Melbourne: defending champion Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in dominant fashion on Sunday when she beat American Amanda Anisimova with a clinical 6-3, 6-2 victory at Margaret Court Arena.
Taylor Fritz beat last year’s runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas to advance to the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time after beating seventh seed Greece 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
The 12th-seeded American arrived in Australia having never beaten a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam tournament and sealed a memorable victory with a clinical performance that matched his best finish at a major tournament.
Fritz, a quarter-finalist at last year’s US Open and Wimbledon in 2022, hit 13 aces and 50 winners as Tsitsipas’ frustration mounted, and closed out the match in just over three hours with a winning backhand.
Novak Djokovic marked a rare daytime appearance at the Australian Open with a dominant victory over Adrian Mannarino on Sunday as the ten-time champion flirted with a ‘triple bagel’ before sealing a 6-0, 6-0, 6 win -3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Djokovic, who was given an early spot at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2021, said earlier in the week that he was battling a viral illness and that the world No. 1 coughed and seemed at times breathe hard during the match.
The Serbian’s health problems had no impact on his play, however, and with the roof of the Rod Laver Arena closed due to rain, he secured a 32nd consecutive tournament victory and a 58th quarter-final of the Grand Slam, equaling the all-time record of Swiss maestro Roger Federer.
“The way I played today, I don’t mind playing on the day to be honest,” said Djokovic, who is aiming for a 25th Grand Slam to overtake Margaret Court.
“It’s no secret I like to play at 7 p.m., but it wasn’t too bad at all today.”
Sabalenka on a roll
The top seed remaining after Saturday’s early elimination of world number one Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka’s biggest enemy has often been her own emotions, but she continued to keep them strictly in check to reach the round of 16 without losing a set.
“I’m super happy with the level, super happy with the victory,” Sabalenka said.
“I just tried to stay focused on my game and concentrate on every point. I want to stay here until the very end and hopefully we can do this one again.”
The Belarusian was not distracted by being relegated to the second showcourt for the first time in the tournament, nor by a few rain showers that interrupted the competition and forced the closure of the stadium roof.
Anisimova, ranked 442nd in the world after an eight-month break, had led 4-1 in her career meetings with Sabalenka but found the 2024 version of the 26-year-old much more difficult to resolve.
In the first set, the former Roland Garros semi-finalist failed to win a single point on Sabalenka’s first serve, which was at times clocked at 195 km/h.
A break was enough for Sabalenka to win the first set and another to start the second stanza destroyed any hope of the American of putting pressure on her opponent.
Another break for 5-2 in the second set allowed Sabalenka to serve for the match and, although Anisimova was eventually able to earn her first break point, the second seed quickly celebrated her place in the last eight .
Sabalenka, who next meets ninth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova, did not drop a set at last year’s Australian Open before the final and clinched her first Grand Slam title.
Her opponent at Rod Laver Arena that day, Elena Rybakina, exited in the second round and Coco Gauff and Krejcikova were the only other top 10 seeds left in the field.
Fourth-seeded Coco Gauff reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
The US Open champion, who has yet to drop a set at this year’s major at Melbourne Park, beat unseeded Frech in the opening match at a cold Rod Laver Arena and won’t lose her. never let it settle into a rhythm.
With Australian great Rod Laver watching in the crowd, Gauff wrapped up the match in just over an hour to seal a place in the last eight against unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
“There is no better ground in Australia than Rod Laver Arena and it was an honor to play in front of you, so thank you for coming to my match,” the 19-year-old said.
“Luckily, when I noticed it was coming, I was on my feet a lot, so I wasn’t too nervous. You were clapping and I was like, ‘I know it’s not for us,’ and then I seen the screen… There are a lot of captions in the box there.
Gauff, who successfully defended her Auckland title ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year, looked impeccable from the baseline and on her forays to the net as she led 5-1 and sealed the first set when the Frenchwoman, ranked 69th, made a forehand error.
The American found things a little more difficult in the next set as Frech, 26, looked to extend the rallies, but she took a 3-1 lead and pushed her advantage to extend her unbeaten run into 2024 to nine matches.
