Wednesday wipe-out and minimal Australians left standing | Who remains going into Australian Open third round from home hope contingent?

Friday, 23 January 2026 at 00:15

The third round of the Australian Open is upon us starting on Thursday night and in terms of home hopes, it went from being a golden Aussie summer to a dismal disaster as Wednesday in particular heralded the vast majority of top names being skittled out from the Australian contingent.

The real chance that only Alex de Minaur and Maddison Inglis will now be in the third round of the Australian Open when the third round begins was achieved after James Duckworth was bundled out of the tournament by Jannik Sinner.

Who fell in the second round? - Hon felled by rising American

Eleven Australians made the second round but only two actually remain in the tournament going into the third with many of the top Aussies getting prime time spots only to be defeated when they were heralded on the biggest stave.

Perhaps the biggest statement and humbling as such came from Iva Jovic, the 18-year-old American super talent who will face Jasmine Paolini in the morning of Friday thrashed Priscilla Hon 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver.

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Hon has always been a figure that although a feature now of these previews as someone that is friends with most of the top female top tennis stars and now she will support Karolina Muchova and Amanda Anisimova over being on the baseline returning herself in the third round.

The silver lining perhaps is that unlike other Grand Slams, it gave the women the chance to shine in a prime time spot with one of the new stars of the sport in Jovic given that chance but also that it was a step too far for Hon against a talent who continues to rise and rise.

Iva Jovic between points at 2025 US Open

Iva Jovic, the uber talented American took down Priscilla Hon to end her run.

Super Sweeny highly praised by Shelton but out

Dane Sweeny was also defeated by Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. He showed out against Gael Monfils and while Sweeny made it tough in the third set. It was one littered with errors on the Sweeny side albeit Shelton did dish out some high praise.

“I think Dane’s a great competitor, a really tough guy to play,” Shelton said.

“I think he’s electric, it’s clear why Aussie crowds love him, why he’s a fan favourite. I’m sure he’s going to be lighting up John Cain Arena for many years to come.

“This is a court I’m experienced on, I’m experienced playing Aussies here — I’m sorry about the outcome here but I love the chants, I love the noise, I love the passion you guys have got for the sport so thanks everybody for coming out even if you wanted me to go down.”

Match Statistics Shelton vs. Sweeny

Shelton	VS	Sweeny
	Service
19	Aces	0
2	Double Faults	5
67% (43/64)	1st Service Percentage	70% (56/80)
88% (38/43)	1st Service Points Won	61% (34/56)
71% (15/21)	2nd Service Points Won	42% (10/24)
- (0/0)	Break Points Saved	58% (7/12)
100% (13/13)	Service Games	58% (7/12)
	Return
39% (22/56)	1st Return Points Won	12% (5/43)
58% (14/24)	2nd Return Points Won	29% (6/21)

De Minaur leads after glut of top stars

Duckworth and also Rinky Hijikata also fell with Valentin Vacherot producing a superb 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 with the late blooming Monegasque ace finding his way through and he is into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. While Sinner easily beat Duckworth 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

Elsewhere Maddison Inglis is the only female left standing. She produced a gutsy three set win over Laura Siegemund to book her spot while Taylah Preston went down fighting in a tough tie on paper against the brilliant 13th seed Linda Noskova. Preston after a stand out Hobart run showing that in the world of Maya Joint's and other top Aussies now even down to Emerson Jones that she should be in the conversation.

While Jordan Thompson, Ajla Tomljanovic, Talia Gibson and Storm Hunter were also wipe outs on Wednesday alongside Priscilla Hon on a day where most of the top Aussies got high court billing but ironically as ever it was only Alex de Minaur who actually produced any semblance on that day of leading from the front.

He saw off Hamad Medjedovic coming from a set down 7-6 to win the next three 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. He now faces Frances Tiafoe in a super entertaining clash.

A thriving crop but also a lot more work to do

Feasibly come the end of the third round, we could be looking at only De Minaur left. Naomi Osaka will be heavy favourite to beat Inglis and perhaps it is a bit of an indictment of top Aussie tennis.

But also the same perhaps can be said for British and also French stars at their home Grand Slam. The pressure is heaped on for them to become the next for instance Murray at Wimbledon, less so in France but perhaps of the modern day the likes of Tsonga and in a country like Australia so littered with talent, the pool of players is improving but isn't there yet.

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The likes of Dane Sweeny, Taylah Preston and even despite losing early Emerson Jones are great stories for this time of the year but also none are the finished article at Grand Slam level yet. Even Maya Joint who is the next Aussie hope isn't able yet to string it together at a major and can win titles in WTA 250's but hasn't rose to that pressure cauldron that well yet.

Alex de Minaur since Ashleigh Barty has retired is perhaps the only player that has and even he hasn't been that successful at this level but is the only player doing it consistently perhaps since the days of Lleyton Hewitt.

It has been a great tournament for the Aussies but at the same time it shows that in the post Ash Barty era, the light from the trees isn't there yet.

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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