Round 2 of the 2025 Australian Open is here! The first games were played on Day 4, and while many of the top-seeded stars made it through to Round 3, there were also a few surprising upsets along the way.
The upset everyone will be talking about isn’t about the seeded player who was upset, but about the player who defeated her. Naomi Osaka seized victory on Wednesday, defeating No. 20 Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. Initially it looked like Osaka might be on her way to a quick ouster after she won just one game in the 32-minute first set. But then she found her feet (and her stroke), overwhelming Muchova over the next hour to pull out the win. It’s Osaka’s first trip to the third round of a major since 2022.
More upsets followed. Two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud, seeded sixth, couldn’t shake off 19-year-old Jakub Mensik. He lost the first set to the Mensik, then evened up the score in the second set, but couldn’t stop Mensik from taking the final two sets by storm. It’s the biggest win of the Czech teenager’s career.
And No. 5 Qinwen Zheng, who won gold in women’s singles at the recent Paris Olympics and was a finalist at the 2024 Australian Open, was stymied by 36-year-old Laura Siegemund, who is 14 years older than Zheng. The ultra-competitive Siegemund fought Zheng to a tiebreaker in the first set, which she won 7-3, and after that Zheng appeared to run out of gas.
The top American women had no such trouble. No. 3 Coco Gauff defeated the UK’s Jodie Burrage 6-3, 7-5 after a competitive (and extended) second set. Jessica Pegula, the second-highest seeded American woman at No. 7, took down Elise Mertens in 71 minutes, winning 6-4, 6-2. Tommy Paul, seeded 12th and the second-highest American on the men’s side, pulled out a win after a tough first set, defeating Kei Nishikori 6(3)-7, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1.
Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 3 seed in men’s singles and a crowd favorite wherever he goes, took down Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 in just one hour and 21 minutes. The No. 1 women’s seed, Aryna Sabalenka, easily defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 7-5. And No. 2 Alexander Zverev continued his easy run through the early rounds with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 win over Pedro Martinez.
Novak Djokovic, seeded seventh, finished his Round 2 match with a win and a new entry in the record books. He had a bit of trouble against Jaime Faria of Portugal, losing the second set in a tiebreak, but eventually prevailed 6-1, 6(4)-7, 6-3, 6-2 over three hours. He also claimed sole ownership of the record for most Grand Slam singles matches ever played. His win over Faria was his 430th Grand Slam match, pushing previous record-holder Roger Federer (429) into second place and Serena Williams (423) into third.
