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Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka suffered a scare before reaching the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday and a date with Coco Gauff’s conqueror Paula Badosa.

Later, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz face off in a quarter-final duel for the ages in Melbourne, with world number two Alexander Zverev awaiting the winner.

Top seed Sabalenka is attempting to win the Australian Open for a third time in a row, something last achieved 26 years ago by Martina Hingis.

The Belarusian kept that dream alive but had to battle for it in beating Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

At 33, Pavlyuchenkova had been enjoying a late-career renaissance and was the oldest remaining woman in the draw.

In the last four Sabalenka plays Badosa, who stunned world number three Gauff 7-5, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena in the first match of the day.

It saw the Spaniard Badosa reach her first Slam semi-final at the age of 27.

“I’m a bit emotional,” said Badosa. “I’m a very emotional person. I wanted to play my best game. I think I did it.

“I’m super proud of the level I gave today. ”

It capped a remarkable comeback for the 11th seed, who was ranked outside the top 100 a year ago after a stress fracture in her back.

“I mean, a year ago, I was here with my back that I didn’t know if I had to retire from this sport, and now I’m here playing against the best in the world,” said Badosa.

Third-seeded American Gauff had been unbeaten in nine matches this season, but she more than met her match in the Spaniard.

The 20-year-old former US Open champion was put under pressure immediately in the first set by the aggressive Badosa, which set the tone.

Gauff described herself as “disappointed but not completely crushed”.

READ ALSO: Gauff Crashes Out Of Australian Open But Insists She Is ‘Not Completely Crushed’

Prime-time 

In hot and windy conditions, Germany’s Zverev defeated the American Tommy Paul 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/0), 2-6, 6-1 to step up his quest to win a Grand Slam for the first time.

The 27-year-old was distracted at one point by a feather that floated across the court on Rod Laver Arena as he threatened to lose his cool.

The umpire called for a replay due to the feather drifting in front of the German as he played a shot on break point.

“C’mon, that is unbelievable on break point,” he shouted, before taking out his fury on Paul by breaking to love.

But Zverev was decisive in the tiebreaks and, after suffering a wobble in the third set, sealed the deal by racing through the fourth.

Zverev will be among the many tuning in when Alcaraz, 21, and Djokovic, 37, meet in a heavyweight late-night clash on Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic is looking for his 100th tournament title and a record 25th Grand Slam crown.

He refused to do a routine on-court interview on Sunday in protest at a TV presenter with host broadcaster Channel Nine, who he accused of “insulting and offensive comments”.

Djokovic has a 4-3 edge in matches with Alcaraz and beat the Spaniard in the Paris Olympics final in their last meeting.

But Alcaraz won their last two Slam encounters, the 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon finals, and is already a four-time major winner.

He has never gone beyond the Australian Open quarter-finals, however.

Djokovic said he was expecting a “big battle” against the heir to Spanish legend Rafael Nadal.

Alcaraz is wary that there is still life in the ageing Serbian yet, on the veteran’s favourite court where he has lifted the trophy 10 times.

“When we are seeing him playing, he seems like he’s young again, it’s unbelievable,” said Alcaraz.

Coco Gauff said she was “disappointed but not completely crushed” after her scintillating start to the year came to an abrupt halt in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The world number three had her dreams of a maiden Melbourne Park crown dashed in a 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Spain’s 11th seed Paula Badosa on Rod Laver Arena.

Gauff’s nine-match winning streak to start 2025 was ended in style by Badosa, who dominated after taking a tight first set.

The 20-year-old American said she was more mature now after playing in her ninth Grand Slam quarter-final and would not be beating herself up about the loss like she might have done earlier in her career.

“The way I played, even though it wasn’t my best, I gave it my all on the court, so that’s something to be proud of,” said Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion.

“Some matches are going to go my way, some are not. Maybe a couple of years ago I would feel a lot more crushed and feel like the world is ending type sadness.

“But now I think it’s just disappointment that I could have done a little bit better in some areas. ”

Gauff said it was a very different feeling to her last Slam defeat, a fourth-round three-setter to Emma Navarro in New York last year.

“I feel like at the US Open I was playing with no solution, so I think that was more the frustrating part,” said Gauff, who coughed up six double-faults and 41 unforced errors on Tuesday.

“Today I feel like I’m playing with solutions. I know what I need to work on. Even though I lost today, I feel like I’m in an upward trajectory.

“Obviously it does feel bad when you feel like you’re playing great tennis for the better part of this year to lose, but it is what it is.

“We’ll get back to work. ”

For a country with a population of approximately 5. 5 million, New Zealand is incredibly productive when it comes to creating rugby stars. Since 2003, New Zealand has led the World Rugby rankings for almost 14 years, nearly 10 of which were consecutive (between November 2009 and September 2019).

