Australian Open 2024: Day 9 scores, all the latest news from Melbourne Park
Alexander Zverev slammed Aus Open security after a protester pamphlets in his direction, and all over Margaret Court Arena, during his thrilling win over Cam Norrie.
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Alexander Zverev has lamented a lapse in security which allowed a “free Palestine” protester to drop pamphlets on court in his thrilling five-set win on Monday.
Patrons in the crowd stopped the protester and escorted the person out of the stadium as security reacted slowly to the incident in the third set.
Tournament officials are likely to review the incident to assess how the protester was able to evade security with the bag full of pamphlets and drop them on the court at Margaret Court Arena.
Zvererv said he understood the protester’s frustrations with so much hostility around the world, but said the security could have been better considering the stringent protocols he faces in the players’ only areas.
SCROLL TO RECAP ALL THE ACTION FROM DAY NINE AT THE AUS OPEN
“That was a little bit surprising,” Zverev said.
“I understand they’re all doing their job. But I think when something like this happens, it shouldn’t be another fan dragging the other person out.
“It should be the security guys that should be there quite quickly. It shouldn’t take three, four minutes, that long.”
Zverev’s win over Cameron Norrie sent him through to the quarterfinal where he will take on Carlos Alcaraz likely on Wednesday night.
Zverev said he could understand why people were upset with some terrible conflicts around the globe, but questioned why the protest took place at the Australian Open.
“There’s obviously a lot going on in the world and a lot of quite bad things happen. I understand some people are frustrated,” Zverev said.
“Of course, a tennis match has nothing particularly to do with it. I also understand both sides there.”
Zverev pushed back his press conference by about one hour and was not asked about domestic violence allegations which will be heard in court in May.
10.30PM: CHINESE STAR DOMINATES FRENCH FAIRYTALE
- AFP
Zheng Qinwen drew on advice from Chinese great Li Na to match her exploits at the US Open last year by storming into the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time on Monday.
The 12th seed, known to her fans as “Queen Wen”, was on another level to the unseeded Oceane Dodin, routing the Frenchwoman 6-0, 6-3 at Rod Laver Arena in under an hour.
It set up a clash next another unseeded player, Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, with a new face guaranteed to be in the Melbourne Park semi-finals.
The match was shown in prime time in China and Zheng, just 21, said she was trying not to left the pressure get to her.
“At the beginning I was feeling like this is a responsibility, sometimes pressure. But right now, I am just trying to focus on myself, playing day by day, don’t think too much,” she said.
“Of course I am really happy that I have a lot of fans that come to support me here, also in front of the TV, whether in China or all over the world.”
9.40PM: TOP-SEEDED AUSSIES STUNNED BY COMPATRIOTS
The number one-seeded pair of Storm Hunter and Matt Ebden have been sent packing from the Aus Open, beaten by the pair of Jamiee Fourlis and Andrew Harris.
Hunter and Ebden had three set points in the second set tie-breaker, but were pegged back to be eliminated from Melbourne Park.
The winners will face Laura Sigemund and Sander Gille in the quarter-finals.
9.10PM: ALCARAZ PUTS AUS OPEN FIELD ON NOTICE
– Callum Dick
Attention Novak Djokovic.
Carlos Alcaraz is coming for your crown.
The Spanish sensation is into his first quarter-final at Melbourne Park after blowing Miomir Kecmanovic off the court in a scintillating 6-4 6-4 6-0 shellacking on Rod Laver Arena.
One Serbian down, one more to go.
Djokovic will take the court on Tuesday with a semi-final berth in his sights – but one eye will undoubtedly be on the remainder of his draw.
All going as expected, the 24-time grand slam champion – who wants to make it a record-setting 25 with an 11th Australian Open title on Sunday – will have to defeat the two hottest young talents on the ATP Tour to cement his status as the Greatest of All Time.
It is likely the 36-year-old will have to run the Sinner-Alcaraz gauntlet to surpass Margaret Court and stand atop the tennis mountain as the sport’s most accomplished major champion.
8.35PM: ZVEREV OUTLASTS NORRIE IN THRILLER, ALCARAZ LOOMS
– Jay Clark
Alexander Zverev has been in the eye of the storm this Australian Open.
