Australian Open day 11: All the latest news from Melbourne Park
The dream final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz is off after the Spaniard bombed out in the last eight at the hands of Alexander Zverev.
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The Carlos Alcaraz bandwagon unexpectedly came off its tracks early this morning thanks to an epic performance from perennial bridesmaid Alexander Zverev.
After being blown away in the opening two sets and looking gone for all money, Alcaraz showed his champion qualities to claim the third set and push the match past the three-hour mark.
But Zverev, who had served for the match in the third set, found something special on his second attempt in the fourth to claim one of the biggest wins of his career 6-1 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-4.
The extraordinary quarter-final finished just after 1.15am with the German now through to his seventh career grand slam semi-final against Russia’s No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev on Friday night.
Zverev, 26, had never defeated a top five player in a grand slam before, losing his 10 previous encounters.
He admitted afterwards he’d got nervous when the end was in sight in the third set.
“I’m playing one of the best players in the world especially over the past two years and when you’re up 6-1 6-3 and 5-2 you start thinking, I mean you’re only human,” Zverev said.
“When you are so close to winning, obviously your brain starts going but I’m happy I was able to finish off the match.”
Zverev battled blister issues with his feet late in the match but said he hoped to again be energised by the Melbourne crowd in the semi-final against an opponent who has caused him problems previously.
“He (Medvedev) has been kicking my arse a lot over the last year or so,” he said. “Maybe this will be it, this will be the place.
“The crowd is the best in Australia, in my opinion the energy and noise is just as loud (as the US Open) but I feel like the Australian crowd has real tennis knowledge and it is the nicest place to play in.”
There had been growing excitement about a possible Alcaraz-Novak Djokovic final but the big-serving German had other ideas from the start of the match, riding his weapon to a totally dominant opening hour.
The first set was done inside 29 minutes and then in the second set Alcaraz had his service broken twice in a row to quickly find himself two sets down and completely out of sorts.
While there was bewilderment about the state of the No. 2 seed’s game, there was also high praise for the standard Zverev was delivering.
“This is possibly the best I have seen him strike the ball,” Todd Woodbridge declared in the commentary booth.
Recently retired Aussie play John Millman agreed: “He’s got the ball on a string at the moment.”
Former champion Jim Courier described Zverev’s serving as “magnificent” given at that stage of the match he’d made 35 of 39 first serves.
But Alcaraz wasn’t done quite yet. With Zverev serving for the match at 5-3 the Spaniard found a way to get the break and suddenly the crowd in Rod Laver Arena were screaming his name.
He forced the third set to a tie-break where he rattled off seven consecutive points to win it and stay alive.
Many figured he was about to pull off one of the great comebacks at the Open but instead his more experienced opponent steadied, capitalising on a couple of loose Alcaraz points to claim a stunning victory.
Zverev’s only appearance in a grand slam final came at the 2020 US Open where he lost to Dominic Thiem in five sets after winning the opening two sets.
He has been to the semi-finals at the Australian Open before, back in 2020 where he again fell to Thiem. He has reached the final four at Roland Garros three times.
The German had been on the brink a couple of times in the tournament and had spent 13hr 47min on court compared to Alcaraz’s 8hr 42min coming into the quarter-final.
He was pushed to five sets by qualifier Lukas Klein in the second round, winning the match in a tie-break and was forced to do exactly the same thing in the fourth round against No. 19 seed Cameron Norrie.
Zverev has also been under fire off the court, being questioned about his upcoming trial over domestic abuse allegations.
A day before his first-round match against countryman Dominik Koepfer, a district court in Germany announced that Zverev will face a public trial to answer accusations of physically abusing his former partner.
He denies the allegations, but a hearing will begin in Berlin in May.
RECAP ALL THE ACTION FROM DAY 11 BELOW
12.30AM: ALCARAZ STAYS ALIVE!
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and the fire might be starting to rise on Rod Laver Arena.
Carlos Alcaraz is back in it after a stunning fightback in the third set, breaking Zverev as he served to end this one.
