Aussies in action, Day 3: Millman joins Barty in the third round

MELBOURNE, Australia -- World No. 1 Ash Barty is into the final 32 at the Australian Open, as is John Millman after impressive straight sets wins on Day 3 at Melbourne Park.

Follow the fortunes of all five Australians on Day 3 of the Open right here with ESPN.

Results

Fabio Fognini (12) def. Jordan Thompson (AUS)
7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(4)

Two matches, two five-setters for Fabio Fognini. And much like his first-round win over Reilly Opelka, he managed to grind out a memorable victory.

Thompson found himself in a pretty dire hole early, down two sets and visibly frustrated -- smashing a racket with a technique Fognini would normally be proud of -- but the Australian rallied beautifully to level the match at two sets apiece -- this time to Fognini's frustration.

But, much like his first-round match, the fiery Italian dug deep, winning the tiebreaker to secure the 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(4) victory.

Ash Barty (1) (AUS) def. Polona Hercog
6-1, 6-4

The world No. 1 shook off any nerves she might have felt in her first-round three-set win over Lesia Tsurenko. It took just one hour and nine minutes for the Aussie to take care of business against Polona Hercog, winning through to the last 32 in straight sets: 6-1, 6-4.

"Another clean match today and I'm really happy to get out of that one," Barty said in her on-court interview. "It was very different end to end. The wind played a massive factor and Polona has the power to blow you off the court. It was just about me making as many balls as I could.

"It's nice playing in front of a full crowd and to play on this beautiful court. Thank you very much."

Barty, the first Australian to book a ticket in the third round, will now face either 29th seed Elena Rybakina or Belgian qualifier Greetje Minnen -- two opponents she has never faced in her career -- with a place in the last 16 up for grabs.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.

John Millman (AUS) def. Hubert Hurkacz (31)
6-4, 7-5, 6-3

Millmania is still alive! Up against 31st seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, Millman relished difficult conditions in securing a strong, straight sets win.

At times it was slow; Millman had previously commented that speed was lacking on these Melbourne Park courts, and it was evident, with long, tiresome rallies featuring throughout. This probably worked against Hurkackz, a tall and lanky man, and played right into the dogged Millman's hands.

In fact, throughout the first two sets, break points were common - something probably more reminiscent of a women's' match, but in the last, the Aussie was able to secure an early double break, and didn't look back, securing the third set 6-3.

"It was once a pipe dream to play tennis and now to do it is pretty special," Millman said after the game. "You've got to appreciate the good times, and this is one of them."

Millman may well lick his lips looking ahead in the draw. He is to play the winner of Roger Federer and Filip Krajinovic. Eagle-eyed viewers will remember Millman defeated the master in an engrossing fourth-round affair at the 2018 US Open. Could he deliver another upset?

"I'm one for the people, so I might ask Craig (Tiley) if we can schedule [the match against Federer] out here on Melbourne Arena," Millman said to applause.

Dusan Lajovic def. Marc Polmans (AUS)
6-2, 6-4, 6-3

Marc Polmans tried hard out on Court 3, but the young Aussie simply didn't have enough firepower to match Serbian 24th seed Dusan Lajovic.

Polmans was wiped off the court in straight sets, a match which lasted an hour and 52 minutes. Lajovic struck an impressive 46 winners, to Polmans' 11 and is certainly one to watch in future rounds.

Still, Polmans pockets a cool AU$128,000 for his efforts at Melbourne Park and will have lost no admirers.

Anett Kontaveit def. Astra Sharma (AUS)
6-0, 6-2

It was a tough tournament for Astra Sharma, who had her first-round match moved from Tuesday to Wednesday after the backlog of matches from Monday couldn't get cleared in time.

It wasn't worth the wait unfortunately; she was bageled in the first set and managed to win just two games in the second. Crucially she hit just five winners but made 24 unforced errors in admittedly swirly conditions.