The discussion surrounding the German has not been so much about his remarkably accurate and persistent first serve, but rather the domestic violence allegations which he has denied.
A court date has been set for May, after being ordered to pay a $740,000 penalty for an alleged incident with his former partner in May 2020.
But as the issue lingers in the background, the No. 6 seed on Monday attempted to put aside the distraction to progress through to the quarter finals after emerging triumphant in one of the most intense, entertaining and high-level matches of the tournament with a five-set win over Cameron Norrie on Monday.
Zverev’s remarkable victory over fist-pumping English Norrie was an epic, and included a momentary interruption when a “Free Palestine” protester threw flyers on to the court.
Crowd members helped intervene and fans cheered when the person was removed from Margaret Court Arena.
Next, Zverev, 26, will face a potential date against No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday night after Zverez dug deep in the fifth-set tie-break after the thrilling four-hour arm wrestle.
It went down to a 10-point tie-break at the end of an energy-sapping fifth set to determine the winner, but in the end it was Zverev’s first serve and cool head which prevailed in the end winning 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-3) on Monday afternoon.
7.55PM: ALCARAZ RACES TO EARLY ADVANTAGE
Carlos Alcaraz has claimed the first set on Rod Laver Arena, breaking early to claim a 6-4 set over Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.
A win tonight will give Alcaraz his first berth in the final eight at Melbourne Park, while Kecmanovic is searching for his first win ever over a top five player.
Kecmanovic’s win over no. 14 seed Tommy Paul was his first ever win over a top 20 player at a Grand Slam.
EARLIER: AUS OPEN CHAMP BOOTED FROM PRIME TIME AGAIN
– Sam Landsberger
Novak Djokovic has once again been dumped from his desired timeslot … and this time the world No. 1 will have to sweat through a predicted 29C afternoon under the Melbourne sun to reach the semi-finals.
Djokovic, 36, has been given back-to-back day matches on Rod Laver Arena after enjoying a run of 1075 days of not playing at Melbourne Park before 7pm.
The 10-time champion’s quarter-final against American Taylor Fritz is scheduled to start at 2.30pm at the earliest on Tuesday.
Djokovic holds an 8-0 record against the No. 12 seed.
It is certain to be the final time Djokovic lights up the day time at this year’s event, with victory against Fritz set to secure a Thursday night semi-final.
The night slot on Rod Laver Arena will feature defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka against Barbora Krejcikova, followed by Janik Sinner against Andrey Rublev.
6.45PM: ZVEREV CLOSES IN ON FINAL EIGHT
Alexander Zverev now holds a two sets to one lead on Margaret Court Arena, winning the third 6-3 over Cam Norrie.
After Norrie took the second stanza, Zverev came back hard to press ahead in this clash.
Norrie however will not go down without a fight, with the rangy left-hander almost stealing the German’s opening service game to start the fourth.
6.10PM: HURKACZ CRUISES TO QUARTERS
– Sam Landsberger
Humble Hubert Hurkacz is officially poles in front of his history of compatriots after becoming the first Polish man to reach the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.
Hurkacz, 26, made history with his 30th Grand Slam victory on Monday as he ousted wildcard Arthur Cazaux 7-6 7-6 6-4.
It was bound to be a historic day on John Cain Arena either way. Cazaux was one wain away from becoming the first wildcard to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals in the open era.
Hurkacz is one of five Polish men to ever reach a men’s singles quarter-final at a Grand Slam. He has become the second Polish man to reach the quarter-finals at a Slam on multiple occasions.
Hurkacz has reached the last eight this week as well as the 2021 Wimbledon semi-final while Wojtek Fibak made it to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros (1977, 1980), Wimbledon and the US Open (both 1980).
The other Polish men to go this deep are Jerzy Janowicz, Lukasz Kubot (both 2013 Wimbledon), and Ignacy Tloczynski (1939 French Championships).
6.00PM: MEDVEDEV RACES THROUGH AFTER MISFIRE
Well, the botched third set may have served as just pure cardio for Daniil Medvedev, who powered on to claim victory in four sets, 6-3 7-6 (4) 5-7 6-1 in just over three hours.
The Russian shook off the concerns in his post-match interview, saying his late finish in the third round the other night had no impact.
“Third set was tough physically because he was playing really aggressively,” he said.
“End of the third set, I didn’t play long enough for good enough.
“Before the match I was good, now again I am pretty tired.”
5.40PM: MEDVEDEV FALTERS AT FINAL HURDLE
What looked like a soon-to-be easy win has just gotten that much harder for Daniil Medvedev, after he dropped the third set to Nuno Borges on Rod Laver Arena.
The former AO runner-up was serving before the match, before a spirited fightback pushed this to at least one extra set.
Medvedev’s quest to become the 13th man in the Open era to reach to the Australian Open final has taken what looks like only a short detour, racing to a three-game lead in the last set.
Nuno Borges just won the 3rd set against Medvedev after being 2-5 down and saving 2 match points pic.twitter.com/ByjlsKxxeb
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 22, 2024
5.30PM: HURKACZ ONE STEP AWAY FROM ENDING FAIRYTALE
Ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz is one set away from the final eight at the Australian Open, claiming his second tie-breaker of the encounter against Arthur Cazaux of France.
Cazaux stunned the eighth-seeded Holger Rune in round two of the tournament, and is bidding to be the first wildcard to reach the Aus Open quarter-finals since Tomas Smid in 1983.
A win for Hurkacz would make him the first Polish man to reach the final eight at Melbourne Park.
Cazaux is currently seeking treatment for a stomach complaint between sets.
5.15PM: CONTROVERSIAL GERMAN CLAIMS OPENER AGAINST BRIT
He almost gave it away, but Alex Zverev has the first set in the bag against Britain’s Cam Norrie.
After 47 tough minutes, Zverev secured the late break, then held serve in a nervy last game to claim the early edge on Margaret Court Arena.
The winner of this clash will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Miomir Kecmanovic in the last eight.
4.40PM: MEDVEDEV CLOSES IN ON FINAL EIGHT
The quarter-finals are only a set away for Daniil Medvedev now, after claiming a marathon second set in a tie-breaker.
Unforced errors have been the difference today, with the Russian having less than five two sets in against his unseeded opponent.
A win will see the former Melbourne runner-up face either Hubert Hurkacz or Arthur Cazaux.
3.55PM: THROUGH THE LEGS!
Nuno Borges has won a thrilling point against Daniil Medvedev.
The Russian pulled out a shot between the legs in a race back to pick up a Borges lob but wasn’t able to seal the point.
The pride of Portugal 🇵🇹@nunoborges97 • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis@Kia_Worldwide • #Kia • #MakeYourMovepic.twitter.com/7622Hto8Mu
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2024
Borges has looked more solid this set, holding Medvedev in each game.
Meanwhile, Arthur Cazaux and Herbert Hurkacz are on the court at John Cain Arena, with the pair battling out for a maiden quarterfinal berth.
3.25PM: MEDVEDEV GOES A SET UP
Russian Daniil Medvedev has taken the first set against Portuguese opponent Nuno Borges in their fourth-round match up.
Medvedev broke to go 4-2 up in the first after a few errors from Borges up at the net, and while Medvedev threatened to break to win the set 6-2, Borges held and forced the Russian to serve out the set.
However, former World No. 1 Medvedev has three double faults already in the first set.
2.45PM: TEEN STAR CAUGHT UP IN SOCIAL MEDIA WAR OF WORDS
Andy Murray may have graced Melbourne Park for the last time as an active player – and we’re not 100 per cent sure on that, because you can never write him off.
But if that is the case, it’s ok. As long as he never shuts down his Twitter account.
The British great’s dry sense of humour was at play again on Sunday, as he trolled English star Liam Broady in a debate over 16-year-old star Mirra Andreeva.
Broady had taken issue with Murray’s praise of the young Russian star, after she fought back from 5-1 in the deciding set to defeat Dianne Parry in the third round.
“Andreeva down 5-1 in third,” Murray had written.
“Commentator ‘she really needs to work on mental side of her game. she’s too hard on herself when she’s losing’. 30 minutes later 7-6 Andreeva wins.
“Maybe the reason she turned the match round is because of her mental strength. Maybe she turned the match around because she is hard on herself and demands more of herself when she’s losing/playing badly? Winner.”
Broady replied: “Mental strength is the wrong phrase,” he said. “To come from 5-1 down in the third in a slam at her age is great mental strength. But perhaps if she had greater mental composure she wouldn’t have gone 5-1 down in the third in the first place?”
Murray then hit back with, among other things, a clown emoji before doubling down on his trolling with another jab.
Footwork speed is the wrong phrase. To move like that at 12 years old is incredible footwork speed. But perhaps if you had better footwork composure you wouldn’t have had the problems with your feet in the first place? https://t.co/Rp0bdjXn5m
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 21, 2024
2.30PM: FORMER CHAMP KNOCKED OUT BY QUALIFIER
Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska has staged a centre court upset, eliminating former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
Yastremska stormed into her first grand slam quarter-final after her straight sets win over the No. 18 seed on Rod Laver Arena.
The world No. 93 won the first set in a tie break 7-6 (8-6) before wrapping up the second 6-4.
“I think I need to take a bit of a brief (moment) because my heart, I feel it’s going to jump out of my body,” she said shortly afterwards.
“I don’t know what to say really about this match because I think (while playing) this match, I imagined how I lost maybe 25 times.
“First set I was losing the tie-break, I was losing the second set, I was losing.
“So I always felt like I’m, I don’t know, running behind the train, you know. I don’t know how to explain it. But I think that because I’m a little bit fighter, that’s why I won this match.”
2.10PM: TEARY SVITOLINA RETIRES MID-MATCH
– By Rebecca Williams
A teary Elina Svitolina has had to forfeit her fourth-round clash against Linda Noskova.
The Ukrainian called for a medical time out at 2-0 down in the opening set for treatment on what appeared to be a back injury.
The No. 19 seed lasted one more game before she as forced to retire with Noskova leading 3-0 on Margaret Court Arena.
The result hands Czech teenager Noskova her first grand slam quarter-finals appearance.
Noskova put her name in lights at Melbourne Park when she defeated top seed Iga Swiatek in three sets in the third round.
Svitolina made her comeback to the tour in April last year after taking time off to have her first child, with fellow tennis star Gael Monfils.
She had a great impact upon her return, reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon and had her sights on a deep run in Melbourne before injury stood in the way.
2.05PM: 19th SEED IN SERIOUS TROUBLE IN QUARTER-FINAL
There’s real concerns about 19th seed Elina Svitolina, just two games into her fourth-round clash with Linda Noskova.
After a gruelling opening game, which was pushed to six deuces, Svitolina was broken by the giant-killer Czech – who took out Polish world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round.
Worse was to come for Svitolina, who required a medical time-out after going down 0-2 shortly after.
She appears to have some issues with her lower back, but has managed to drag herself back onto Margaret Court Arena after some treatment.
It hasn’t helped, however. With Noskova immediately snatching the double break and Svitolina in all sorts of trouble.
Svitolina is struggling.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 22, 2024
MTO after two games... pic.twitter.com/zyqMouzd48
1.45PM: 17-YEAR-OLD SENDS DOWN OPEN’S FASTEST SERVE
Who is the owner of the fastest serve at this year’s Australian Open?
Alexander Zverev? Stefanos Tsitsipas? Or rising star Ben Shelton?
Well, it’s actually someone even younger than the 21-year-old Shelton: 17-year-old Polish boy Tomasz Berkieta.
The fastest serve recorded at the Australian Open now belongs to 17-year-old Polish boy Tomasz Berkieta, who literally just slammed a 233km/hr thunderbolt on 1573 Arena in the Junior Boys. That's got the fastest man, Ben Shelton (231km), covered. #AO2024
— Sam Landsberger (@SamLandsberger) January 22, 2024
1.30PM: QUALIFIER TAKES SEESAWING FIRST SET
Former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka has a fight on her hands in her fourth-round clash against Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska after dropping the opening set.
The two-time Melbourne Park champion clawed back from 3-1 down at the start of the set, but she continued to face resistance before falling in a first set tie break 7-6 (8-6) on Rod Laver Arena.
Serving for the set at 6-5, No. 18 seed Azarenka was unable to put Yastremska away in a drawn-out game before being forced into a deciding tie break.
It is only the second time Yastremska, ranked No. 93 in the world, has reached the fourth round of a grand slam and the first time at the Australian Open.
Yastremska has already defeated three top-50 players this tournament.
Azarenka, who won back-to-back Australian Open crowns in 2012 and 2013, is making her 19th appearance at Melbourne Park.
1.15PM: TRUTH BEHIND NOVAK’S ‘MAGIC’ SECRET POTION REVEALED
For years, fans and rivals alike have wondered what is in the secret potion which seems to give Novak Djokovic superhuman powers.
The winner of 24 grand slam titles transformed into an on-court killer long ago – with his supreme fitness and ability to find an extra gear deep into tournaments, and five-set marathons, something to behold.
Was it his fitness regime? The gluten-free diet? Simply the actions of a player with incredible mental strength and ability to push through the pain barrier?
All viable options. But another theory came in the form of his secret drinks, which have caught the attention of tennis fans for years.
In 2022, at the Paris Masters, the superstar’s physio was caught on camera, while in the stands, mixing a mystery drink which was then delivered to Djokovic via a ball girl.
It came in the middle of a victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas and was labelled “bizarre” by prominent tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg.
“What does the Djokovic team think needs hiding?” Rothenberg asked.
“I think rivals (and the public and the officials governing the sport) should get to know. I don’t think there should be secret substances being ingested during competition.”
Well, now we have the answer.
On the eve of the Australian Open, Djokovic launched ‘SILA by Novak Djokovic’ – electrolyte drink cubes that contains no sugar and no caffeine.
“He’s finally letting the public in on some of his secret sauce,” said Jim Courier in commentary during Djokovic’s straight-sets annihilation of Adrian Mannarino.
The products, developed in a collaboration with Waterdrop, had been ten years in the making according to Djokovic.
They come in watermelon, grapefruit and melon flavours.
1.00PM: AZARENKA BOTCHES SHOT TO KILL OFF FIRST SET
Drama!
Serving for the first set, Victoria Azarenka has faltered badly.
A shocking drop-shot volley, with an open court in front of her, fails to reach the net, and gives Yastremska three break points to look at.
She only needs one, with Azarenka punching a forehand into the net and suddenly it’s back on serve at 5-5.
12.45PM: AZARENKA RIDING THE HIGHS IN ROLLERCOASTER SET
We’re at the halfway point in the third set of the opening match on RLA today, and already it’s been a rollercoaster ride.
Dayana Yastremska landed the first blow, grabbing the break in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead.
But the veteran Victoria Azarenka reached into her back of tricks to break straight back. A comfortable hold followed – in which Yastremska briefly lost her footing and crashed to the court – before Azarenka twisted the knife, securing another break.
She leads 4-3.
12.10PM: AZARENKA READY FOR ‘BATTLE’
There are only seven seeds remaining in the women’s draw – and few who have the pedigree of veteran Victoria Azarenka.
But the former Australian Open champion, who is about to jump on court with Ukranian Dayana Yastremska for a quarter-final appearance, isn’t fazed about the draw opening up for her.
“Every match is going to be a battle. There are no bad players in the fourth round of a Grand Slam,” Azarenka said.
“If they are here, that means they worked their butts off and they played well and they deserve to be here.
“I think right now the level of tennis is very, very competitive, and we have like a deep pool of players who can beat anybody on the given day. I think that’s what makes them more dangerous.
“I think that they fully deserve to be where they are. There are no easy matches in the Grand Slam.
“So you have to start the tournaments right away from the first round. The evidence of seeded players kind of being out early is that the quality and the level of other players is really high.”
11.40AM: SON OF AUS OPEN CHAMPION IN ACTION
The son of former Australian Open champion Lindsay Davenport is in action in the junior boys’ singles at Melbourne Park.