How is it possible, and why is New Zealand so good at rugby? We’ve collaborated with a Hamilton native Edward Howarth of DashTickets to learn more about the reasons behind New Zealand’s success and rugby’s cultural significance for the nation.

Tradition

If we want to properly explain New Zealand’s rugby phenomenon, we need to first establish its status. As the country’s official website puts it, rugby is the national obsession of New Zealand.

This statement may seem a bit too expressive at first, but when you consider how impactful rugby is, it makes perfect sense, experts from Kasinobonus. io suggest. Rugby in New Zealand is a giant industry that employs thousands of people and plays a huge part in the country’s tourism strategy.

However, rugby is not just a very popular sport — it is tied deeply to the country’s history, communities, and traditions. As Jamie Wall explained for Rugby World, rugby clubs are often seen as the hearts of communities, where people meet to chat or celebrate special occasions.

New Zealand’s national rugby team coach Steve Hansen once said for the New York Times that rugby was one of the first opportunities for a colonized country to express itself and show that it could be successful by beating the British Empire, its colonizer.

“If you go back far enough, this team was the first to give New Zealanders the confidence that, hey, we can compete against the big wide world, and that’s why I think there’s a connection with every New Zealander and the team,” he said.

The early success New Zealand has found in rugby has led to increased popularity, which, in turn, has led to greater demand and higher expectations for success, says Edward Howarth of DashTickets.

“It is a bit of a snowball effect, which you can see especially clearly with the incredible win streak All Blacks had from 2009 up to 2019. Every new win further popularized the team, further establishing rugby’s role in our culture, and inspiring more and more young people to play it professionally,” says Howarth.

Training and motivation

In New Zealand, children start playing Rippa Rugby — a smaller, non-contact version of the game — as early as primary school, using dedicated grass playing fields. From this moment onwards, they will encounter rugby training for the rest of their education, and the core strategy of the game will stick with them by the time they decide to go pro. New Zealand Rugby, or NZR, is an institution specifically established to support players at every step of their career, ensuring the best coaching, facilities, and resources.

Not only is the country’s training system focused on rugby, but children often play it with their friends as well. The country’s climate and housing structure provides them with perfect weather conditions as well as vast backyards where they can train their skills and imitate their favorite All Blacks players.

As experts from Kasinobonus. io put it, while the overall population of New Zealand might be smaller than in some other countries, the percentage of people involved in rugby since their early days at least in some way is incredibly high — and that results in a huge number of professional athletes who have to uphold incredibly high standards.

The motivation is there too — for a young New Zealander, rugby is one of the most straightforward roads to international success, as well as a chance to earn fame and respect among fellow compatriots. This leads to an incredibly high competition, which enables coaches to pick the best of the best athletes for the team.

The result

Currently, New Zealand’s national team is one of the most recognized in the world, although South Africa surpasses it by one World Cup championship due to their victory in 2023. As of January 2025, New Zealand keeps a third place in the World Rugby rankings with 90,36 points and holds the world record of 96,57 points achieved in 2016.

Jannik Sinner battled dizzy spells on Monday to reach an Australian Open quarter-final against Alex de Minaur, admitting a long interruption when he accidentally broke the net was “big, big luck”.

The world number one and defending champion dropped a set before coming home 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 against Danish 13th seed Holger Rune on Rod Laver Arena.

Sinner struggled in the hot Melbourne conditions, his hand visibly shaking and his heart rate taken in the third set before he left court for a medical timeout.

There was then a bizarre 20-minute delay when Sinner demolished the metal brace that secures the net to the floor with a thunderous serve early in set four.

“I was not feeling really well. You know, I think we saw that today I was struggling physically,” said Sinner, 23, who is bidding to become the first Italian man to win three Grand Slam crowns.

He refused to say exactly what was wrong with him, only that he was “not there health-wise” and had been “a bit dizzy at times”.

“I don’t want to go into details. I think it was, you know, then also with the pressure and everything, it was not easy. ”

He admitted that the time off court in air-conditioning while officials repaired the net helped him refresh.

“I was lucky today that… 20 minutes off court, you know, trying to get back physically, putting some cold water in my head, it was very helpful. It was big, big luck to me today. ”

Sinner is bidding to defend a Grand Slam title for the first time after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final last year.

His win put him into a clash against home hope De Minaur, who brushed past American Alex Michelsen 6-0, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to make his maiden Australian Open quarter-final.

READ ALSO: Djokovic Marches Into Melbourne Quarter-Final With Alcaraz

  ‘Means the world’ 

De Minaur wiped the floor with Michelsen in the opening set, but his serve then faltered and he was forced to a close tiebreak after the American staged a fightback.