The momentum is now all with the favourite, can he keep it going and produce a steal?
We wait and see.
11:30PM: ZVEREV STRIKES AGAIN!!!
What is happening on Rod Laver Arena????
Carlos Alcaraz is now one set away from elimination, and Alexander Zverev is a set from a huge upset.
The German has continued to dominate proceedings, forcing his opponent into some uncharacteristic errors, as the frustration builds in the Spaniard and his fans.
Will there be another twist in this?
10.45PM: ALCARAZ STUNNED TO OPEN CRUNCH CLASH
Well that wasn’t in the script!
Zverev has come out firing in this one, breaking Alcaraz to open his serving game and going on to take the first set 6-1 in a canter.
The usually cool and calm Alcaraz has been his own worst enemy to start this one.
It’s only the second set the Spaniard has dropped all tournament, maybe Zverev’s head-to-head lead means more than we thought?
It could be a long night ahead to decide this clash.
EARLIER: MEDVEDEV BLOWS KISSES TO HATERS, SURVIVES THRILLER
– Jay Clark
Daniil Medvedev felt the unpopular vibe.
The No. 3 seed blew kisses and used his hand to indicate lots of talking as he triumphed over plucky No. 9 seed Hubert Hurkacz in five sets to win through to the semi-final on Friday.
Perhaps Medvedev is happy to play the villain in this year’s Australian Open for his style playing five metres behind the baseline as he tested the patience of Hurkacz.
There was a moment in the fifth set, in particular, where Medvedev was clearly not happy with the reception from the Rod Laver Arena crowd, blowing kisses to those who jeered him.
Hurkacz won the second and fourth sets to test the Russian throughout.
In particular, the Polish star tested Medvedev with a drop shot and tight-angled backhand.
It is said on the tour Medvedev only comes to the net to shake hands, and that he is vulnerable on the awkward forehand.
But he held his nerve in the fifth set after breaking Hurkacz early in the fifth to break his opponent’s heart in the 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory.
Hurkacz tried to dictate play and cut the angles to expose the Russian on the forehand side throughout.
Medvedev appeared tired in the fourth set, and struggled with his slice to his opponent’s forehand side as Hurkacz made the most of his chances to mount a comeback.
Medvedev, who went in as clear favourite, took the first set with deep baseline play frustrating his opponent.
10:15PM: ZHENG BOOKS FINAL FOUR DATE
– Scott Gullan
Best newcomer to most improved and now Grand Slam semi-finalist.
The stunning career trajectory of China’s Qinwen Zheng had its crowning moment on Rod Laver Arena after a hard-fought quarter-final victory over Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya.
The No. 12 seed was pushed all the way by the unseeded Kalinskaya who at times looked in control of the match before tiring badly in the third set to concede 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-1 after 2hr 20 minutes.
Zheng, who with that victory moved inside the world top 10, will start a hot favourite in the semi-final where she faces Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska.
“Thanks for letting me know that,” Zheng said when told about her top 10 breakthrough by commentator Jelena Dokic. “Nobody tells me anything so that is good news for me.
“It’s another motivation. Last year when I was in the Australian Open I said I wanted to be top 10 and one year later I am here. It’s an amazing moment.”
The 21 year-old will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of her hero Li Na who secured China its one and only victory at Melbourne Park when she captured the 2014 women’s title.
9.15PM: ZHENG SENDS QUARTER-FINAL TO DECIDER
A timely break of serve in the eighth game of the set and a subsequent hold means this clash between Anna Kalinskaya and Zheng Qinwen will need a third set to decide a winner.
Zheng hit 10 more winners than her opponent in that set, and was winning over 80 per cent of her points when her first serve landed.
We are no doubt in for a fascinating final set.
8.30PM: KALINSKAYA OUTLASTS ZHENG TO CLAIM OPENING SET
After close to an hour, Anna Kalinskaya has the opening set in her clash with China’s Zheng Qinwen, taking it 7-6 (4).
