The scoreline of 6-2, 6-3 looks easy at first glance.

Not so for No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini. Paolini’s second-round victory over Magdalena Fletch was marred by multiple rain delays, court changes and an hour and 47 minutes of playing time. The Italians had just finished a grueling day’s work between 3pm and midnight local time.

Australian Open: Score | draw | order of play

“Guys, it’s been quite an adventure,” a weary Paolini said in an on-court interview. The first long off-court delays due to rain occurred when she was leading 4-1 in the first set, and the second when she faced a double break point in the first game of the second set. Following the latter, play resumed at the vacant John Cain Arena, which had a convenient roof, rather than the KIA Arena where the match had begun.

“The conditions were different here compared to KIA Arena with the roof closed, so it was really difficult to adapt,” Paolini said. “But honestly, it’s better if there’s no wind or rain here!”

The match itself was a tough enough test. You might wonder why it took Paolini and Frech nearly two hours to play just 17 games. Well, more than half of those games went to deuce. To be exact, there were 22 deuce points over nine games.

And how did Paolini achieve such a routine scoreline? He held off a total of 15 game points in eight games by winning eight of them. In total, she saved 11 of 14 break points. Paolini sensitively referred to “a little bit of ups and downs” during the match — her forehand accuracy was up and down throughout — but ultimately it was an incredible clutch performance from the two-time major finalist.

And while almost any match could have gone either way, Paolini was the most efficient player once the finish line was in sight. She broke Fletch at 5-3 in the second set with the best point of the match, a drop-shot backhand pass combination that sent the late-night crowd into a frenzy. On her second match point, she made no mistake and hit a forehand to win the match for the 20th time.

Paolini’s chance in the draw is now guaranteed, making her the first Australian Open quarter-final berth since Marta Kostyuk lost her first match to Elsa Jacquemot. Paolini and Yulia Putintseva are the only players remaining in the tournament who have previously reached the quarterfinals of a major tournament. A fourth round is a possibility for Paolini, but first she needs to get past 29th seed Iva Jovic, who defeated wild card Priscilla Hong 6-1, 6-2 in just 71 minutes.

The result means the 18-year-old Jovic, the youngest player in the top 100 and who just completed his second career final in Hobart last week, advances to the third round of a major for the first time. She will aim to reverse her two losses to Paolini at Indian Wells and the US Open last year.

Elsewhere, 19th-seeded Karolina Muchova survived an upset from Alicia Parks to advance 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 37 minutes. With 39 winners and 58 unforced errors, Parks pushed 2021 semifinalist Muchova to the end. The American made a great play in the penultimate game, saving a triple match point on his serve and then holding a break point to tie the match at 5-5. However, Muchova got off to a fast start in both the second and third sets and almost held the lead in each set.