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Alcaraz takes on umpire over serve time | 00:47
The Australian Open’s marathon man couldn’t reach the finish line with Jack Draper retiring after going two sets down to Carlos Alcaraz on Rod Laver Arena.
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As has been the case all tournament, 15th seed Draper made his opponent fight and scrap but this time around his body gave in and the player on the other side of the net was simply too good for his spirited efforts.
The damage done in three five-set comebacks, including against Aussies Thanasi Kokkinakis and Aleks Vukic, proved too much for Draper to overcome as he was clearly severely limited coming into the match.
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Alcaraz fired up by the early challenge the Brit posed, and was frustrated with himself when he dropped a game when serving for the first set.
The third seed was also agitated by the chair umpiring pushing him to take less time between serves, but he went on to win the opening set 7-5 regardless.
His brilliant forehand passing shot on the run to clinch the first set was one of the highlights of the match and had the crowd on their feet.
From then on, it was basically one way traffic.
The match lasted an hour and 36 minutes before Draper pulled the pin after losing the second set 6-1.
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Alcaraz, who has taken over the mantle from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as being unanimously loved at Melbourne Park courtesy of his electric style of play, ramped up the intensity in the second set as fatigue, and an injury time out, caught up with Draper.
The Spaniard’s court coverage was exquisite once again, and provided him with the answers to everything Draper threw his way.
The left-hander tried to move Alcaraz forward and back, side to side, but glided and danced around the court like a prized fighter.
He then inflicted killer blows with crunching forehands, perfectly placed backhands and superb touch to leave Draper hopelessly watching as a drop shot sailed just over the net.
But Draper has managed to do something not a long of Englishmen can do in Australia and that is endear themselves to the locals.
He was a thorn in Australia’s side in knocking out Aleksandar Vukic and Thanasi Kokkinakis both in heartbreaking fashion, in the fifth set, late at night.
Draper also won his first round match in five sets, and the fighting spirit he has displayed has enhanced his reputation, surely at home, as well as on these shores.
As for Alcaraz, this was merely a buttered bread roll before what may be one of the most appetising dishes of his career.
If Novak Djokovic wins his fourth round match on Sunday night, the pair will meet in a quarter-final.
It promises to be the match of the tournament.
Djokovic leads their head-to-head four to three, but Alcaraz leads two to one at majors, and just about every time they meet it is a classic.
It shapes up to be the first time they have met since last year’s Olympic final at Roland Garros which the 24-time major champion won in emotional scenes as he clinched the missing piece from his career puzzle, an Olympic gold medal.
They have also met at the last two Wimbledon finals, with Alcaraz winning both, and if it is anything like the 2023 five-set epic, we are in for a treat.
It will be the biggest test so far of Alcaraz’s ambition to become the youngest man to ever complete the career grand slam.
Remarkably, at just 21 years of age, he has the Wimbledon, US Open and French Open trophies already in his cabinet.
Nadal, who holds the record, snared all four at 24, so Alcaraz still has time but it will be fascinating to watch two men chasing history – Djokovic is craving a record-setting 25th title – locking horns earlier in the tournament than either would have liked.
– Sabalenka’s big relevation over serving yips –
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka’s serving issues have resurfaced at times this tournament, and the world number one made a stunning revelation after his dominant victory on Sunday.
Sabalenka destroyed teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva, who won only three games, but post-match she was reflective on how her serving problems almost pushed her to quit the sport.
The Belarusian showed few signs of the shakiness that was evident in her earlier victories and the improvement with her serve took her back to her darkest times.
Her mental demons forced repeated double faults and meltdowns a few years, an experience she now says she is grateful for.
“Honestly, when I look back, I think someone was just, like, forcing me to try something else to improve my serve, because my serve right now is much better,” Sabalenka said.
“Even before that situation happened with my serve, I was serving pretty well, but right now, looking back, it wasn’t enough for winning a Grand Slam.
“At the end, I’m super happy that that happened to me.
“There was a point when I was like, okay, I’m done here. I think it’s time to go and do something else in life.
“You know, I think this is the moment when you have to push yourself to try one more time, because this is the moment where you can turn things around.”
