Sinner subdues wildcard Schoolkate on Rod Laver Arena

Defending champion Jannik Sinner had his feathers ruffled early on by local wildcard Tristan Schoolkate on Thursday before recovering his ice-cool composure to reach the third round of the Australian Open with a 4-6 6-4 6-1 6-3 win.

World number one Sinner had won 30 of his last 31 matches going into the contest and had not given up a set in 15 matches since his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing last October.

Western Australian Schoolkate ended the latter streak inside 47 minutes by converting the only break point of the opening stanza to the delight of a big crowd basking in the evening sun on Rod Laver Arena.

The Italian continued to struggle to get a handle on Schoolkate's game early in the second set but a rasping crosscourt winner earned him a break for 4-3 and from then on the match was only going one way.

Elsewhere, teenage sensation Joao Fonseca who became the talk of the town after beating ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round, dragged experienced Italian Lorenzo Sonego to five sets before losing 6-7(6) 6-3 6-1 3-6 6-3.

Fourth seed Taylor Fritz romped past qualifier Cristian Garin 6-2 6-1 6-0 and Ben Shelton took out Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-3 6-7(4) 6-4, making three Americans in the third round with more possibly to come.

Women's second seed Iga Swiatek waltzed into the third round with fellow Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina also winners on a bright and sunny day at Melbourne Park.

A day after intermittent rain dampened the spirits, five-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek shot out of the blocks on Rod Laver Arena to crush Rebecca Sramkova 6-0 6-2 and set up a clash with Raducanu, who beat Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-5.

Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina overcame a second-set wobble to beat 17-year-old American wildcard Iva Jovic 6-0 6-3, the second teenager she has sent packing from the tournament.

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, on a mission to become the first African and Arab woman to win a major, moved past Camila Osorio 7-5 6-3 but was in tears during a medical timeout as she kept touching her chest area and coughing.

Eighth seeded American Emma Navarro needed three sets to get past Wang Xiyu 6-3 3-6 6-4, while ninth seed Daria Kasatkina powered into the next round with a 6-2 6-0 victory over Wang Yafan.

Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska, a semi-finalist as a qualifier last year, thumped Danka Kovinic 6-0 6-1 to set up a clash with 2023 finalist Rybakina.

Last year's French Open and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini brushed aside Mexico's Renata Zarazua 6-2 6-3 to reach the third round, where the fourth-seeded Italian will face Ukrainian 28th seed Elina Svitolina.

Former Australian Open finalist and 10th seed Danielle Collins overcame a second-set scare to beat Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava 7-6(4) 4-6 6-2 to reach the third round, where she will face fellow American and 19th seed Madison Keys.