Aus Open day five: Naomi Osaka’s good luck charm, Novak Djokovic battles on, Serena Williams 90 not out

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Novak Djokovic delighted

Novak Djokovic played through the pain barrier before casting doubt on whether he can continue at the Australian Open.

Meanwhile Dominic Thiem came from two-sets down to overcome Nick Kyrgios and a Russian known as the Lion roared into round four in a huge upset.

Here is a wrap of day five from Melbourne.

Picture of the day

Australian Open Tennis
(Andy Brownbill/AP)

An image for our times. Security had to usher fans off the Rod Laver Arena at 11.30pm, while Djokovic was still playing, after the Victoria government imposed a new five-day lockdown starting at midnight.

Butterfly effect


Naomi Osaka’s win over Ons Jabeur was subject to a small delay when she received a visit from a butterfly. The Japanese star responded by sending a searing forehand winner down the line in the next point.

Shock of the day

Lion-hearted Aslan Karatsev had never played at a Grand Slam until this week. But the unknown Russian 27-year-old is now through to the fourth round after a stunning 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 upset of eighth seed Diego Schwartzman.

Comeback of the day

Australian Open Tennis
Dominic Thiem edged out Nick Kyrgios in a five-set marathon (Hamish Blair/AP)

Thiem looked down and out at two sets down and facing two break points. But in front of a raucous home crowd the US Open champion and third seed somehow came back to knock out Australian bad boy Nick Kyrgios in a cast-iron classic.

Story of the day

Australian Open Tennis
Novak Djokovic suffered a nasty injury against Taylor Fritz (Andy Brownbill/AP)

Yet all that drama was overshadowed by the sight of world No 1 and reigning champion Novak Djokovic battling through the pain barrier to defeat Taylor Fritz in five, before admitting his tournament may be over due to a torn stomach muscle.

Stat of the day

Serena Williams’ victory over Anastasia Potapova was her 90th at the Australian Open. Her first came in 1998, three years before her opponent was born. Feeling old yet?

Bagel not on the menu for Hsieh Su-wei

Hsieh Su-wei had lost a set 6-0 in all of her previous three meetings with Sara Errani, which all ended in defeat. But she was not ready for another bagel in their third-round meeting as she won 6-4 2-6 7-5.

Quote of the day

“I already bought a gift, so I’m very happy with that. You didn’t catch me off guard.” – Grigor Dimitrov, who next plays on Valentine’s Day

Fallen seeds

Women: Veronika Kudermetova (32).
Men: Diego Schwartzman (8), Denis Shapovalov (11), Pablo Carreno Busta (15).

Who’s up next?

Britain’s last man standing Cameron Norrie has his biggest challenge yet, as a third-round meeting with Rafael Nadal lies in store. Sadly, there will be no crowd to watch it.

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Dominic Thiem Nick Kyrgios Novak Djokovic Serena Williams

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