‘Probably going to sleep in the ice bath’: Shapo wins a marathon in Melbourne

Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov leads the charge by the top Jewish men's and women's players but Argentine veteran Schwartzman falls in a major upset

THE THREE Jewish-born men’s singles players in this year’s Australian open had mixed fortunes in their early matches, with two surviving marathon five-setters but a third bowing out.

Russia’s Aslan Karatsev needed five sets and almost five hours to win his first match against Spain’s Jaume Munar, while Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov had to do the same in his second-round clash on Wednesday against Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo.

However, Argentina’s pocket rocket Diego Schwartzman, the 13th seed, was beaten yesterday in straight sets by Australian wildcard, Chris O'Connell, ranked 175 in the world, who was boosted by a rowdy crowd in Melbourne's midday heat.

The women's 30th seed, Italy's Camila Giorgi, progressed comfortably and will face Australia's Ashleigh Barty under the lights at Rod Laver arena in the third round tonight.

Karatsev was forced to dig deep in his opening match, coming from two sets to one down, to beat Munar in an energy-sapping marathon. In the next round he shook off some initial weariness against American Mackenzie McDonald, before cruising through in four sets.

For his grafting, Karatsev, seeded 18, has been rewarded with a clash against the unseeded Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino, who surprised the in-form Polish tenth seed, Hubert Hurkacz in the second round. If Kartsev prevails, he will likely face Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.

Shapovalov, 22, is seeded 14 and seen by many as a future Grand Slam champion thanks to attacking flair and thrilling strokeplay, though he is also known for lapses of temperament. On Wednesday he showed distinct improvement in that area.

Having dispatched Serbia’s Laslo Djere in four sets in the first round, the left-hander found himself in a titanic battle in the second round with Kwon, eventually overpowering the Korean in five exhausting sets, the first three of them tie-breakers.