Djokovic, Alcaraz Into Melbourne Last Eight As Next Gen Roars

Coco Gauff had to fight in Melbourne Park, where the brutal heat of the day earlier had eased to 22C.

At Rod Laver Arena, top seed Alcaraz delivered a masterclass of ominous touch, beating the American Tommy Paul 7-6 (8 / 6), 6-4, 7-5.

The 22-year-old defeated sixth seed Alex de Minaur, who defeated eighth seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets, against home hope.

Jakub Mensik and Djokovic were scheduled to face off in the last 16 on Monday, but the Czech international pulled out with an injury.

For a place in the semi-finals, Djokovic will face American Taylor Fritz or Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who is ninth seed.

Alcaraz has never left the quarter-finals in Melbourne, which is unusual for the Spaniard, who like Djokovic has not dropped a set this year.

He will become the youngest person to have won a career Grand Slam of all four majors if he can finally defeat his Australian duck.

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz Is Out With An Injury From The Davis Cup Finale READ HERE.

The Spaniard’s serving technique has historically struggled with precision and consistency.

He has been compared to Djokovic’s serve, which has now been a useful tool.

After making light work of 19th seed Paul, he said, “you have to pay me,” he said in his on-court interview to the cheers of the adoring crowd.

Alexander Zverev next faces American Learner Tien, who was well defeated by Jannik Sinner in the final last year.

In straight sets, Germany’s third seed destroyed Francisco Cerundolo, Argentina’s 18th seed.

The 25th seed Daniil Medvedev, a three-time finalist, defeated surprisingly easy Tien in a surprisingly easy three-set victory.

Despite having a nosebleed in the first set that required lengthy medical attention, Tien, 20, made it to his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Later, he claimed that his nose was simply dry.

The crowd has been amazing every year since I’ve been here, said Tien, who is the youngest men’s quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park since Nick Kyrgios in 2015.

“It means the world to me to do this in this place with this much enthusiasm and support.”

Sabalenka Teen Test

In a tasty last-eight fight, world number one Sabalenka will square off against impressive American Iva Jovic, age 18.

Sabalenka, a two-time Melbourne champion, defeated 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko in a fierce match to win the Belarusian top seed.

Sabalenka defeated unseeded Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 7-6 (7/1) in just 53 dominant minutes, while Jovic defeated her.

The 17th-seeded Canadian Mboko, who has come under fire for being a serious threat in the past year, described Sabalenka as “an incredible player for such a young age.”

She put in incredible tennis for me today.

Sabalenka won the second set tiebreak, which was her 20th Grand Slam tiebreak in a row.

As her title charge progresses, she hasn’t dropped a set.

But in Jovic, who turned 18 last month, she squares off with a player who is in top form and quickly rising, who is currently ranked 27 and was 191 this year.

Jovic, who stunned seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini, two-time Grand Slam champion, and other competitors in the third round, asserted that she does not believe in herself as a winner.

She continued, “This is just another week where I’m winning more matches.”

Since Venus Williams did it in 1998, Jovic is the youngest player to reach the women’s quarter-finals of the Australian Open without giving a set.

Elina Svitolina from Ukraine will face third-seeded American Gauff.

Russian Mirra Andreeva defeated the 12-year-old Svitolina 6-2, 6-4, in a match against the Russian.

Gauff fought her way past Karolina Muchova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, after dropping a set for the second time in a row.