Published: 23:08 EST, 19 January 2018 | Updated: 00:59 EST, 20 January 2018
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – The Latest on Saturday at the Australian Open (all times local):
4:55 p.m.
Fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem has advanced to the fourth round at Melbourne Park, beating Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 on Margaret Court Arena.
Austria's Dominic Thiem hits a backhand return to France's Adrian Mannarino during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Thiem has now reached the round of 16 or better at each of his last five Grand Slam tournaments. He maintained his perfect record against Mannarino, beating the Frenchman for the seventh consecutive time.
He will next play the winner of Friday's later match between Tennys Sandgren and Maximilian Marterer.
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3 p.m.
Top-seeded Simona Halep served for the match four times before prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 over American Lauren Davis in a marathon match at Rod Laver Arena.
Halep saved three match points in the 22nd game of the third set at 0-40 and Davis saved five break points in the 23rd game in the 3 hour, 45-minute match. The final set took 2 hour, 22 minutes and Halep won on her first match point when Davis hit a forehand wide along the sideline.
Davis twice had medical timeouts in the final set to have blisters on both feet treated.
Halep will play the winner of Saturday's later match between local hope Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka.
In other women's third-round matches, sixth-seeded Karolina Pliskova beat Lucie Safarova 7-6 (6), 7-5 and No. 8 Caroline Garcia beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Garcia will play Madison Keys in the fourth round.
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12:25 p.m.
Madison Keys is through to the fourth round of the Australian Open after starting Saturday's program on Margaret Court Arena with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Ana Bogdan.
The 17th-seeded Keys, who lost in the U.S. Open final last year to Sloane Stephens, saved three break points serving for the match, finally clinching it on her first match point when Bogdan netted a backhand.
Keys will next play the winner of Saturday's later match between Aliaksandra Sasnovich and eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia.
The big match Saturday had the only two women's major champions left in the tournament playing each other – 2008 Australian winner Maria Sharapova vs. 2016 Melbourne Park champion Angelique Kerber.
That was the first night match scheduled for Rod Laver Arena, with Roger Federer to follow in his third-round match against Richard Gasquet.
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More AP coverage: www.apnews.com/tag/AustralianOpen
Romania's Simona Halep makes a backhand return to United States' Lauren Davis during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
United States' Lauren Davis makes a backhand return to Romania's Simona Halep during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
United States' Madison Keys makes a backhand return to Romania's Ana Bogdan during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Romania's Ana Bogdan makes backhand return to United States' Madison Keys during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
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