Both women struggled on serve early, a surprising note given Zheng had come into this clash with the most aces in the women’s draw.
Kalinskaya, the 75th ranked player in the world, stormed home in the tie-breaker to claim the opener, and is now a set away from a semi-final clash with Dayana Yastremska.
7.25PM: HEWITT HONOURED BEFORE NIGHT SESSION ON RLA
Lleyton Hewitt, one of Australia’s finest tennis players, has been inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame on Rod Laver Arena.
Hewitt won two Grand Slams, a Davis Cup and spent 80 weeks as the world’s top men’s player, and thrilled crowds in Melbourne for years with his trademark grit and cries of “C’mon.”
The Aussie played in the 2005 Australian Open final, where he lost to Marat Safin.
The father of now junior tennis star Cruz Hewitt revealed his new bust in front of the crowd, which even featured his typical backwards hat.
Hewitt is currently involved with plenty of Australia’s top male players, as well as being the Davis Cup captain.
Backwards cap: Iconic 🇦🇺
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2024
Congratulations on being inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, @lleytonhewitt! pic.twitter.com/BRaePFK14J
EARLIER: AUS OPEN SEMI-FINALIST DEFENDS JUNIOR STAR
Top Ukrainian junior Yelyzaveta Kotliar said she was “deeply sorry” after her tennis federation criticised the 16-year-old for shaking the hand of a Russian opponent at the Australian Open.
Kotliar came under scrutiny at the opening Grand Slam of the year when she congratulated Vlada Mincheva after being beaten in the first round of the girls’ tournament.
The handshake defied an unwritten rule among her fellow Ukrainians to not congratulate their Russian and Belarusian opponents as war rages in their homeland.
The Ukraine Tennis Federation called it an “unpleasant incident”, reiterating its position that “Ukrainian tennis players not hold handshakes with representatives of aggressor countries”.
Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska defended Kotliar when asked about the issue after she beat unseeded Czech Linda Noskova on Wednesday to reach the women’s main draw semi-finals.
“You know, Ukrainians, we have our position,” said the 23-year-old, who came through qualifying in Melbourne.
“We are not shaking hands. But I think she’s still a little bit young, not so experienced. It can happen with everyone, you know.
“I cannot judge her because I don’t know what was in her head. So did she make this on purpose or not on purpose? I don’t know. But I’m sure that she stands by Ukraine, and I’m sure that she just got too emotional and confused.”
6.50PM: AUSSIES ROAR IN DOUBLES AS 43-YEAR OLD MAKES HISTORY
– Ed Bourke
Matthew Ebden says it’s a “special feeling” to help his partner reach No. 1 in the world as he advanced through to the men’s doubles semi-finals at Melbourne Park for the second time. Ebden is two wins away from a home grand slam title with Indian veteran Rohan Bopanna.
Ebden and Bopanna defeated Argentinian sixth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in their quarter-final on Wednesday to set up a Thursday afternoon semi-final against Czechia’s Tomas Machac and China’s Zhang Zhizhen.
The victory took the second-seeded duo to the top of the doubles rankings, with Bopanna, 43, becoming the oldest world No. 1 in men’s doubles history.
“Yeah, (Bopanna) has the 1, I have the 2, whatever, but I saw (we are on) equal points … I’m happy to claim that,” Ebden joked after the rankings were updated following the win.
“It was a big goal of ours when we started this partnership over a year ago and we talked about it,” he said.
“It’s an incredible thing for Bops, especially at his age. That’s an incredible testament to his hard work.
“This last year it would have been easy for him to think, ‘oh, I’ll just have another decent year and retire in the next couple of years’, but I asked him to commit fully, he pushed himself, we pushed each other.”
Rohan Bopanna will become the oldest world #1 in the history of men’s doubles.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 24, 2024
43 years old, becoming world #1 for the first time.
A beautiful story that shows that it’s never too late to achieve something truly great.
🇮🇳🧡🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/LD7JLKDEfG
6.25PM: STORM, SINIAKOVA ADVANCE TO SEMI-FINALS
Storm Hunter will play on in Melbourne, as she and Katerina Siniakova advance to the final four of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open.
