MELBOURNE, Australia — Another day of Grand Slam tennis, another record crowd at Melbourne Park.
When it comes to attendance, things keep looking up Down Under.
Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz — the top-seeded players in women’s singles and men’s singles, respectively — advanced in straight sets Wednesday, when the No. 3 seeds — Coco Gauff among the women and Alexander Zverev among the men — also progressed to the third round of the Australian Open.
The combined numbers for day and night sessions, 103,720 fans, set a full-day record for the third time in four days of the main draw at the year’s first major championship tournament, which has become a festival of tennis.
Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, opened the fourth of 15 scheduled days of major competition in Melbourne with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Bai Zhouxuan at Rod Laver Arena, while Gauff beat left-hander Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-2 at Margaret Court Arena.