Simona Halep, the top women’s seed in the Australian Open, saved three match points and outlasted the unseeded American Lauren Davis in a marathon third set Saturday to advance to the fourth round.
The match lasted just under 3 hours and 45 minutes, and Halep’s 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 win saved the women’s draw from crumbling. Three of the top seven seeds had already been ousted, and the defending champion, Serena Williams, is absent as she continues to rebuild her game after the birth of her first child.