The pair prevailed over the pair of Barbora Krejcikova and Laura Siegemund 4-6 7-5 6-4.
It’s a nice slice of revenge for Hunter, who was knocked out of the singles competition by Krejcikova.
The two will now play the second-seeded pair of Su-Wei Hsieh of Taipei and Elise Mertens of Belgium.
6.00PM: MEDVEDEV ADVANCES AFTER THRILLER
Daniil Medvedev is back in the final four at Melbourne Park, beating Hubert Jurkacz 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 in four hours.
The Russian will now move on and play either Carlos Alacaraz or Alexander Zverev.
Medvedev has a losing record in five encounters with the Spaniard, but holds an 11-7 record over Zverev.
The third seed will now aim to make his third Australian Open final, having lost to Novak Djokovic in 2021 and Rafael Nadal in the 2022 final.
5.45PM: MEDVEDEV DRAWS FIRST BLOOD IN DECIDER
Daniil Medvedev is two service games away from the final four after breaking Hubert Hurkacz in the seventh game of their final set.
After a very sluggish end to the fourth set, the former Melbourne Park runner-up quickly got back to his best tennis, being relentless in playing big strokes and defending the court.
Will this game take another twist?
EARLIER: HISTORY-MAKER SENDS ‘FIGHTING’ MESSAGE TO UKRAINE
The first qualifier to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open since 1978, Dayana Yastremska used her history making moment to send a message back home.
Having triumphed 6-3, 6-4 against teenage quarter-finalist Linda Noskova, Ukrainian Yastremska signed the camera on her way out with the words: “I’m proud of our fighting people”.
It follows compatriot Marta Kostyuk’s own stirring words following her exit from the tournament on Tuesday night.
“I hope we will be able to succeed (at) most of the tournaments, especially the big ones where there is a lot of media. People should be reminded,” Kostyuk said at her post-match press conference.
“I walk off the court – before the match I was looking at the news and I kind of guess that most likely there would be a big missile shelling again.
“When I walked off the court, I look at this news again, and again, I don’t know how many missiles yet. It’s still too fresh.
“But I was texting with some people from Kyiv. I said, ‘How is it? How are you guys?’ They said, ‘Well, we were looking between your score and where the missiles are flying’.
“It’s still there (the conflict). My parents are still there … my sister is still there.”
Earlier, the simmering tension surrounding Russian and Ukrainian stars at the Australian Open exploded at the junior level, with a teenage star thrust into the spotlight.
16-year-old Ukrainian Yelyzaveta Kotliar is under investigation by her own country over a handshake with Russia’s Vlada Mincheva following their round-one match. Scroll down for more details of that story.
5.15PM: FOURTH SET FLURRY SETS UP DECIDER
Remarkably, the wheels just came off for Medvedev in that set, as Hurkacz steals the set 7-5 to force a decider between these two.
The first half, the Russian looked in complete command, and looked to be racing towards the semi-finals.
Could Hurkacz’s favourable record in this pair be coming to the fore as we get into deeper water between the two?
This will be both a fascinating break and final set.
4.20PM: MEDVEDEV RETAKES LEAD AFTER BARNSTORMING SET
That looked more like Daniil Medvedev in that set, playing the game on his terms and taking the third set 6-3 over Hurkacz.
In his 100th Grand Slam match, the Russian is now one set away from squaring the overall ledger between these two at 3-3.
A win will see the Russian contest his eighth overall Grand Slam semi-final.
3.55PM: MEDVEDEV STORMS BACK
After looking off the boil throughout the second set, Medvedev has charged back in the third.
The Russian storms to a 3-0 lead, breaking his Polish opponent in game two with Hurkacz conceding game point with a double fault.
Hurckacz finally gets on the board with a win in game four.
3:38PM: HURKACZ STEAMROLLS SECOND SET
Having missed a chance to go up a double-break in the third game of the set, Hurkacz gets the job done in game seven, sealing the point with a forehand winner to go up 5-2.
He rounds out the set with ease, taking out the eighth game without dropping a point.
Medvedev is looking far from his imposing physical self out there.
3:15PM: HURKACZ MISSES CHANCE AT DOUBLE BREAK
Hubert Hurkacz has taken early control of the second set, breaking Daniil Medvedev in opening game with relative ease.
Having held serve, the ninth seed could have taken a 3-0 lead in the set, blowing two break points in the third game.
2:53PM: MEDVEDEV TAKES THE FIRST SET
After one break of serve each, the first set between Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz goes to a tie-breaker, and it is Medvedev who comes out on top 7-4.
The No. 3 seed opened a 5-2 gap on his Polish opponent and never looked likely to let the tie-breaker slip from there.
He has a change of shirt and socks after an hour-long first set.
2:30PM: MEDVEDEV AND HURKACZ TRADE SERVES
Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz are locked at 4-4 in the first set of their quarter-final, having each already broken serve.
Medvedev marched to an early lead after breaking Hurkacz in the opening game of the match and looked on course to take out the set before his Polish opponent broke back in game six.
1:45PM: YASTREMSKA IS THROUGH TO THE SEMI-FINALS
Dayana Yastremska is through to the semi-finals of the Australian Open after beating Linda Nosková 6-3, 6-4.
It is the first time Yastremska has reached the semi-finals of a grand slam tournament, bettering third round appearances at the Australian Open in 2022 and US Open in 2021.
She is the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals since 1978.
The win brought to an end a fairytale run for 19-year-old Linda Nosková, who took out No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek in the third round, on her way to the quarterfinals of her first Australian Open.
She will take on the winner of tonight’s quarterfinal between Anna Kalinskaya and Qinwen Zheng.
1PM: DODGY ‘BUBBLING’ COURT HALTS AUS OPEN QUARTER-FINAL
There were strange scenes at court 3 where Matthew Ebden’s doubles semi-final was held up by a “bubbling” court.
Play was halted early in the first set, with the pairing of Maximo Gonzalez and Andreas Molteni leading Ebden and partner Rohan Bopanna 2-1, after blistering was spotted.
“Sometimes it’s hard to see the small bubbles, the bigger bubbles are visible to the eye, but sometimes bubbling can occur on the hard courts,” John Millman said in commentary.
“There were some problems on the US Open courts years ago with bubbling, and it’s where the moisture gets stuck underneath the surface.
“The ball doesn’t bounce on it, it really affects the bounce. If the bubbles get big enough it can actually be quite difficult to move on [too].”
Play was eventually resumed with the match moved to another court, with Ebden and Bopanna winning in straight sets.
12:52PM: YASTREMSKA TAKES FIRST SET
Dayana Yastremska is one set away from a spot in the semi-finals after taking the first set 6-3.
Broken in her second service game, the Ukranian bounced back immediately to take game four.
She broke again in game eight before serving out the set.
The winner of this match will take on the winner of tonight’s quarter between Anna Kalinskaya and Qinwen Zheng.
12:22PM: NOSKOVÁ v YASTREMSKA UNDERWAY
The third women’s quarter-final is underway, with Linda Nosková taking on Dayana Yastremska.
Noskova has taken an early advantage in the set, leading 2-1 after breaking serve in game three.
The winner of this match will take on the winner of tonight’s quarter between Anna Kalinskaya and Qinwen Zheng.
11:30AM: GAUFF’S PERFECT REPLY TO CREEPY AUS OPEN SLEDGE
Coco Gauff’s fine Australian Open campaign has continued on and off the court.
Gauff knocked over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk (7-6, 6-7, 6-2) on Tuesday to secure her place in the semi-finals, and she took Kostyuk’s husband down a peg or two via Instagram afterwards.
Kostyuk’s husband wore an ill-advised hat in the player’s box on Tuesday, monogrammed with the words “shake your cocos” either side of a split coconut.
