The atmosphere was different for the sixth day of play Saturday at the Australian Open, with no fans to cheer.

The atmosphere was different for the sixth day of play Saturday at the Australian Open, with no fans to cheer.

The atmosphere was different for the sixth day of play Saturday at the Australian Open, with no fans to cheer.

Melbourne: The rally lasted 41 shots, with the players trading baseline groundstrokes for more than a minute, and when it ended, one person applauded.

The atmosphere was different for the sixth day of play Saturday at the Australian Open, with no fans to cheer for No. 5-seeded Elina Svitolina as she advanced to the fourth round by beating No. 26 Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-0.

Svitolina won their marathon rally early in the second set, and the majority of points after that. There was no crowd due to the start of a five-day lockdown imposed by the Victoria state government in response to a COVID-19 outbreak at a hotel.

Up to 30,000 fans daily 50 per cent of capacity had been admitted on previous days.

Svitolina, a tour veteran from Ukraine who has won 66 Grand Slam matches, needs one more win to match her best showing in Melbourne. She was a semifinalist at both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019.