The fourth round of the Australian Open 2025 is halfway over and the next stage will be the quarterfinals. For those who won their ticket on Sunday, the trophy is in sight.
The number of Americans on the ground has decreased, but Coco Gauff continues to do the work on the ground. The No. 3 seed lost her first set to Belinda Bencic, but came back strong to conquer the second and third sets, winning 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 26 minutes.
At the end of the match, Gauff used his written message on camera to mourn the (perhaps temporary) death of the social platform TikTok in the United States.
Tommy PaulNo. 12 seed and the highest-ranked American in the tournament, took care of business in a big way against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, beating him 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in just 87 minutes. His next match against Alexander Zverev will be only his third overall Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance, although he has previously had success at the Australian Open. His best Grand Slam result came at the 2023 Australian Open when he advanced to the semi-finals.
Carlos Alcarazseeded No. 3 in men’s singles, had a small reprieve in his fourth-round match when his opponent, Jack Draper, retired after two sets due to a hip injury. Draper had a chance to win the first set before Alcaraz won 7-5, but his level of play dropped sharply in the second set as his “time bomb” of a hip injury hampered him enough to force him to retire after an hour and 35 minutes.
No. 1 seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka overtook Mirra Andreeva, winning 6-1, 6-2 in just 62 minutes. She has yet to lose a single set in the tournament. Men’s No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev had a rather easy period against Ugo Humbert, winning 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 but losing his first set of the competition. No. 11 also advances to the quarter-finals Paula Badosa and No. 27 Anastasia Pavliuchenkovawho upset No. 18 Donna Vekić.
Novak Djokovic boycotts his post-match interview
Novak Djokovic will face Alcaraz in the quarter-finals after beating Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4), but true to form, Djokovic’s behavior outside of tennis has once again made headlines. Djokovic skipped the traditional on-court interview after the victory in protest against Channel Nine broadcaster Tony Jones, who last week drew criticism for a TV segment in which he mocked Serbian fans and Djokovic himself.
“Welcome to Melbourne Park, where you can see Novak Djokovic fans, they are in full voice. The chants are pretty extraordinary,” Jones said to open the segment. He then turned to the Serbian fans, who were chanting in the crowd behind him, and began chanting for them.
“Novak, he’s overrated. Novak is a has-been. Novak, kick him out. Boy, I’m glad they can’t hear me,” Jones said.
Djokovic spoke to the crowd after his fourth-round victory without the aid of a microphone, and when interviewer Jim Courier tried to hand him the microphone, Djokovic refused it.
“A few days ago, the famous sports journalist, who works for the official Channel Nine here in Australia, made fun of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me,” Djokovic told the crowd. via the Guardian. “And since then, he has chosen not to make any public apology. Neither does Channel Nine. So, as they are official broadcasters, I have chosen not to give interviews for Channel Nine.”