Gauff comfortably had the last laugh, posting ‘shakey shake’ alongside a video of match point as an Instagram story.
It’s the second time this tournament Gauff has made headlines for her social media use, after calling out a ‘hideous’ depiction of her and her fellow US tennis stars at the Australian Open as characters from ‘90s cartoon The Wild Thornberrys.
Gauff described it as the “worst thing I’ve ever seen” in an Instagram story.
“Like a caricature artist decided to make (us) all look like hideous looking people. The art style is cool for a cartoon show but not for a hype post. Foul,” she wrote.
Gauff later added on Twitter the post made the players “all look so ugly”.
While criticism of the post led to it being deleted, Gauff later clarified that she had been making fun of the situation when asked about it after her first-round win.
10:45AM: TEEN TENNIS STAR INVESTIGATED OVER ON-COURT ACT
The simmering tension surrounding Russian and Ukrainian stars at the Australian Open has exploded at the junior level, with a teenage star thrust into the spotlight.
16-year-old Ukrainian Yelyzaveta Kotliar is under investigation by her own country over a handshake with Russia’s Vlada Mincheva following their round-one match.
After losing the match 6-2 6-4, Kotlier defied the unwritten rule of her fellow Ukrainians – and shook the hand of her opponent.
The subject of handshakes and the uneasy coexistence of Ukrainian and Russian players competing against each other on the tennis circuit – with their countries engaged in an ongoing war – has been a major talking point of this year’s tournament.
Several Ukrainian players have been outspoken about the war in their country during the Open and have continued to shirk post-match handshakes against Russian and Belarusian opponents.
Asked about her position of not shaking hands, Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko felt the world did not want to “talk about war” and said the stance was her way of ensuring a conversation about the events in her nation continued.
“It is a national position. I think if you want I can try to explain to you how it feels, but it is probably tough to explain if you are not part of the country that is in the war right now,” Tsurenko said.
“This is another reminder that there is a war in my country. If you can just imagine (being) in my place or any other Ukrainian you would not have this question.
“This is the right thing to do and I do this for Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian Tennis Federation took a dim view of “the unpleasant incident” and said it had been a mistake on the teen’s part.
Her father, Konstantin Kotliar, spoke on behalf of his daughter to explain the situation.
“The atmosphere here is extraordinary, which in itself puts a lot of pressure on the athletes,” he said in a statement released by the UTF.
“At the beginning of your career, it’s hard to cope with this and not be nervous. Unfortunately, my daughter didn’t feel calm, her emotions were running high, so she wasn’t completely in control of her behaviour.
“She automatically performed the post-match ritual, not realising that behind the net there was a representative of the country who launched the attack on our homeland.
“It was definitely a mistake that Liza regrets and assures us that she will never allow anything like that to happen again.”
10.15AM: NOVAK-KYRGIOS BROMANCE GOES NEXT LEVEL
In case you needed any further proof of their blossoming bromance, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios went public with a PDA on centre court.
During his four-set win over Taylor Fritz, Djokovic hit a ridiculous cross-court backhand winner – and while celebrating with the crowd, spotted Kyrgios in the commentary booth.
And so the 10-time Australian Open champion blew him a kiss.
“I sat in that box for four hours, by the way, commentating. You were blowing me kisses, sticking your tongue out,” Kyrgios said afterwards in an on-court chat with Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic blows a kiss to Nick Kyrgios after winning a point against Fritz 😂
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 23, 2024
pic.twitter.com/EaDkDyUs2r
9.45AM: FRITZ HAMMERS LATE-NIGHT SCHEDULE FARCE
Defeated quarterfinalist Taylor Fritz has reignited calls for the Australian Open to overhaul its scheduling after he and Novak Djokovic began their match more than two hours after it was scheduled to start on Tuesday.
The American No. 1 bowed out in four tough sets against Djokovic in a match that pushed the Rod Laver Arena night session beyond a 9pm start.
It meant the other men’s quarterfinal clash between Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev did not get on-court until after 10:30pm.
