Australian Open 2020: Barty v Riske, Fucsovics v Federer and more – live!

Barty is back, one beautifully-constructed point, finished with a backhand down the line, eventually setting up the ace which secures the game to 15. Barty 5-2 Riske.

Well that lasted. This time, Barty piles into and through a forehand down the line and it gives her her break back; at 4-2, she may well have broken the back of the first set.

Back on Melbourne, Sandgren is angry about something I missed; Fognini laughs at him. You hate to see it*. Sandgren 7-6 7-5 4-4 Fognini.

*You do not hate to see it.

Oh yes! Look at Alison Riske! Not long ago, Barty ought to have put away a forehand for 4-0 and a double break, and now she’s lost her actual break! Riske is proper settled now, her forehand in full working order. Barty 3-2 Riske.

Riske is in huge trouble here, the anxiety is smeared all the way across her coupon when she can’t retrieve a forehand right into her backhand corner. But at 30-40, a reprieve: Barty, having opened the court, nets a straightforward forehand down the line. Riske is tough though, and saves a further break point with an ace down the middle before securing the game with two more big serves. Barty 3-1 Riske.

Back on the Melbourne Arena, Fognini isn’t going anywhere. It’s 2-2 in set three, but Sandgren leads by two sets to love.

Oh yes, Barty is moving beautifully. She opens up the court, sending Riske to hither and yon, then consolidates the break with a monstrous forehand. Barty 3-0 Riske.

Excellent from Barty on 15-40, her running and chasing setting up a low forehand, whipped cross-court. It’s not a winner, but it sets the tone for the point, and she’s soon 2-0 up in set 1. Barty is in touch here.

Barty, serving in game 1, is hauled back from 40-0 to 40-30, but moves ahead,

A wild forehand from Fognini puts Sandgren up a break in set three. He takes an injury timeout which involves having his leg yanked in all sorts of painful directions, but he’s nearly there now.

Barty (1) and Riske (18) are with us, and getting warm. Barty has never beaten Riske.

Fognini needed a final-set breaker to bin Reilly Opelka in round 1, but it’s a longass-ass way back for him from here, as they say round Sandgren’s way.

Hello! A brilliant backhand pass gives Sandgren a break! As I said, he’d be as well to tank Fognini’s service games, and he’ll now serve for the second set.

This is a really good match now; Fognini is steaming hot. If I were Sandgren, I’d think about taking his service games off now, to recuperate for a breaker. Five games on the spin for Fognini, who leads 5-4 in the second; Sandgren by one set to love.

Fognini is leaning into Sandgren now, first holding, and now with a break point; Sandgren looks tired. I’m not surprised, given his politics, all that must take its toll on a person. He finds one huge forehand, but Fognini wears it and a walloped inside-out backhand allows him to DIC-tate the rally before clinching the second break-back! We’re back on serve in the second!

Back on court, Fognini has somehow outlasted Sandgren in a monumental 26-shot rally, to snatch a break back. He now trails 2-4 in the second set; might that be the start of the long, torturous route back into this match?

So Kenin told Gauff “Not today”, but she and the rest of the tour remain on notice. A tennis coach mate of mine was asked to put together a video detailing and analysing her weaknesses … and couldn’t find any. Given the capricious nature of the women’s game, we can be sure that it’ll be soon.

Earlier today: in the men’s competition, has the penny finally dropped for the Canadian Cyborg? Milos Raonic (32) whacked Marin Cilic 4,3, and 5, just as he whacked Stefanos Tistsipas 5,4 and 6 in the previous round. He meets Novak Djokovic (2) next, who perfunctorily crushed Diego Schwartzman (14) 3,4, and 4.

In the women’s competition, Coco Gauff is gone. She won the first set on a breaker, but then Sofia Kenin (14) switched on the power, taking the next two 3 and 0. She’ll play Ons Jabeur next; the Tunisian got rid of Quiang Wang (27) and the blog’s accumulator 7-6 6-1. Elsewhere, Petra Kvitova (7),

great friend of the
long-time favourite of the blog, did for Maria Sakkari (22), 7-6(4) 6-3 6-2. She’ll play Barty or Riske next.

Left over from the afternoon session: Tenys Sandgren leads Fabio Fognini (12) 7-6, 2-0. Fognini has just taken an injury timeout for a blister on a finger, while Sangren has won the last 10 points,

Greetings all, and welcome to the evening session – and maybe what’s left of the day session – of this seventh go-around of the 2020 Australian Open. What we have for sure is the world number 1, Ashleigh Barty, playing in her home Grand Slam – she meets the late-blooming Alison Riske who, at the ancient age of 28 (or was she 29?) has just enjoyed the best year of her career. Included in that year was a run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, included in that run a win over Barty. That one will be decent.

Then, when that’s done, we get to enjoy Roger Federer, and who knows for how much longer that’ll be so. He’s not looked especially good so far and needed a super-duper tie-break to shake off the admittedly limpetian John Millman on Friday. Trying to ruin his week is the in-form Marton Fucsovics – to get here, he’s beaten Denis Shapovalov, the number 13 seed, and Jannik Sinner, who no less a luminary than JP McEnroe think will be a superstar.

Play: 7pm local time, 8am GMT