Australian Open Tennis Sees Surprising Early Exits in Second Week

The Australian Open has delivered its traditional share of surprises as the tournament moves into the second week, with several highly-seeded players suffering shocking defeats that have blown the draw wide open. World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz's stunning exit to unseeded Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets has been the biggest talking point of the tournament so far.

Kokkinakis, playing inspired tennis in front of his home crowd, dominated the young Spaniard with aggressive baseline play and clinical net approaches. The 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory puts the Australian into the fourth round for the first time since 2015 and has the local fans dreaming of their first men's champion since Lleyton Hewitt.

On the women's side, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka suffered a second-round exit to qualifier Lesia Tsurenko in a match that lasted over three hours. Sabalenka struggled with her usually dominant serve, recording 14 double faults as the Ukrainian veteran took advantage of every opportunity to secure a memorable 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory.

Novak Djokovic continues his quest for a record 11th Australian Open title with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Tomas Machac. The Serbian maestro showed no signs of the wrist injury that plagued him in the lead-up to the tournament, moving through to the round of 16 with minimal fuss.

Emerging American Ben Shelton has been one of the breakout stars of the tournament, reaching the fourth round with his powerful serve and aggressive court coverage. His 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 victory over former world No. 5 Andrey Rublev announced him as a serious contender for his first Grand Slam title.

Coco Gauff leads the charge for American women, advancing to the fourth round without dropping a set. Her improved consistency and tactical awareness under new coach Brad Gilbert have been evident throughout the fortnight, and she looks poised to make a deep run in Melbourne.