Coco Gauff, who was still a teenager when she won her first major title in 2023, returned to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third consecutive year after beating 19th-ranked Karolina Muchova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday.
She will next face No. 12 Elina Svitolina, who defeated 18-year-old eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 6-2, 6-4 at the end of Day 8.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz also entered the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. At the age of 22, he defeated No. 19 seed Tommy Paul 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-5 to continue competing for a career Grand Slam.
He has never reached the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park, the only venue of the four Grand Slams where he has not won a title. He’s so determined to correct that statistic that he’s redesigning his serve to look more like ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.
He is unlikely to get the support of the crowd in the quarterfinals, where he will meet local hopeful sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur, who defeated 10th-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
Last year’s Melbourne runner-up Alexander Zverev defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 and will next face 20-year-old Lerner Tian, the youngest Australian men’s quarterfinalist since Kyrgios in 2015. Tian, who suffered a bloody nose after the third game, defeated three-time Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.
Jakub Mencic withdrew 24 hours before the fourth round due to an abdominal injury, and the 38-year-old Djokovic eased into the quarter-finals.
Iva Jovic will next face Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s match, and she got some great advice from 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic during the match. He said he was happy to be able to help a rising star with Serbian roots.
Jovic made it clear last year that she wanted a chance to play No. 1 in the world. Now she would get that chance.
Sabalenka, who joked she was waiting for an official invitation to play mixed doubles with Djokovic at a Grand Slam, easily won the first set against Canada’s Victoria M’boko in 31 minutes but struggled in the second.
Mboko saved match points, played well and beat many players, but not the two-time Australian Open champion.
“What an incredible player for such a young player,” Sabalenka said of Mboko. “It’s unbelievable to see these kids on tour. I can’t believe I’m saying this. I feel like I’m still a kid!
“She put a lot of pressure on me and I’m happy to get it done,” Sabalenka added in an on-court television interview.
Sabalenka led 4-1 in the second set, then failed to convert three match points while leading 5-4. Mboko slowly gained strength and forced a decider, with Sabalenka ultimately dominating.
This is Sabalenka’s 20th consecutive tiebreaker win, a record.
“I try not to think of it as a tiebreak, but as a point-by-point game,” Sabalenka said. She won back-to-back titles in Australia in 2023 and ’24, but lost to Madison Keys in the final last year. “I think that’s the key to consistency.”
Later on Sunday, Jovic and Mboko combined for a match point in the doubles match, and fourth-seeded Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai won the super tie-break 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10).
“They are all very young and very talented,” Mertens said. “It was a really tough game.”
