MELBOURNE: Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka return to the Australian Open battlefield on Friday with fourth round berths at stake, joined in the fight by third seeds Coco Gauff and Alexander Zverev.

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Spanish world number one Alcaraz came through a tough three-set arm-wrestle in round two and faces another tricky encounter against French 32nd seed Corentin Moutet.

The 22-year-old has again been handed an afternoon match on Rod Laver Arena, once more following Sabalenka on to Melbourne Park’s center court.

The Belarusian top seed Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, faces Russia-born Austrian Anastasia Potapova to kick-off day six where temperatures are forecast to soar.