Sabalenka also spoke about the controversial scheduling of the women’s fourth round matches on Sunday afternoon.
Three of the four contests for the day were played simultaneously, and received ridicule online, with prominent tennis journalist Jose Morgado writing on X that it was “tragic scheduling”.
Third seed Coco Gauff prevailed in a near two and a half hour three set thriller against Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic on Rod Laver Arena, while 11th seed Paula Badosa won in straight sets against Olga Danilovic on Margaret Court Arena and 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova knocked out 18th seed Donna Vekic on John Cain Arena.
But Sabalenka was not bothered by the afternoon clashes, and said it was far better than an alternative option.
“I like to play both (day and night matches) because if you finish early, then you have time for dinner, to relax,” Sabalenka said.
“You’re not that late. Your sleep is better.
“Also, of course, I like to play 7pm matches. Not the second after 7, after (the) guys. I don’t want that.”
The other thing on the mind of several of women’s tennis’ stars on Sunday afternoon was the demise of TikTok in the United States.
The social media platform has been turned off, and Gauff wrote a funny message for the camera after her victory, writing “RIP TikTok USA” and drawing a broken heart.
Sabalenka is a prominent TikToker, with her dance routines often attracting plenty of engagement, and she also expressed her wish that the platform stay in America.
“I hope they’re going to figure it out because I love TikTok,” she said with a laugh.
– Aussie’s update on nasty black eye –
Australian doubles gun Ellen Perez has taken to social media to provide an update on the nasty black eye she copped during a doubles match yesterday.
Perez was struck in the eye by the tennis ball after it caught the net tape, and jumped at her as she awaited a volley during the fourth game of the second set.
She played out the match as her and partner Elise Mertens, who were the sixth seeds, were knocked out 6-4 6-4 by Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
But today, she provided an update on the state of her eye the day on her Instagram story.
“Just an update — a little bit puffy, a little bit purple and very ugly,” Perez said in a video.
The caption on the video read: “Update for all my concerned friends. Thanks for all the nice messages (love heart emoji).”
– Gauff sees off super mum –
Coco Gauff had to bring her best to see off Belinda Bencic in 5-7 6-2 6-1 in a match that lasted almost two and a half hours.
In her first Grand Slam since becoming a mother last year, Bencic made an excellent run to the fourth round and pushed the US Open champion on Sunday afternoon but Gauff ultimately had too much run in her legs.
The third seed toyed with the Tokyo Olympic champion and former world number four in the final two sets, running her ragged around the court.
It ended Bencic’s streak of never having lost a third set at Melbourne Park, but it continued her streak of never beating a top ten player at the Australian Open.
Gauff meanwhile has advanced to an eighth Grand Slam quarter final at just 20 years of age, and she will next take on 11th seed Paula Badosa of Spain.
– American gun’s emphatic win –
Tommy Paul is through to the quarter final of a Grand Slam for the third time in his career, defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 on Margaret Court Arena.
Fokina had come back from two sets down in each of his last two matches, with fatigue a clear and understandable factor in his eventual output.
The Spaniard won on just 46 per cent of his first serves, and 36 per cent on his second. Paul at one point won seven games unanswered.
His 27-year-old opponent made the semi final at the Australian Open in 2023, before playing in the final eight at Wimbledon last year.
The American will play the winner of Alexander Zverev and Ugo Humbert, who will play anytime from 6pm onwards later this evening.
– Demon returns online troll’s serve –
Australian Alex de Minaur had a hilarious response for an online troll after his third round triumph against number 31 seed Francisco Cerundolo.
As he always does, particularly in Australia, de Minaur celebrated passionately at key moments during his comeback 5-7 7-6 6-3 6-3 victory on Rod Laver Arena, which drew the ire of an X user.
The account posted a clip of massive de Minaur celebration after clinching a five-set thriller at Melbourne Park back in 2019 with the caption “De Minaur after hitting high top spin up the middle every point”.
The post gained traction, so much so that it appeared in the Australian’s feed and the eighth seed replied in classy fashion.
“All love for my number 1 supporter,” he wrote followed by a kissing face and a love heart emoji.
Well played, Demon.
– Two-time champ destroys teen rising star –
Aryna Sabalenka kicked off day eight of the Australian Open with a brutal demolition of teenage rising star Mirra Andreeva on Rod Laver Arena.
