Iga Swiatek, hot favourite for the women’s title, and men’s dark horse Jannik Sinner swept into the third round of the Australian Open before nine first-round matches were started as the weather continued to wreak havoc at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.

World No.1 Swiatek overcame Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-3 under the roof on Rod Laver Arena and Italian Sinner waltzed past Tomas Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on the similarly protected John Cain Arena.

Rain kept the players off the outer courts for four hours after the scheduled start, however, adding to fixture congestion triggered by extreme heat and storms on Tuesday when nine matches did not get started and two could not be completed. Swiatek headlined the action that was possible early on Wednesday and was the first to admit that the scoreline did not reflect the difficulty of her contest against the 21-year-old Colombian.

The Polish top seed set off at a canter and was 4-0 up before Osorio found her range with her groundstrokes and scooted around the court to put huge pressure on Swiatek’s serve.

Two breaks of serve got the Colombian on the scoreboard at 5-2 but Swiatek broke back to win the opening set and fended off another break point in the opening game of the second.

“It was really intense physically and Camila was running to every ball, she didn’t give up,” said Swiatek who will next take on Moldovan-born Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa in the third round on Friday.

World No. 100 Bucsa defeated former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 in the second round. Greek sixth seed Maria Sakkari had a scare on Margaret Court Arena against 18-year-old Diana Shnaider and was forced to come from a set down to beat the Russian teenager 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

‘Strange relationship’

Daniil Medvedev said he was unsure if he had a point to prove to the crowd due to a “strange relationship” with them after last year, but the Russian was pleased with the atmosphere as he beat local hope John Millman.

Medvedev has had several run-ins with crowds on the grandest stage, particularly in Australia where he described some fans on Rod Laver Arena as having “low IQ” for cheering between serves in last year’s tense win over home favourite Nick Kyrgios.

However, Medvedev said he enjoyed playing on Margaret Court Arena in Wednesday’s 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win. “It was a strange relationship last year. Let’s put it this way,” Medvedev said. “But again, at least in my life ... I forget things easily, so really happy to be here this year.”

Easy for Tsitsipas

A dominant Stefanos Tsitsipas proved a step too far for home hope Rinky Hijikata as the Greek third seed eased into the third round with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 win.

Wildcard Hijikata, ranked 169th in the world, went toe to toe with Tsitsipas in the early exchanges and looked capable of making it a contest for the Rod Laver Arena crowd. But Tsitsipas, a semi-finalist last year, seized control when he broke serve in the sixth game and used his superior firepower to great effect as he raced away to victory.

After that he used his superior firepower to great effect as he raced away to his second successive straight-sets victory.

The 21-year-old Hijikata managed to stem a seven-game losing streak at the start of the third but never looked like producing the day’s second shock after reigning champion Rafa Nadal was earlier knocked out by American Mackenzie McDonald.

“Felt good out there, the ball was coming off the racket really well,” Tsitsipas, who could become world No.1 if he claims his first grand slam title by winning the Australian Open, said on court.

“Whenever I’m back here it feels like home,” added the 24-year-old of playing in a city with a large Greek diaspora.

Felix Auger-Aliassime avoided a humbling exit from the second round, cutting out the mistakes to secure a thrilling 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win over Slovakian Alex Molcan.

The Canadian sixth seed looked like slumping out of the year’s first grand slam after an error-prone first two sets.

The 22-year-old appeared to get fired up by a complaint to the umpire about the state of the balls early in the third set, however, and suddenly was a different player, serving like a dream and imposing his game on the world No. 53.

Gauff prevails

Coco Gauff battled past Emma Raducanu 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach the third round, but not before the two prodigies offered fans a good glimpse of what the future of women’s tennis could look like after an absorbing first clash.

A lot is expected of French Open runner-up Gauff, who at 18 is two years younger than Raducanu but has not tasted the grand slam success the Briton did as a teenager, and the seventh seed saved three breakpoints to win a first set she controlled.

Handed a prime-time slot on Rod Laver Arena following the retirements last year of champion Ash Barty and 23-times major winner Serena Williams, the torch-bearers of a new era pushed each other hard before Gauff edged ahead in the second set. Raducanu was troubled by an abs problem after being broken at 2-1 and Gauff pounced, before fending off a late fightback by the 2021 Flushing Meadows champion to prevail.