By Ian Ransom and Shrivathsa Sridhar
MELBOURNE, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Aryna Sabalenka extended her reign as tiebreak queen to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals for a fourth successive year and Carlos Alcaraz joined her as Daniil Medvedev’s campaign ended on Sunday.
Third seed Coco Gauff advanced to her third quarter-finals in a row with a pulsating 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory over crafty Czech Karolina Muchova in a late-afternoon contest at Margaret Court Arena, while Alexander Zverev and Alex de Minaur eased through.
But three-times finalist Medvedev was handed another harsh lesson by his new nemesis Learner Tien, the Russian going down 6-4 6-0 6-3 to the American again at Melbourne Park.
“He played great, super-aggressive. Even when I was making good shots, he was making a better shot back,” Medvedev said.
“I didn’t find many solutions today on the court, which is rare, and I didn’t feel that many times in my life like this.”
A day after blistering heat caused mayhem at Melbourne Park, normal service resumed as a cool change brought relief for players, fans and tournament schedulers.
Twice champion and favourite Sabalenka was first out on a glorious morning, seeing off Canadian 19-year-old Victoria Mboko 6-1 7-6(1) in a match of two halves.
The Belarusian was at her irrepressible best as she crushed the teen in a 31-minute opening set and raced to a 4-1 lead in the second before Mboko produced a thrilling fightback.
Breaking Sabalenka twice on the way to a 6-5 lead, Mboko then hit a brick wall as the Belarusian raised her game to notch a 20th successive tiebreak win at Grand Slams, eclipsing Novak Djokovic’s record of 19 between Wimbledon 2005 and 2007.
“I’m upset right now,” Djokovic joked in response to a post on X highlighting Sabalenka’s feat.
PUSHED HARD
Belarusian Sabalenka heaped praise on her young opponent.
“It’s incredible to see these kids coming up on the tour,” said the world number one, who has reached 13 successive Grand Slam quarter-finals.”
Having taken down one young gun, Sabalenka gets a shot at another in the quarter-finals against 18-year-old American Iva Jovic, who thrashed Kazakh veteran Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 at John Cain Arena, two days after dumping out Jasmine Paolini.
The men’s tournament has seen few surprises of the magnitude of Mboko and Jovic, with the final 16 shut out by seeded players for the first time at any Grand Slam in the professional era.
Top seed Alcaraz did his bit in preserving the status quo despite facing arguably his toughest test during this tournament against 19th seed Tommy Paul, a semi-finalist in 2023.
Alcaraz appeared in cruise control in a 7-6(6) 6-4 7-5 win under the afternoon sun at Rod Laver Arena.
Once a stubborn matchup for Alcaraz, Paul has now lost on three Grand Slam surfaces to the Spaniard following last year’s quarter-final thrashing at the French Open and his 2024 defeat at Wimbledon.
“I guess the way that I would describe it is, he suffocates you in a way,” Paul said of Alcaraz.
“He makes you feel like you have no time.”
LOCAL HERO
Alcaraz next takes on Australian Alex de Minaur, who brushed aside 10th-seeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik 6‑4 6‑1 6-1 to make his second successive quarter-final at Melbourne Park.
“I’m super pleased with my level, I’m excited for the next one,” said De Minaur, who is looking to be the first Australian to win the tournament since compatriot Mark Edmondson’s triumph five decades ago.
“I’m going to have to come out all guns blazing and I’m excited for a battle against Carlitos.”
Last year’s 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.
Even as the fourth-round action unfolded on court, Djokovic was given the news he had reached the quarter-finals as fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew due to an abdominal injury a day before they were scheduled to meet.
While the leading men eased through, two-times Grand Slam champion Gauff saw three match points slip through her fingers before she prevailed in a proper scrap against 19th seed Muchova, a former semi-finalist.
“She definitely elevated her game and I thought I was sometimes a bit passive,” said Gauff, who next faces Elina Svitolina after the Ukrainian beat Mirra Andreeva 6-2 6-4.
“I think today I didn’t panic… I knew I had to capitalise on those chances in the third set and I did that.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Additional reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ed Osmond)
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