Australian Open 2012 live stream

We have breaking news (hold the back page and keep yourself in a state of readiness): Victoria Azarenka fended off three break points on her way to the fourth round of the Australian Open. Yes, break points plural. Three of them. It was a heck of a morning out on Hisense Arena.

The world No.3 had barely produced a bead of perspiration in the opening days of the competition, romping into the third round for the loss of just two games. Happily clattering Heather Watson and Casey Dellacqua, she was on a roll. And then she ran into Mona Barthel, the world No.44 from Bad Segeberg in Germany. Fair enough, Azarenka won 6-2, 6-4, but in the form she was in, the dropping of six games was the nearest thing to an upset we hacks could get our teeth into.

It took young Mona a while to find her bearings on the big show court – she is only 21 and this is her first visit to Melbourne – and for the first 20 minutes or so, it looked as if she was in for the same sort of pasting that Azarenka had handed out to Watson and Dellacqua.

“She just can’t quite find her personality in this match,” the TV commentator said kindly. Sadly, it wasn’t finding her personality that was the problem; it was finding the ball that was the issue. But all of that was about to change.

It turns out that there is more to Mona than meets the eye. Her serve is impressive, she is happy to volley (a rare trait amongst the female players), her forehand has fizz and her backhand has placement. Oh, and she never gives up. All of this bodes well for Mona as she sprints up the rankings.

At the other end of the court, the more famous moaner knew she was in for a difficult morning. Azarenka’s grunt has a life of its own. In the opening exchanges, it starts out as a high-pitched bleat but before long, it has increased in volume and duration until it becomes an elongated wail. “Ah-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh,” she moans as she strikes every shot and the noise only stops when the ball bounces on the other side of the net. Some opponents make the mistake of trying to return the grunt rather than the ball but Germany’s Mona was smarter than that.

By the second set, Barthel had settled down and sized up the situation. She started to welt her returns, a tactic that coincided neatly with Azarenka’s dip in concentration. As the No.3 threw in a few double faults – she served seven of them in the second set – so Barthel stepped forward. Growing in confidence, she began to show off her full range of shots and they were causing Azarenka a few problems. She did not have the experience to put her rival away but she had the wherewithal to make her work.

Azarenka, meanwhile, was struggling with a few problems of her own making. After 75 minutes, she had her first match point. So far so good. Then Barthel saved it with an ace. Oh, well; no matter. She was still within touching distance of the next round so what did it matter if she used up her last video challenge on a lost cause – she would be back in the locker room in a few minutes.

Barthel, though, had other ideas. Showing a dogged fighting spirit, the German clung on to her place in the draw like a limpet and she made Azarenka beat her. And as the world No.3 saw three more match points come and go, she got increasingly rattled. One return looked decidedly wide of the mark but she had no challenges left so she just had to lump it – another match point had gone begging. Finally, after 88 minutes, she got her reward of a fourth round appointment with Iveta Benesova.

“I’m glad I got a little bit more of a challenge today,” Azarenka said. “Mona can play really well. I can’t complain. Overall, it was a good match but I’m a little disappointed that I lost my concentration a little bit in the second set. But you cannot play flawless all the time.”

She may not need to be utterly error free against Benesova – in three previous meetings, Azarenka has not dropped a set to the Czech.