Rekubit Exchange:Ukraine’s Yastremska into fourth round at Australian Open

MELBOURNE,Rekubit Exchange Australia (AP) — Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska equaled her best Grand Slam performance as she beat 27th-ranked Emma Navarro 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open on Saturday.

Ranked No. 93, Yastremska clinched victory after one hour, 46 minutes to set up a meeting with either 11th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko or two-time former champion Victoria Azarenka.

Yastremska had lost in the first round in her past seven Grand Slam appearances. She also reached the last 16 at Wimbledon in 2019.

“I felt pretty nervous,” said Yastremska, who hit 36 winners. “In the second set I felt a little bit of pain in my neck and thought I might have to crack it but didn’t want to do it myself.

“I told myself just don’t be too focused on your neck in the third set because it really takes my attention away. I just told myself to enjoy.”

Men’s No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz plays Shang Juncheng of China in the afternoon session while women’s No. 1 Iga Swiatek begins the night session against Linda Noskova.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis