Aus Open day six: Karolina Pliskova learns the hard way, Daniil Medvedev waits for ‘big fight with cakes’

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Rafael Nadal and Cameron Norrie shake hands

British singles hopes at the Australian Open ended with a 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 defeat for Cameron Norrie against Rafael Nadal in the third round.

Daniil Medvedev survived a mid-match meltdown to beat Filip Krajinovic in five sets, while Ashleigh Barty and Elina Svitolina continued their smooth passages through the women’s draw.

Here, here is a wrap of day six from Melbourne.

Picture of the day

Swede Mikael Ymer keeps his eye on the ball during his defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas
Swede Mikael Ymer keeps his eye on the ball during his defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas (Hamish Blair/AP)

Comeback of the day

Kaia Kanepi, who knocked out defending champion Sofia Kenin in the second round, had another seed in her sights as she led Donna Vekic by a set and 3-0. However, the Croatian sprang to life, saving match points, to earn a 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory.

Doubles delight

British interest in singles may be over but hopes are very much alive in the doubles. Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram are the defending champions and they joined Jamie Murray and Brazilian Bruno Soares in the third round of the men’s event, while Heather Watson is at the same stage of the women’s tournament with Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.

Learning the hard way

Karolina Pliskova lost her cool during her third-round defeat to Karolina Muchova
Karolina Pliskova lost her cool during her third-round defeat to Karolina Muchova (Andy Brownbill/AP)

Karolina Pliskova was surprised to find out she could be punished for smashing a racket off court, but she learned the hard way in her 7-5, 7-5 defeat to Karolina Muchova. After already breaking one racket during the first set, which earned her a code violation, she again took her frustration out on a second as she left the court and received another violation, which saw Muchova awarded the first point of the second set.

Quote of the day

“I don’t eat sugar during the tournament and I’ve got five cakes in my room. After the tournament it’s going to be a big fight with the cakes.” – Daniil Medvedev, who turned 25 on Thursday

Fallen seeds

Women: Karolina Pliskova (6), Belinda Bencic (11), Anett Kontaveit (21), Yulia Putintseva (26), Ekaterina Alexandrova (29).

Men: Karen Khachanov (19), Alex De Minaur (21), Filip Krajinovic (28).

Who’s up next?

Novak Djokovic receives treatment during his victory over Taylor Fritz
Novak Djokovic received treatment during his victory over Taylor Fritz (Andy Brownbill/AP)

Whether or not Novak Djokovic takes to the court for his fourth-round clash against Milos Raonic will be the big talking point of Sunday’s action.

A blockbuster schedule begins with a clash between women’s title favourite Naomi Osaka and last year’s finalist Garbine Muguruza before Serena Williams takes on big-hitting Aryna Sabalenka.

Iga Swiatek will attempt to beat Simona Halep at a second successive grand slam while Dominic Thiem faces Grigor Dimitrov.

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Cameron Norrie Karolina Pliskova Rafael Nadal

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