Jagger Leach is playing Australian Hayden Jones on court eight.
The 16-year-old is competing in his first grand slam boys’ singles main draw.
Leach’s mum Davenport, a former world No. 1, won the Australian Open in 2000 and also claimed Wimbledon and US Open crowns.
No. 16 seed Jones took the opening set of their second-round match 6-4.
Here's your "OMG I'm old" moment for today...
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2024
2000 #AusOpen champion Lindsay Davenport's son, Jagger Leach, is competing now in the boys' singles draw. pic.twitter.com/aHqXv144fm
11.15AM: DEMON SLAYED OVER ‘CHEAP’ RING
In case he wasn’t feeling down enough after his Australian Open defeat at the hands of Andrey Rublev, we’re hoping he wasn’t watching breakfast TV this morning.
Because there was a busy debate about whether De Minaur had popped the question to long-time partner, and women’s star, Katie Boulter – who was sporting a new ring during the Australian’s fourth-round clash.
But, worse than that, was that Australian tennis star-turned-commentator Todd Woodbridge poured cold water over the speculation – because the ring looked too cheap.
“I’ll tell you what – Alex has been playing incredible tennis, he’s top-10 in the world … I went in close to have a look at the ring and I said ‘you know what? You can do better than that, Alex’,” Woodbridge said on Channel 9.
“An engagement ring? Surely we’re looking at four or five carats, not a couple of chips.”
Channel 9 host Karl Stefanovic then went for the jugular and hopefully De Minaur – who has banked $17 million in his short career – wasn’t tuned in.
“What you’re saying is that he’s cheap?” Stefanovic said.
10.45AM: STAR RAGES OVER ‘PRO-MURDER’ DELETED TWEET
Australian Open quarter-finalist Marta Kostyuk has demanded the “sports community stop using the tennis court to promote Russian peace” in a scathing social media post that will reignite locker room tensions between Ukrainian and Russian players.
Kostyuk, a Ukrainian star who has remained outspoken over the war in her home country, was enraged by a now-deleted post from the official US Open Instagram account on Sunday night that celebrated her straight-sets victory over Maria Timofeeva in the fourth round.
The graphic displayed a Russian flag next to Timofeeva’s name, despite the 20-year-old playing as a neutral athlete on the WTA Tour.
“Today, after my victory over the athlete from the aggressor country, the Russian flag was published on the official resource of one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world,” Kostyuk wrote.
“The sports world continues to promote a murderous country and a country that uses its athletes as part of its propaganda.
“I call on media representatives, officials and the sports community to stop using the tennis court to promote ‘Russian peace’.”
Tennis has become one of the major sporting battlegrounds of the war, with Kostyuk and other Ukrainian players regularly questioning why Russian and Belarusian players continue to be allowed to play on the WTA and ATP Tours – even under a neutral flag.
Kostyuk has used her post-match press conferences at the Australian Open this month as a platform to continue that conversation.
And the 21-year-old took her argument to Instagram when she lashed out at the post from the official US Open account.
“We have repeatedly asked the question, ‘What is the status of a neutral athlete?’ Because it actually does not exist,” Kostyuk wrote.
“These athletes have repeatedly said that everyone knows which countries they represent.
“Their government constantly says that these are their athletes and the world knows about it.
“The international media in their publications write that these are Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“Many athletes have their flag on social networks.”
Kostyuk has defeated two Russian-born players en route to her maiden final eight berth at a grand slam.
She will face American world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
If Kostyuk defeats Gauff, she could face Belarusian-born player and reigning Australian Open champion, Aryna Sabalenka, in the semi-finals.
Kostyuk last year said she “does not respect” Sabalenka, after refusing to shake her hand after their match at Roland Garros.
“Just to reject her responsibility of having an opinion on the most important things in the world – I can’t respect that,” Kostyuk said after the match.
Sabalenka responded to those comments by saying: “I said many times, nobody – Russian or Belarusian athletes – support the war. Of course won’t don’t support the war. If we could stop it, we would – but it’s not in our hands.” – Callum Dick
10.15AM: ‘YOU’RE GOING TO DIE TODAY’: RUBLEV’S BIZARRE INSPIRATION
When you hear Andrey Rublev speak like this, you start to wonder if Alex de Minaur ever stood a chance.
