Aryna Sabalenka full of praise for Clara Tauson after beating her in Melbourne

By Eleanor Crooks, PA Tennis Correspondent, Melbourne

Aryna Sabalenka backed Clara Tauson to break into the top 10 after battling past the young Dane to set up a fourth-round clash with Mirra Andreeva.

The two-time defending Australian Open champion was relieved to survive an intense contest on Rod Laver Arena, which she won 7-6 (5) 6-4 after two hours and six minutes.

Tauson led 5-3 in the opening set after seven straight breaks of serve to start the match while the 22-year-old, whose progress has been disrupted by injuries, fought back from 4-2 down in the second.

“That was a great battle, she played unbelievable tennis,” said Sabalenka. “It was really tough to play against her today. I was super happy that I was just able to stay in the game and to push myself to the limit.

“She’s definitely a top-10 player. She put me under pressure. She played really great tennis under pressure, as well. It was a great level from her. If she’s going to continue working, improving herself, playing the way she played today, of course, she’s going to be there.”

In the last 16, Sabalenka finds a familiar foe waiting in 17-year-old Andreeva, who was a 6-2 1-6 6-2 winner over Magdalena Frech.

The world number one has won three of their four previous meetings, including in Brisbane earlier this month, but Andreeva pulled off a big win at the French Open last year.

“Honestly, I’m so tired to play against her,” said the Russian teenager. “I played her four or five times already. So, yeah, it’s a lot. Here we are again. I know that probably it’s going to be an entertaining match and, of course, I’m going to do everything possible.”

There was a sad end to an encouraging tournament for two-time former champion Naomi Osaka, who retired with an abdominal injury after losing the first set against Belinda Bencic.

The Japanese star came into the event nursing the problem after pulling out during the final in Auckland last weekend but impressed in victories over Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova.

“It was a little hectic trying to manage it, because obviously my draw was quite tough,” said Osaka.

“But we were also doing everything we could, I was going to therapy every day and stuff like that into the night. After my last match, it got way worse. It was just, I guess, a little inevitable, but I think the competitor in me just wanted to see it through until the end.”

It was the first time Osaka had made it to the third round of a grand slam since returning from the birth of daughter Shai in 2023.

“I feel like the positives is why I’m negative, because I feel like, if I could have served, then I could have potentially won, and I could have maybe gone far in the tournament,” said Osaka.

“I was in the final in Auckland, too, and it sucks because I also think I could have maybe won that tournament and it could have been my first tournament win back.”

Reaching the fourth round is a notable achievement for 2021 Olympic champion Bencic, who has just returned from the birth of her daughter Bella last year.

Eleventh seed Paula Badosa fought her way through with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Marta Kostyuk, while another big battle saw 18th seed Donna Vekic defeat 12th seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (4) 6-7 (3) 7-5.