Aussies in action, Day 4: Popyrin, Kyrgios through to last 32

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Six Aussies went into Day 4 action, but only two emerged victorious, with Nick Kyrgios and Alexei Popyrin advancing to the third round.

Aussie results

Nick Krygios (23) (AUS) def. Gilles Simon
6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5

It wasn't pretty at times; Nick Kyrgios played some of the best tennis of his career, and then some of the worst, but still managed to pull off an entertaining four-set win over Gilles Simon.

The first two sets were clinical, composed -- a representation of the 'new' Kyrgios which has seemingly won over a new legion of fans this summer. But, when 4-2 up in the third, the 'old' Kyrgios reared his head; bizarre drop shot choices, overly-adventurous forehands and arguments with his box ensured Simon was never out of the match.

The Frenchman, once No. 6 in the world, took the third and was holding easily throughout the early parts of the fourth set.

But something clicked for the 23rd seed Aussie. He managed to break Simon in the 11th game, and when serving for the match with the crowd once again rocking, he rolled out two aces and a vicious winner to rubber-stamp a third-round berth. The swagger was back.

In his post-game on-court interview, he thanked the crowd for getting him out of a "dark place".

"It's epic," he said of the Melbourne Arena crowd. "It's why I request playing here as long as I can. It's such a home feel and I love it."

Alexei Popyrin (AUS) def. Jaume Munar
6-2, 7-6(5), 6-2

He's only 20 and most Australians might not be too familiar with him, but Alexei Popyrin has a very bright future on the ATP tour.

Popyrin, who was responsible for sending home former Melbourne Park finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round, earned his place in the last 32 on Thursday afternoon with a straight sets wins over Spain's Jaume Munar.

Out on Court 3, Popyrin made a lightning start, racing out to a 3-0 lead inside seven minutes. He eventually claimed a comfortable first set before coming from 5-1 down in a second set tie-breaker to double his advantage.

At that point, Munar was broken and the third and final set was routine for Popyrin who wins through to the third round of his home Slam for the second straight year.

Up next? World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev. It's certainly not going to be easy, but if you've been following Popyrin this week in Melbourne, you'll know it's far from impossible.

Dominic Thiem (5) def. Alex Bolt (AUS)
6-2, 5-7, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2

Alex Bolt's match against No. 5 seed Dominic Thiem looked like it could have been a quick one.

The Aussie wildcard was broken in the very first game of match, and failed to make much of an impact as his Austrian opponent cruised to an early 6-2 lead. It looked even more dire when Thiem went up 5-3 in the second.

But to the Melbourne Arena crowd's amazement, the 27-year-old South Australian rallied to win the next four games, taking the second set 7-5 and then the third set in a tiebreaker.

But Thiem wasn't going to be eliminated by an Aussie in the second round for the second consecutive year.

He stepped it up a notch in the fourth, winning it comfortably 6-1, and was equally as clinical in the decider, silencing the once-rowdy crowd on his way to an eventual five set win.

Garbine Muguruza def. Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS)
6-3, 3-6, 6-3

It was a match that will leave Ajla Tomljanovic thinking 'what if?'.

Things started brightly for the Aussie, who broke Garbine Muguruza in the first game of the match, however after holding serve to go 2-0 up in a hurry, it was the Spaniard who hit back, winning six of the next seven games to take the first set.

The second threatened to go either way early as well; Tomljanovic was forced to save a couple of break point chances in the third game, and then had two of her own in the fourth game but was unable to convert. It wasn't until the sixth game that the Aussie broke away and consolidated for a 5-2 lead, eventually taking the set 6-3.

Tomljanovic had chances to pull off the upset in the third, coming back from a break down, but a costly double fault in the eighth game was the beginning of the end; the class of the two-time Slam winner Muguruza came to the fore and she took the last 6-3, advancing to the third round of the Australian Open for a second straight year.

Angelique Kerber (17) def. Priscilla Hon (AUS)
6-3, 6-2

There's no doubt 21-year-old Queenslander Priscilla Hon has got some talent, unfortunately she just came up against a tougher, more experienced opponent in her second round match: 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

Hon worked hard and engaged Kerber in a closely contested first set, but some sloppy service games cost her a chance to send a scare through the German's camp. From there, Kerber always had Hon's measure, eventually running out a comfortable straight sets winner to progress to the third round once again.

Kiki Bertens (9) def. Arina Rodionova (AUS)
6-3, 7-5

Arina Rodionova turned in a gallant performance against the No. 9 seed Kiki Bertens. After saving two break points in the very first game, the Aussie immediately broke serve, taking a 2-0 lead over the Dutch No. 1. But Bertens rallied to win the next five games, and took the first set easily, 6-3.

Bertens opened up a quick 2-0 lead in the second before the Aussie returned the favour, breaking to level the set at 2-2. The pair then exchanged holds until the Dutch star got the all-important break in the 12th game to win 6-3, 7-5.