And, really, does anyone?
The world No. 5 was asked how he was able to pull the fifth-set comeback against De Minaur and, well, let’s leave the quotes to speak for themselves.
“I started to tell to myself ‘you’re going to die today but you will do everything’ and somehow I started to play better and better,” Rublev said.
“I found more energy and I was able to win
“He’s one of the fastest players, the way he moves with the legs, and takes the speed, it’s crazy. You could see it was super tough to play.
“I start to feel a bit of pain there, but it’s normal after four hours with intensity like this.
“[I told myself] don’t cry, don’t start to feel sorry for yourself.”
9.30AM: DEMON OPENS UP ON AUS OPEN HEARTBREAK
– Callum Dick
A deflated Alex de Minaur says he will not let his heartbreaking Australian Open fourth-round defeat to Andrey Rublev overshadow the positive progress he has made in his game over the past 12 months.
De Minaur, 24, cut a forlorn figure when he addressed the media on the stroke of midnight after his five-set fist fight with the No. 5 seed, which ended with the Russian overpowering the local hope 6-0 in the decider.
“Nothing about pressure, nothing about expectation, none of that – just he played too good in the moments,” De Minaur said.
“It’s tough because I thought he was hurting physically in the third and in the fourth (sets).
“He just let go. He started swinging. The balls went in.
“It’s not a match that I thought I lost physically. It was just that the racquet was taken out of my hand.”
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
9.00AM: CAN AZARENKA MAKE MOST OF CARNAGE IN WOMEN’S DRAW?
Victoria Azarenka, who kicks off the action on Rod Laver Arena and is dreaming of a third title, has not won the year’s opening Grand Slam since 2013, when she defended the title.
But with seven of the top-10 women’s seeds already out, she can see a pathway opening up, with the remaining top players all in a different part of the draw.
Next up for the 18th seed, 34, is a meeting with Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska.
“In terms of my game, I think that people really compare results rather than actual evolution of yourself and your game,” said the Belarusian.
“I feel like I’ve definitely evolved as a player. The game itself evolved. You cannot really compare it as much.
“I think right now the level of tennis is very, very competitive, and we have like a deep pool of players who can beat anybody on the given day. I think that’s what makes them more dangerous.”
Also on the women’s side, China’s 12th seed Zheng Qinwen faces Oceane Dodin of France while Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, a former quarter-finalist, meets Czech player Linda Noskova, who knocked out top seed Iga Swiatek.
8.30AM: ALCARAZ HEADLINES DAY NINE MEN’S ACTION
Carlos Alcaraz faces unseeded Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic as he bids to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday.
The Spanish second seed has yet to be fully tested in Melbourne but has shown glimpses of his best.
Speaking after Saturday’s third-round match, during which Chinese teenager Shang Juncheng was forced to retire when trailing by two sets, Alcaraz said he was “feeling great”.
“Probably seven, eight (out of ten),” said the 20-year-old, giving himself marks.
“It’s a high note. But that’s how I feel.
“I think I’m improving every day. Every match that I’m playing, I’m feeling better and better. Moving, hitting the ball, and, of course I’m getting used to this court as well.” The Australian Open is doubling up as a shootout for the number one spot and defending champion Novak Djokovic has already laid down a marker, dropping just three games in his fourth-round match on Sunday.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz knows he will have to raise his game to new heights to stop the top seed winning a record 25th Grand Slam title in Melbourne, where the Spaniard’s previous best run was the third round.
German sixth seed Alexander Zverev takes on Britain’s 19th-seeded Cameron Norrie in a match that could go the distance while third seed Daniil Medvedev faces Portugal’s Nuno Borges, ranked 69.
Aussie Ajla ends winning drought
There are now two Aussie women in the world’s top 100 after Ajla Tomljanovic snared a title in Hong Kong.
Tennis world floored by ‘chilling’ Dokic reveal
Australian tennis champion Jelena Dokic has a new documentary out and fans have labelled the glimpse into her career raw and chilling.