But De Minaur broke with a forehand winner in the sixth game of the third set and pulled away for the win.

“It means the world,” said De Minaur. “There’s nothing I want to do more than play well here in Australia. So glad I finally made the quarter-finals.

“But let’s go for bigger and better things. ”

As temperatures rose above 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), Sinner assumed control against Rune by breaking to love.

Sinner’s serve was iron-clad and there was no sniff for the Dane, who went a set down in 33 minutes.

But a Sinner double-fault in the eighth game of set two handed Rune a break, allowing him to hold and level the match as he began to find his rhythm.

It was the second set Sinner had dropped in the tournament, having not done so in 13 previous matches.

Sinner clung on to hold in an epic game three in the third set, which included a remarkable 37-shot rally that he won to save break point.

He gave Rune another break point at 2-2 with a double fault, but again saved, yet he was labouring.

At the changeover, a doctor checked him and he went off for a medical timeout.

Sinner returned and slogged to break for 5-3 before sealing the set.

After the delay while the net was fixed, he produced a top-notch forehand winner to break for 2-1 in the fourth set and there was no way back for a tiring Rune.

Ruben Amorim might not have been historically accurate when he labelled his Manchester United flops as “maybe the worst team” in the club’s history, but his astonishing claim did expose the extent of the problems facing the beleaguered boss.

Amorim responded to United’s dismal 3-1 home defeat against Brighton on Sunday by branding his players among the worst in the club’s illustrious history.

United are languishing in 13th place in the Premier League and have endured a painful series of ignominious losses since Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag in November.

Already in disarray prior to Amorim’s appointment, United have stumbled from one calamity to another under the Portuguese coach, with only rare signs of optimism in their draw at Liverpool and FA Cup win over Arsenal with 10 men.

United have suffered six home league defeats this season, their most from their opening 12 matches since the 1893-94 campaign.

They have also lost 10 of their 22 league games this term, the earliest into a top-flight season that they have hit double figures for defeats since 1989-90.

Heralded as one of the brightest young coaches in the game after a successful spell with Sporting, Amorim is now beginning to understand exactly why United have gone 12 years since winning the most recent of their record 20 English titles.

The 39-year-old’s brutal assessment pulled back the curtain on the depth of United’s decline since legendary boss Alex Ferguson ended his golden era after that 2013 title triumph.

“Our players are really nervous in actions,” Amorim said. “When you go on the pitch you remember the last games here.

“If I feel it, the players feel it a lot. The only way is to continue to do the same and to win games, that’s the only way to fix this. ”

Amorim is paying the price for United’s muddled recruitment policy in recent years.

Harry Maguire, Rasmus Hojlund, Antony, Casemiro, Andre Onana and Joshua Zirkzee have all failed to justify hefty transfer fees, leaving Amorim with an unbalanced squad that cannot meet his demand for a high-energy 3-4-3 formation.

READ ALSO:  [EPL Wrap] Liverpool Open Six-Point Lead, Villa Dent Arsenal’s Title Hopes

Damning numbers 

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and his legion of advisors have hardly made a positive impression since the INEOS boss became United’s co-owner last year.

They dithered over Ten Hag’s future after last season’s surprise FA Cup final win against Manchester City, eventually opting to keep the Dutchman despite speaking to Thomas Tuchel about replacing him.

When Ten Hag struggled again this season, Ratcliffe axed him in October, only to then fire sporting director Dan Ashworth after just five months in the role.

Unable to turn the tide, Amorim’s blunt criticism of United could be seen as a message to Ratcliffe to spend on new signings before the January transfer window closes.

United’s current 13th place would equal their lowest finish since 1989-90, while their tally of 26 points from 22 games is eight fewer than at this stage of any previous season since 1992.

Last season, they finished eighth, which ranked as their worst final position since 1990.

Despite those damning numbers, United historians could make a case to disagree with Amorim’s “worst team” claim on a purely statistical level.

United have been relegated from the top-flight five times, a fate surely even Amorim’s woeful squad are unlikely to suffer as they sit 10 points above the drop zone.

Their most recent relegation came in 1973-74 when United legend Denis Law returned to Old Trafford with Manchester City to score the goal that rubber-stamped a fate already sealed by results elsewhere.

It was especially ironic that United hit their latest low point against Brighton on the day they paid tribute to Law, who passed away aged 84 on Friday.

Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best became known as United’s ‘Holy Trinity’ after spearheading their rise to European Cup glory in 1968 from the ashes of the Munich plane crash that killed eight members of Matt Busby’s team 10 years earlier.

Leading United to Champions League glory must seem a long way off for Amorim as he comes to terms with the size of the task facing him at Old Trafford.