Alcaraz, Sabalenka Storm into Quarters; Andreeva, Medvedev Exit, Djokovic Advances via Walkover

Melbourne: World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz overcame the stern test of Tommy Paul to maintain his commanding start and reach his third consecutive Australian Open quarterfinal here on Sunday.

Alcaraz registered a 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 win over 19th seed Paul in two hours and 44 minutes to maintain his commanding start to the hard-court major in Melbourne.

At just 22 years old, Alcaraz is a six-time major champion and is chasing more history. Should he claim his maiden Australian Open title, Alcaraz would complete his Career Grand Slam and become the youngest player to achieve that feat. The current holder of that record is his countryman Rafael Nadal.

The 22-year-old top seed, who fired 35 winners and is yet to drop a set, will next play home favourite Alex de Minaur or Alexander Bublik at Melbourne Park for a place in the semifinals.

In a tight first set, Alcaraz had to fight back from the early break deficit as Paul went toe-to-toe with the powerful Spaniard from the baseline. Alcaraz broke serve in a dramatic tiebreak to claim the opening set 7-6 (8-6), completing a remarkable comeback on Rod Laver Arena.

Alcaraz rode a purple patch to clinch a break of serve in the third game of the second set. Serving for the set for the second time, the top seed delivered under pressure with a composed performance. He held serve to claim the second set 6-4, taking a commanding two-set lead.

Serving for the match after his crucial break in game eleven, Alcaraz delivered a masterclass in clutch serving under pressure. After dropping the opening point, the Spaniard responded by firing three consecutive powerful serves that repeatedly forced errors from Paul.

Alcaraz then sealed the match with a thunderous 214 kmph service winner, his fastest delivery of the game, taking the third set 7-5.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka beat Victoria Mboko with a 6-1, 7-6 (1) victory to reach the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year.

She booked her 13th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal and has taken a crucial step towards having her name engraved on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for a third time.

Sabalenka won her 20th consecutive tiebreak at the Grand Slam level, eclipsing an almost two-decade-old record owned by Novak Djokovic, who won 19 straight tiebreaks at majors between Wimbledon 2005 and 2007.

In Tuesday’s quarterfinal, Sabalenka will face off against 29th seed Iva Jovic for a place in the final four after the American earned an emphatic 6-0 6-1 win over Yulia Putintseva to secure her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal berth.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic received a walkover in the fourth round of the Australian Open after an abdominal injury forced rising Czech star Jakub Mensik to withdraw on Sunday.

Mensik withdrawal means Djokovic advanced to his 16th quarterfinal at the Australian Open, a tournament he has gone on to win a men’s record 10 times.

Their highly anticipated fourth-round clash was a rematch of their 2025 Miami Open final, which Mensik won to hoist his first Masters 1000 trophy.

Djokovic, who is pursuing his record 25th major trophy, will face the winner of Monday’s fourth-round match between Lorenzo Musetti and Taylor Fritz.

Daniil Medvedev’s Australian Open campaign came to a shocking end on Sunday as the world No. 11 was knocked out in the fourth round by 25th seed Learner Tien in straight sets.

The Russian struggled to find his rhythm throughout the contest and went down 4-6, 0-6, 3-6 in a one-sided encounter that lasted just over an hour. It marked one of Medvedev’s earliest exits at the season’s first Grand Slam in recent years.

With this defeat, Medvedev exits the tournament far earlier than expected, while Tien continues his impressive run in Melbourne, reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. He will now face world No.3 Alexander Zverev.

Last year’s Australian Open runner-up, Alexander Zverev, stayed on track in his bid for an elusive maiden Grand Slam title, beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, home favourite Alex de Minaur played another watertight match to get a top-10 win over Alexander Bublik on his way to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second successive year.

De Minaur made the most of Bublik’s struggles on first serve early on before cruising through a surprisingly one-sided match 6-4 6-1 6-1.

In women’s section, American third seed Coco Gauff weathered a three-set thriller to beat Karolina Muchova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 and advance to the quarterfinals , extending her perfect record against the Czech player to five straight wins.

Moreover, 12th seed Elina Svitolina beat 8th seed Mirra Andreeva 6-2, 6-4 to reach last eight stage. Agencies

Also Read: Australian Open: Outdoor matches suspended as temperatures hit 36°C