Australian Open 2019: Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams Highlight Thursday Results

Novak Djokovic continued to advance in the 2019 Australian Open on Thursday as he recorded a straight-set win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Djokovic was late on court in Melbourne after Simona Halep battled through a tough three-set match against Sofia Kenin before Serena Williams continued her march with a comfortable win against Eugenie Bouchard.

Venus Williams also made it through, as did Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova.

In the men's draw, fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev triumphed over Jeremy Chardy in five sets, while Milos Raonic ended Stan Wawrinka's campaign in four.

Selected Men's Singles Results

(1) Novak Djokovic bt. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4

(4) Alexander Zverev vs. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 5-7, 6-7 (6), 6-1

Alexei Popyrin bt. (7) Dominic Thiem, 7-5, 6-4, 2-0, ret.

(8) Kei Nishikori bt. Ivo Karlovic, 6-3, 7-6 (6), 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (7)

(11) Borna Coric bt. Marton Fucsovics, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

(16) Milos Raonic bt. Stan Wawrinka 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (11), 7-6 (5)

Selected Women's Singles Results

(1) Simona Halep bt. Sofia Kenin, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4

(4) Naomi Osaka bt. Tamara Zidansek, 6-2, 6-4

(6) Elina Svitolina bt. Viktoria Kuzmova, 6-4, 6-1

(7) Karolina Pliskova bt. Madison Brengle, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0

(16) Serena Williams bt. Eugenie Bouchard, 6-2, 6-2

Venus Williams bt. Alize Cornet, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0

Visit the Australian Open website to see the results in full.

Recap

Djokovic managed to get past Tsonga without dropping a set, but it was a tricky test for the world No. 1 as the Frenchman showed flashes of his impressive quality:

The Serb cut a frustrated figure at times in his opening-round match with Mitchell Krueger, and the same was the case here, per tennis writer Carole Bouchard:

Once again, though, despite not being at his best, he wasn't in any significant danger of suffering a surprise defeat, and before long, he had booked his place in the third round.

Earlier, Record's Jose Morgado enjoyed Raonic's performance against Wawrinka in what was a tough match for both players:

Raonic will play Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the third round in what will be the pair's first meeting.

A controlled performance from Williams secured her place in the third round, despite being broken twice by Bouchard in the opening set.

The Canadian's efforts might normally have given her a chance of drawing first blood, but the set was still a largely one-sided affair in Williams' favour as she broke Bouchard four times:

Bouchard did a little better on her own serve in a competitive start to the second, but her opportunities against Williams quickly dried up and the match was soon over.

U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka beat Tamara Zidansek in straight sets on Tuesday, but the match was not without challenge for her.

After coming back from a break down in the second set—and having to fend off two break points in the final game—she was pleased to have progressed:

Venus Williams finished strongly as she beat Alize Cornet in three sets, having made heavy weather of the contest by slipping up in the second.

The 38-year-old produced a superb response after letting Cornet back into the match, racing to a bagel to ensure her passage to the next round, where she'll play world No. 1 Halep.