1 of 6 | Daniil Medvedev of Russia (pictured) beat Nick Kyrgios in four sets Thursday in Melbourne. Photo by Dean Lewins/EPA-EFE
Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas were among the top men's players to advance with second-round wins at the 2022 Australian Open on Thursday in Melbourne. Garbine Muguruza, the women's No. 3 seed, lost in straight sets.
Medvedev, the men's No. 2 seed, beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in a match that lasted nearly three hours. The Russian logged 31 aces and 68 winners.
"It was a funny match because we both serve big," Medvedev said in his on-court interview. "You just try to return on the court, even if it's a bad shot. I managed in the second and fourth set to return a little more in a few crucial moments. These matches can be tight."
Earlier Thursday, Tsitsipas beat Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4. That match lasted three hours and 22 minutes.
Tsitsipas edged Baez 12-5 in aces and 44-35 in winners. The Greek No. 4 seed also won four break points, compared to Baez's two.
No. 5 Andrey Rublev of Russia and No. 9 Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada were the other Top-10 seeded men's players who advanced Thursday.
No. 20 Taylor Fritz and Maxime Cressy were among the Americans who advanced in the men's singles circuit.
The women's singles circuit featured several upsets Thursday in Melbourne. No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus was the top women's player, winning her second-round match. Alize Cornet of France secured the biggest upset, sweeping Spain's Muguruza in straight sets.
Cornet won that 87-minute match 6-3, 6-3. She matched Muguruza with 17 winners, but edged her Spanish counterpart 3-0 in break points won. Muguruza totaled 33 unforced errors, compared to Cornet's 16, in the loss.
No. 7 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 10 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia were the other Top-10 seeded women's players who advanced.
No. 6 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, No. 12 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 17 Emma Raducanu of Great Britain joined Muguruza with second-round exits.
No. 27 Danielle Collins was the lone American to advance Thursday in the women's singles circuit.
The first wave of third-round matches airs from 9 p.m. EST Thursday through 7 a.m. EST Friday on ESPN+ and ESPN2.