Live: Early start to beat heatwave in Melbourne, as Sinner, Djokovic, Osaka set for centre court

On Rod Laver Arena, second seed Jannik Sinner has got off to a mixed start against American Eliot Spizzirri.

Spizzirri, the world number 85, started off well by winning the opening point on Sinner’s serve, but the Italian held serve and then broke his opponent for 2-0.

However Spizzirri did not look too concerned, and he has hit straight back, forcing Sinner into a string of errors and breaking the two-time champion to love.

Early days, but things might not be as straightforward as expected for the Italian.

Players have been doing everything they can to keep cool on court.

On John Cain Arena, we have the first hint of an upset today, with Czechia’s Tomas Machac taking the first set against Italian fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti.

In a tight contest, momentum swung both ways in the opening set, before Machac took the set with a clean backhand winner to take it 7-5 in one hour 19 minutes.

The second set has been swings and roundabouts as well, with a number of breaks of serve – but Machac will be eyeing another scalp here after his win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Games are on serve at 4-4 in the second.

Next up on Rod Laver Arena will be Italian second seed Jannik Sinner against American Eliot Spizzirri.

Sinner, who is seeking a hat-trick of Australian Open titles, took care of veteran Australian player James Duckworth in straight sets in round two.

He looked in fine touch the other night, and Spizzirri, who had a five-setter in round two, will be up against it.

Defending champion Madison Keys has gone through to the fourth round, beating Czechia’s Karolína Plíšková on Rod Laver Arena.

Keys won 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 15 minutes, and apart from a  brief period in the first set, she looked untroubled against the former world number one.

She will next face fellow American Jessica Pegula.

As of midday at Melbourne Park, the AO’s heat stress scale has reached a reading of 2.2.

If the scale hits 5, play will be suspended in women’s and men’s singles and doubles matches.

The AO will apply what it describes as cooling strategies at a reading of 3 and use an extended break during matches at 4.

The first result of day seven is in the books, with American sixth seed Jessica Pegula defeating Oksana Selekhmeteva, 6-3, 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena.

The American didn’t serve particularly well, getting only 57 per cent of first serves in, but the ones she did land she won nearly 90 per cent of the time.

The key stat was the unforced errors, where Pegula made half the number of unforced errors as her opponent.

She finished the match in 66 minutes, with the added bonus of getting out of the growing heat.

Pegula will next face the winner of Madison Keys versus Karolína Plíšková.

 She had a bit of a wobble mid-set, but Madison Keys has clinched the first set against Karolína Plíšková on Rod Laver Arena.

Plíšková had looked like she was in the mix when she pulled herself back to 4-3 down, but Keys held serve and then produced a brilliant return effort in the ninth game.

She ripped three backhand winners to leave Plíšková without an answer, breaking serve to take the first set 6-3 in 43 minutes.

 On John Cain Arena, Tomas Machac is taking it to Italian fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti.

Machac made headlines when he knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round, and he started the day well, breaking Musetti to go to 2-0 in the first.

The Italian answered back, and games are on serve at 4-3 to Machac, but the Czechian is producing some great athletic tennis and not looking overawed by any means, and Musetti would not want to take this match for granted.

Karolína Plíšková is finding things difficult on Rod Laver Arena against Madison Keys.

She beat American qualifier Sloane Stephens in round one, and Indonesia’s Janice Tjen in round two, but Keys’ challenge is a definite step up.

Plíšková has had two surgeries after breaking her ankle a year ago. She is back on tour, but has said her ankle is still “very stiff”, and court movement is an issue.

She held serve to trail 4-1, but it took eight deuces to do it.

Plíšková then went out and broke Keys, suggesting she is beginning to settle – but she still has the task ahead.

On Margaret Court Arena, sixth seed Jessica Pegula is well on her way against Oksana Selekhmeteva.

Selekhmeteva has sent down three aces, and is getting 76 per cent of first serves in, but everything else is the issue, particularly the 16 unforced errors.

Pegula has taken the first set 6-3 in 33 minutes, and she looks dominant and well on her way to the fourth round.