Fritz said he empathised with Sinner and Rublev – and particularly the winner, who would have to face Djokovic on a compromised sleep schedule in the semi-finals on Friday.
“I pray for those guys if they end up doing that (a late finish) that they can at least get scheduled at that time for the rest of the tournament,” Fritz said.
“Because if you have to turn around and play in the afternoon on any of the other days, it completely messes up your sleep schedule.
“It’s not easy to go out in the middle of the day in the heat and play three to five sets, especially when your body clock isn’t on it.”
The lengthy delays on Tuesday again put the spotlight on the Australian Open scheduling, which had already produced a 3.49am finish in the third round between Daniil Medvedev and Emil Ruusuvuori.
“Yeah I think it’s rough,” Fritz said.
“I was talking about that to Medvedev with a group of guys before, because he finished that one match so late.
“It just screws up your whole clock.
“In one case I get it – matches go long some days. Like today in particular my match was long, the match before us was long. But there’s got to be something they can do where people aren’t playing until 2-3am.
“I don’t think people really fully understand how much time we actually have to spend doing stuff after we finish playing as far as ice bath, treatment with physios, massage and all this stuff.
“If you finish at 2am there’s no chance of going to sleep until like 5 or 6am.”
9.10AM: IS SINNER THE MAN TO DETHRONE NOVAK?
Jannik Sinner has looked a man possessed at this Australian Open – and is putting together the sort of tournament which should have 10-time champion Novak Djokovic worried.
The pair will face off in a semi-final on Friday, with Djokovic’s perfect 10-0 record in Australian Open semis under serious threat.
Sinner is the hottest player in tennis right now and has lifted his level against the truly elite names in the sport over the past 12 months.
At just 22 years old, he’s coming off the best season of his career and is reversing a miserable record against the top players in the world.
Prior to 2023, Sinner had a horrendous 1-15 record against players ranked in the top five in the world. Since then, however, he’s won 11 and lost just five matches against the truly top tier stars.
Sinner against Top 5 players:
— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) January 23, 2024
1-15 before 2023
11-5 since 2023
(https://t.co/lczd4Qjseh) pic.twitter.com/C81HYvXMqz
He’s yet to drop a set at this year’s Australian Open and only Carlos Alcaraz had spent less time on court heading into the quarter-finals.
It’s reason enough for Djokovic to be concerned.
“He’s probably playing tennis of his life,” Djokovic said of Sinner after his victory over Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.
“He had a fantastic ending of the last season and we had a couple of great encounters in Torino, also the Davis Cup, very close ones going 7-6, 7-5 in the third.
“I can expect him to always play on the highest level.”
8.30AM: WHO WILL EMERGE FROM WOMEN’S RAVAGED DRAW?
Seeds have tumbled in the top half of the women’s draw, leaving just Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen standing.
She is pitted against Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya.
The 21-year-old is taking inspiration from compatriot Li Na’s win in Australia in 2014 and got a boost when she spoke to the retired Chinese star for the first time in person in Melbourne.
Unseeded Czech player Linda Noskova, who ousted top seed Iga Swiatek, takes on Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska in the first match on centre court.
Yastremska also has major scalps to her name -- she has beaten Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka.
8.00AM: ALCARAZ HEADLINES WEDNESDAY ACTION
Carlos Alcaraz will attempt to take the next step towards a potential shootout for the Australian Open title and number one spot when he faces Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev meets Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the other men’s last eight clash.
Spanish world number two Alcaraz has dropped just one set so far at Melbourne Park, showing flashes of his brilliant best, but will be tested by the sixth seed in a night match on Rod Laver Arena.
Zverev has won four of the seven meetings between the pair, including their most recent encounter at the ATP Finals in November.
But Alcaraz, 20, has drawn confidence from his performances in Australia.
However, he knows he will be in a scrap against the giant German, who has been through two gruelling five-setters.
Alcaraz is aiming to become the third man in the Open Era to win three Grand Slams before the age of 21, after Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander.
He also has the chance to supplant Novak Djokovic as world number one.
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