The two-time defending champion needed only an hour and two minutes to book her place in the quarter-final as she dropped just three games to the 17-year-old 14th seed in a dominant 6-1 6-2 win.
Sabalenka simply overpowered Andreeva as her massive ground strokes repeatedly forced her opponent to retreat well beyond the baseline until she could no longer handle the blows.
The world number one even mixed in some delicate touch as she often, almost cruelly, finished off points with precise drop shots.
Sabalenka has experienced serving woes during the early rounds, but showed no such concerns as she blew away Andreeva – who she also defeated in straight sets in a semi-final at the Brisbane International earlier this month.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 19: Aryna Sabalenka celebrates a point against Mirra Andreeva in the Women’s Singles Fourth Round match during day eight of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 19, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images– Frenchman’s horrific pre-match incident –
Corentin Moutet suffered a horrific experience before his third-round loss to American qualifier Learner Tien on Saturday with the Frenchman fainting in the shower 45 minutes before taking the court.
French journalist Quentin Moynet revealed on X that the 25-year-old said he was unsure about what happened less than hour before stepping onto Kia Arena.
“I was in the shower, I woke up on the floor,” Moutet said.
“I was in the dark, I couldn’t see anything. I don’t know what happened. I just know I spend 15 minutes in the dark.”
Unsurprisingly after that lead-in, Moutet lost the match in straight sets, 7-6 6-3 6-3.
But he recovered well to take the first set against Tien to a tiebreaker, which was an epic with the American taking it 12-10.
Tien is just 19 years of age, and part of the new generation from last year’s ATP NextGen tournament that have announced themselves at this year’s Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 18: Corentin Moutet of France whilst playing against Learner Tien of USA on day seven of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo credit should read Chris Putnam/Future Publishing via Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTSHe sensationally defeated Daniil Medvedev in five sets in a second round match that finished around 3am in the morning.
Moutet also knocked out a seeded player on his way to the third round, with the world number 69 taking down Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in four sets in the opening round.
– Teen sensation can end two-time champ’s dream as blockbuster opens fourth round –
She’s not even old enough to drink, but Mirra Andreeva might pose the biggest threat to back-to-back Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka yet as they open day eight.
The 17-year-old is already good enough to be seeded 14th, going all the way to the French Open semi-finals last year, and has made the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the second year in a row.
Sabalenka has been dealing with some serving woes and had to fight hard against Clara Tauson in her third round triumph, being broken four times in a row at one stage.
It was the Belarusian’s 17th straight win on Rod Laver Arena.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 17: Mirra Andreeva celebrates a point against Magdalena Frech of Poland in the Women’s Singles Third Round match during day six of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 17, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesIt’s likely the winner’s semi-final opponent will be determined in the second match of the day, with a blockbuster between No.3 seed Coco Gauff and super mum Belinda Bencic.
Then the men take over centre court with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic on a collision course for a massive quarter-final.
But first they must win their fourth round matches against Jack Draper, the Brit who has won three epic five setters, and Jiri Lehecka, the impressive Czech, respectively.
In the other quarter No.2 Alex Zverev is hoping to take advantage of his good draw fortune to reach at least the semi-finals. He faces France’s Ugo Humbert in the evening session.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 8 ORDER OF PLAY (All times AEDT)
Men’s and Women’s Singles Fourth Round
Rod Laver Arena
Day session from 11:30am
No.1 Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) vs No.14 Mirra Andreeva (RUS)
Not before 1pm
No.3 Coco Gauff (USA) vs Belinda Bencic (SUI)
Not before 3:30pm
No.15 Jack Draper (GBR) vs No.3 Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
Night session from 7pm
No.7 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs No.24 Jiri Lehecka (CZE)
Margaret Court Arena
Not before 1pm
No.11 Paula Badosa (ESP) vs Olga Danilovic (SRB)
Not before 3pm
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) vs No.12 Tommy Paul (USA)
John Cain Arena
Not before 12:30pm
No.18 Donna Vekic (CRO) vs No.27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Not before 6pm
No.14 Ugo Humbert (FRA) vs No.2 Alex Zverev (GER)
