Carlos Alcaraz qualifies for the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, where he could face ten-time tournament winner Novak Djokovic. These are the facts of the eighth day of the tournament.
19.01.2025, 08:39
19.01.2025, 08:42
SDA
Carlos Alcaraz, who is aiming for the last Grand Slam title still missing from his collection in Melbourne, eliminated Jack Draper (ATP 18) from Great Britain in the round of 16. The semi-finalist at last year's US Open retired exhausted at 5:7, 2:6 after going the full distance of five sets in each of the first three rounds.
"It's not the way I wanted to get to the next round, but I'm happy to play another quarter-final," said the No. 3 seed Alcaraz, who has never reached the last four at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The 21-year-old Spaniard will face a tough opponent in the quarter-finals, Novak Djokovic, if the Serb wins his round of 16 match against the Czech Jiri Lehecka (ATP 29).
Paul hardly challenged
Tommy Paul (ATP 11) is also through to the quarter-finals in Melbourne after a clear victory against an ailing opponent. The American was hardly challenged against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ATP 66) and prevailed 6:1, 6:1, 6:1 in just 86 minutes. Fokina was no longer at full strength, having come back from 2:0 sets down in each of the two previous rounds.
Sabalenka also progresses at a rapid pace
In the women's tournament, world number one Aryna Sabalenka is still without a set loss. The Belarusian is through to the last eight after an easy 6:1, 6:2 in just 62 minutes against Mirra Andreyeva (WTA 14). With her commanding victory, Sabalenka also gained revenge at Grand Slam level for the bitter quarter-final defeat she suffered against Andreyeva at last year's French Open. The 2021 tournament winner will face another Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. The world number 32 defeated Croatia's Donna Vekic (WTA 19) 7:6 (7:0), 6:0.
