The Australian open served up more disappointment for British tennis players as Heather Watson became the latest player to be dumped out, while world number 4 Daniil Medvedev overcame a Spanish qualifier despite a random nose bleed.
Meanwhile, the weather in Australia continues to affect play at the tournament, with a strange brown deluge delaying proceedings on Thursday.
Sportsmail’s tennis correspondent Mike Dickson rounds up some of the things you may have missed from day four in Melbourne.
Daniil Medvedev made it through to the next round after overcoming a rather personal battle
Dismal Heather leaves Dart as last Brit standing
Heather Watson had the wind she likes but she unraveled quickly to go down to a dismal 6-3 6-0 defeat against sixteenth seed Elise Mertens of Belgium.
Harriet Dart, due to play Wimbledon champion Simona Halep in the evening session, was left as the last British singles player standing once the Channel Islander had lost 6-3 6-0 in only 56 minutes.
It was a massive contrast to their match in Hobart a week ago, where Watson beat the same player in three tight sets, encouraging hopes that she might spring an upset to make the third round.
This was Watson’s 34th appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, and she has yet to go past the third round in any of them.
Heather Watson put in a dismal display as she failed to go past the third round in another major
Mother nature serves up delays after brown deluge
In the past few weeks the peak Australian tennis season has seen hailstones the size of golf balls, biblical rainfalls and smoky haze causing players to collapse.
The latest delivery from Mother Nature caused the outside courts to be severely delayed when they became covered in brown gunk after an overnight deluge that brought with it the contents of the Australian desert, which has been whipped up by high winds.
Staff at the Australian Open have to work hard to clear away a deluge of brown gunk off courts
The brown deposit had to be power-hosed off the courts, while the nearby River Yarra ran a nasty brown colour. Ten days ago it looked like the roofs on the three main show courts would keep out the worst of the polluted air, but they have proved a defence against many other things as well.
More normal rain showers in the afternoon caused further delays. That is expected to be the last of the downpours seen for a while – good news for the tennis but of course not for farmers and firefighters, who would still like more of the stuff.
Alja Tomljanovic bows out against Muguruza
Alja Tomljanovic battled valiantly in her loss against ex-Wimbledon winner Garbine Muguruza
Australia’s Alja Tomljanovic fought hard against the ever unpredictable former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza but was beaten 6-3 3-6 6-3 in their second round match on Rod Laver Arena. Among the spectators was her boyfriend, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who is seeded number eight in the men’s singles.
Tomljanovic is the former partner of Nick Kyrgios, due on later against Frenchman Gilles Simon. Many would be intrigued to see what would happen if he played the Italian, although that could only happen here in the unlikely event that they both made the semi-finals.
Norrie is forced to withdraw from the men’s doubles
Cameron Norrie is heading home after bowing out from the men’s doubles in Melbourne
An unhappy visit to the Australian Open came to an end for current British number two Cam Norrie when he was forced to make a late withdrawal from the men’s doubles.
Having lost a desperately tight singles first round to Pierre Hugues Herbert he was due to play doubles with Marton Fucsovics only for the Hungarian to withdraw with a very much precautionary injury, because he is in the third round of the singles. The beneficiary, ironically, was Dan Evans, who with his partner John-Patrick Smith was slotted in as an alternate to play fellow Brit Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram, the eleventh seeds.
Medvedev’s nose bleed drama
Medvedev had to receive medical attention after coming down with the bleed during his win
Daniil Medvedev – seen as the biggest threat to the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – made it on court under the roof of Margaret Court Arena but suffered a nasty nose bleed as he beat Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez 7-5 6-1 6-3. A medical timeout was required to treat his condition.
It is not the first time that the Russian has suffered this problem during a match, but he denied it was related to tension: ‘Not at all. If it would be, I would be bleeding every match I play,’ he said.
Is Aljaz Bedene on the rise again?
Aljaz Bedene lost to Ernests Gulbis but looks like he is on his way back to his best form
With the British men all out of the singles, a sliver of consolation could be clung onto in the form of Aljaz Bedene, a British citizen through him having moved to Hertfordshire.
That was, at least, until he reverted to playing for his native Slovenia after a protracted dispute over whether he could play in the Davis Cup for Great Britain. Unfortunately even he lost as well, going down 7-5 6-3 6-2 to Ernests Gulbis, the big-hitting Latvian who looks like he is having a resurgence.