The second world classified Pliskova forcefully defeated the German Laura Siegemund by a double 6-3 in less than an hour and a half of match to access a third round in which she will face against the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, executioner of the American Taylor Townsend.
For his part, Halep ended the last British hope in both the men’s and women’s teams, the Londoner Harriet Dart, after beating him 6-2, 6-4. British tennis was left without representatives after its seven players, three in the men’s and four in the women’s, were eliminated before the third round.
The Romanian, a finalist in Melbourne in 2018, added a new victory in two sets that served her to access a third in which she will face the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, after she finished with the American Danielle Collins (26) for 6-4, 2-6 and 7-5.
Fifth seed Elena Svitolina also delivered after ending the hopes of young American Lauren Davis 6-2, 7-6 (6) in a match that ended at 00:45 local time.
With this result, the Ukrainian became the next rival of the only Spanish tennis player alive in the table, Garbiñe Muguruza, after she defeated the local Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 3-6 and 6-3 in a match that opened the morning session at the Rod Laver Arena court.
The positive news was that the bad feelings experienced during the first set of the first round in which the Spanish-Venezuelan suffered the aftermath of the feverish picture she suffered last week disappeared.
His compatriot Carla Suárez said the final goodbye to the Australian Open after he announced his retirement last November, as he lost to the young Polish woman Iga Swiatek 6-3, 7-5.
The other Spanish to fall on the fourth day at Melbourne Park was Sara Sorribes after failing to face Annet Kontaveit who will face the Swiss Bencic in the third round.
Reigning Australian Open semi-finalist Bencic from Switzerland joined the third round after defeating 2017 Roland Garros champion and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, and will be next challenged by Kontaveit herself.
Swiatek will face the Croatian Donna Vekic in the next phase after the latter comfortably eliminated the French Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-2.
The champion in 2017, the German Angelique Kerber, fired the local and invited to the tournament Priscilla Hon after endorsing a 6-3 and 6-2 in one hour and ten minutes.
Kerber, who reached the fourth round in 2019, will face Italy’s Camila Giorgi, who beat Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-1 in her third round. EFE