American Preview Australian Open Day Five: Gauff and Paul aim to keep perfect runs, as Jovic takes on one of the favorites

All ready for Day Five at the Australian Open, with the first third-round matches taking place — all seeking a spot in the Round of 16 to be contested in the second week of competition. The Americans maintain several representatives in good form, led by two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff, who will face her compatriot Hailey Baptiste.

It won’t be the only action on Friday in Melbourne, as Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe will return to the court — both in tough matches against higher-ranked rivals. While Paul will face Davidovich Fokina (14th), Tiafoe will battle local star Alex de Minaur.

Another player who will need to fight from behind — dealing with the favoritism of her opponent — is teenager Iva Jovic, who is in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time and will face the 7th seed in the women’s draw, Italian Jasmine Paolini. In the case of 25th seed Learner Tien, he will face one of the surprises: Portuguese player Nuno Borges, who took advantage of Felix Auger-Aliassime’s injury in the first round to make his best campaign so far in Melbourne.

The American No. 1 returns to the court after a couple of convincing performances in the first rounds. The world No. 3 dropped only five games against Rakhimova and four against Daniolovic. Against the Serbian, she finally looked more confident on serve — just four double faults and winning 84% of first-serve points — which should give her more confidence heading into the Round of 32 against Hailey Baptiste (No. 70).

This will be the second time they face each other so far: the first at the DC Open 2023, when Gauff beat her in straight sets in the second round, during the campaign that would take her to the US Open title a month later and solidify her place among the elite. This time, the 21-year-old once again appears as a clear favorite, aiming for another smooth victory over a rival with less experience at this stage.

Tommy Paul will also take the court this Friday, looking to maintain his strong form at the start of the tournament, with consecutive straight-set wins over Kovacevic and Tirante. This will be a tough task for the world No. 20, who will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (No. 14), a semifinalist in Adelaide a week ago and survivor of a tight five-set match against Reilly Opelka.

They have four previous meetings, all victories for the American, including the Australian Open 2023 (five-set match) and the 4th round in 2025, when Paul crushed his opponent 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals. This time, Davidovich arrives in a much more mature state of his game, with a strong 2025 behind him, giving him confidence to try to reverse history against Paul.

The 29th seed Frances Tiafoe advanced with wins over Kubler and Comesana at a convincing level, although in the third round he faces a much greater challenge: world No. 6 and Aussie No. 1 Alex de Minaur, the main local hope this time. For De Minaur, this will be his first major test of the tournament, while Tiafoe seeks to return to the second week of the Australian Open for the first time since 2019 (quarterfinals).

“Big-Foe” has struggled to make deep runs in Melbourne, and this time he will face a tough rival and the crowd of Rod Laver Arena against him. The American has the chance to return to the top-25 if he wins, aiming to eliminate the last local player alive in the men’s draw. The current head-to-head is favorable 3-1 for Tiafoe. For De Minaur, the last clash was back in 2025 at the Canadian Open, with victory for the Australian.

Iva Jovic (No. 27) began the season as one of the young players to watch and so far has performed very well. She was runner-up in Hobart last week and quickly found form in Melbourne, winning consecutive matches in her tournament debut against Katie Volynets and Priscilla Hon.

In the third round, she will face Jasmine Paolini (7th seed) in a match that will spark fireworks in John Cain Arena. Long rallies can be expected between two players comfortable from the baseline and extending points, and Jovic’s consistency will be a tough challenge for Paolini. This could be one of the most interesting matches, with a real possibility for the 18-year-old to cause a major upset and reach the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Learner Tien (25th seed) benefited from the early injury of Felix Auger-Aliassime, who started the tournament as one of the favorites but had to retire while facing Nuno Borges (No. 46) in the debut. The Portuguese player managed to advance rounds and will now face young American Learner Tien — recent Next Gen ATP Finals participant and defender of the 4th round reached in 2025.

Tien avoided facing an inspired Auger-Aliassime and starts as the favorite against Borges, with a prior precedent in Paris a few months ago, where the American won in straight sets. It remains to be seen if he can continue showing a strong five-set level and advance again. If he reaches the quarterfinals, he could potentially meet Medvedev — precisely the player he eliminated in 2025, who put him on the tennis world’s radar a year earlier.