Madison Keys is in rhythm here, hitting winners from everywhere against Karolína Plíšková.

She has seven winners already, and has broken Plíšková for a second time, to race out to a 3-0 lead.

On Margaret Court Arena, sixth seed Jessica Pegula is up against Oksana Selekhmeteva.

Over on John Cain Arena, Italian fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti will be taking to the court against Czechia’s Tomas Machac, who caused a big upset in the previous round beating 31st seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

And on Kia Arena, men’s 15th seed Karen Khachanov is underway against Italian Luciano Darderi, seeded 22.

Well, you can’t ask for more from the defending champion!

Madison Keys has come out firing, bookending the opening game with clean winners to break the serve of Czechia’s Karolína Plíšková.

Maybe the ninth seed is keen on an early finish to beat the heat.

Things are about to get underway on the show courts, and the first item on the agenda on Rod Laver Arena is women’s ninth seed Madison Keys of the United States, up against Czechia’s Karolína Plíšková.

Keys broke through last year for her first major title at Melbourne Park, and she ended the year ranked seven in the world.

Plíšková is ranked 1,057th in the world, but she is a former world number one, who has made two grand slam finals.

It should be an interesting start to proceedings:

Tournament organisers have contingency plans in place when it comes to extreme heat.

They introduced an extreme heat protocol (AO-EHP) to provide “fair and consistent playing conditions for all players”.

They want to ensure the conditions minimise the risk of heat-related illness in players.

The AO-EHP is based on the tournament’s heat stress scale (AO-HSS).

The AO-HSS has a scale of one to five.

Essentially, once the scale hits five, play will be suspended.

The AO explains further.

In the event of extreme heat, the referee has the right to suspend play or order a cooling break in accordance with this Australian Open Extreme Heat Protocol.

The EHP applies to both the outdoor courts and the Arena Courts (Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena).

AO-HSS readings are continually made throughout each day of the Australian Open.

Play will start on Rod Laver, Margaret Court, John Cain and Kia Arenas early, with an extra match squeezed onto MCA to try to get through as many as possible.

Laver, Court and Cain all have roofs that can make things more bearable on court.

Rod Laver Arena

• Madison Keys (9) vs Karolina Pliskova from 10:30am AEDT
• Jannik Sinner (2) vs Eliot Spizzirri not before midday
• Novak Djokovic (4) vs Botic van de Zandschulp from 7pm
• Naomi Osaka (16) vs Maddison Inglis (Q)

Margaret Court Arena

• Jessica Pegula (6) vs Oksana Selekhmeteva from 10:30am AEDT
• Amanda Anisimova (4) vs Peyton Stearns not before midday
• Ben Shelton (8) vs Valentin Vacherot (30) not before 2:30pm
• Iga Swiatek (2) vs Anna Kalinskaya (31) from 7pm
• Casper Ruud (12) vs Marin Cilic

John Cain Arena

• Lorenzo Musetti (5) vs Tomas Machac from 10:30am
• Elise Mertens (21) vs Nikola Bartunkova (Q) not before midday
• Taylor Fritz (9) vs Stan Wawrinka (WC) not before 5pm
• Elena Rybakina (5) vs Tereza Valentova

Kia Arena

• Karen Khachanov (15) vs Luciano Darderi (22) from 10:30am
• Linda Noskova (13) vs Xinyu Wang not before midday
• Jakub Mensik (16) vs Ethan Quinn not before 6pm

Australia’s Alex de Minaur took care of business last night on Rod Laver Arena, beating American Frances Tiafoe in straight sets to advance to the fourth round.

But de Minaur also knows there are many who question his ability to be a genuine contender for the title.

Silencing those doubters is a driving force behind his Australian Open campaign.

“I’m now at a position where I know my game, I know what I want, I know that I don’t want to be … another number in the draw and I know that there are a lot of people that don’t think I can do it,” de Minaur told reporters after the match.

“That’s completely fine, but I’m going to keep on pushing myself with my team and trying to prove those people wrong.”

You can read more about the Demon’s thoughts on the tournament here: