to remind you that court assignments matter in Melbourne:

• There was a lull in the schedule – at least for my interests – so I sent out this tweet and was surprised that this wasn't as hot a take as I thought:

• Some of the replies:

• The Midnight Snack Review: A new segment where I review a snack I noshed while watching tennis at odd hours.
  • Trader Joe's Chili and Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips: Good crunch, more lime than chili. Just...way too sour. Could be good as a dipping chip, maybe with an onion dip? 6/10, would not buy again but would happily grab a few at a party.

• Bop of the Day: It's 4:41am and I am signing off. On to Round 2!