Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a return to Australia's James Duckworth during their men's singles match on day five of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 22, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

World number two Jannik Sinner's quest for a third straight Australian Open title remained on course after brushing aside home wildcard James Duckworth in the second round on Thursday.

In the night session on Rod Laver Arena, Sinner fired 18 aces in his commanding 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory in one hour and 49 minutes. It came on the back of the four-time grand slam champion's opening round victory, where he had a two-set advantage before France's Hugo Gaston retired hurt.

"My serve was really good, so I'm very happy with my performance," said Sinner, who has won 16 straight matches at the season-opening grand slam.

Sinner once again showed his liking for Melbourne Park's centre court as he served strongly and hit with precision to rattle world No.88 Duckworth, whose hopes of being competitive sank with 33 unforced errors.

The Italian will next face American Eliot Spizzirri, who had earlier ended the gallant run of China's Wu Yibing in a marathon five-set thriller.