Category: Tennis

• No 2 seed books spot in last four with four-set win
• German will now face Djokovic in semi-finals

Alexander Zverev has survived an extraordinary meltdown to sink Tommy Paul in four sets and charge into the Australian Open semi-finals.

Second-seeded Zverev, chasing an elusive grand slam title, was almost knocked down by, of all things, a feather before he steadied to prevail 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1. Zverev will next face 10-time champion Novak Djokovic in his third Melbourne Park semi-final.

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After defeating unseeded American Alex Michelsen in straight sets to reach the last eight of the Australian Open for the first time, Alex De Minaur is embracing his underdog status ahead of his quarter final match-up with world No 1 Jannik Sinner. 'It's a whole new day, a whole new match and anything can happen,' De Minaur said. 'Sport is unpredictable'

• Jannik Sinner toughs out medical episode against Rune to reach Australian Open last eight

• De Minaur to face Sinner after reaching Australian Open last eight for first time

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Iga Swiatek hammered Eva Lys, Emma Nacvarro outlasted Daria Kasatkina – just – and Alex de Minaur saw off Alex Michelsen

Back on Court, Shelton leads Monfils 4-2 in their third-set breaker and if he sees it out, might the Frenchman retire? I could see him convincing himself he’s good for one more set, but two?

Lys starts well, narrowly missing a backhand down the line that would’ve given her a break, before Swiatek secures her hold through deuce. She’s never gone further than the semis here, which is in some way surprising – the balls bounce slower and lower than on other hard courts, meaning the surface is more clay-like than at Flushing Meadow, where she won in 2022. And though, in 2023, it took Elena Rybakina to beat her in Melbourme, last term it was Linda Noskova. I’d be surprised if she got past Coco Gauff or Aryna Sabalenka, likely final opponents, but she’s got a good chance of getting there given standing in her way are Kasatkina or Navarro, then Svitolina. She breaks immediately for 2-0.

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• American records 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 success to reach last eight
• Ruthless Iga Swiatek also marches into quarter-finals

Madison Keys upset sixth seed Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a roller-coaster match at Margaret Court Arena to march into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday and extend her win streak to nine matches this year.

Adelaide Open champion Keys had lost to the Kazakh in their last two encounters but was well in control for most of the last-16 tie, barring a rough patch in the second set when she lost four straight games. Rybakina seemed to be struggling with a lower back injury that had affected her in the third round and Keys was able to play aggressively to neutralise her big serve and take control of the rallies.

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American tennis star Coco Gauff mourned the loss of TikTok's app in the United States, writing 'RIP TikTok USA' on a camera lens following her victory over Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open. Gauff said the app provided her with an 'escape' and its removal might force her to read more books, adding she had a 'feeling that it will somehow come back'. TikTok later said it was restoring services in the US after Donald Trump pledged to give the video app a reprieve on its US ban

• Channel Nine’s Tony Jones apologises to Novak Djokovic over ‘banter’ that led to coverage boycott

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• Australian Open star had refused to speak with Nine’s presenters
• Veteran broadcaster acknowledges he ‘let down’ Serbian fans

Tony Jones has issued an apology to Novak Djokovic after comments the veteran broadcaster made at the Australian Open led to the Serbian tennis star boycotting Channel Nine’s coverage of the tournament.

Djokovic opted not to give a customary on-court interview after beating Jiri Lehecka on Sunday to move into this year’s quarter-finals, before revealing he would not speak to the host broadcaster until he received an apology.

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• Russian threw racket, skipped interview, broke camera
• Fined £54,000, one of biggest totals in grand slam history

Daniil Medvedev has been fined more than half of his Australian Open prize money for his behaviour at Melbourne Park.

The Russian, a three-time beaten finalist, crashed out of the tournament in the second round following a five-set loss to American teenager Learner Tien, during which he received a point penalty after throwing his racket, while he also skipped the mandatory post-match press conference.

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• Reigning champion battles heat and wind to deny Tauson
• Andreeva, Vekic, Gauff and Badosa all into round four

Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic advanced to the last 16 after the two-time champion Naomi Osaka retired during Friday’sthird-round match with an injury.

Bencic took the first set in a tie-break 7-6 (3) before Osaka, who pulled out of the Auckland final this month due to an abdominal injury, withdrew. Osaka led 5-2 in the opening set but showed signs of struggles with her abdomen and called for a physio during a changeover. The 27-year-old initially soldiered on after treatment before retiring.

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Danielle Collins got into a back-and-forth with a booing crowd at the Australian Open after eliminating local hope Destanee Aiava, and blowing kisses to the spectators. 'The people that don't like you, and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills,' the world No 11 said.

• Danielle Collins thanks ‘super drunk’ booing fans for spurring her to victory

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• World No 121 beats No 5 seed 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 7-6
• Californian seals victory just before 3am in Melbourne

Learner Tien, a 19-year-old qualifier from California, became the youngest American man to reach the Australian Open’s third round since Pete Sampras in 1990, upsetting a racket-tossing Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 7-6 in a thrilling contest that began on Thursday night and ended in the wee hours of Friday in Melbourne.

The four-hour, 49-minute match had a bit of everything, including a six-minute rain delay that interrupted play shortly before 2.30am with Tien serving at 5-5 in the fifth set. When play resumed, Medvedev broke and served for the match at 6-5, but Tien refused to cede, broke back, and forced the concluding first-to-10 tiebreaker, which he emerged to win shortly before 3am. His victory came about two hours after he had failed to convert his initial match point.

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• US fourth seed gives $81,000 from first-round victory
• ‘It’s just insane what happened … I had family evacuate’

Taylor Fritz is donating his first-round prize money at the Australian Open to help people affected by the California wildfires. The American fourth seed raced through to round three with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 thumping of Chile’s Cristian Garin and then revealed that he will give Aus $132,000 (approximately $81,000 or £67,000) to relief efforts.

“I just want everyone to stay safe, it’s insane what happened,” said Fritz. “I wanted to say something after my first-round match but I’m going to be donating my first-round prize money to LA wildfire relief funds.

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British No 1 Jack Draper went through five gruelling sets to beat home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis to reach the Australian Open third round. Draper said the abuse he got from the crowd helped him as it 'gave me actually energy giving it back a little bit'.

• ‘I had steam coming out of my ears’: Kokkinakis torment in Draper defeat

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• American beats Britain’s Jodie Burrage in straight sets
• 2023 US Open champion is undefeated in 2025

Coco Gauff stretched her unbeaten start to 2025 to seven matches and 14 sets as she moved into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 7-5 victory Britain’s Jodie Burrage.

Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion and a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park a year ago, went through a bit of a rough patch in the second set, struggling with double-faults and dropping four games in a row to go from a break up at 3-1 to a break down at 5-3. But when Burrage served for the second set, Gauff regained control, using a four-game run of her own to end the contest.

“It was tough. She was serving really well, so I was just trying to manage that, honestly,” the No 3-seeded Gauff said. “She really stepped her level up in the middle of the second set, so I was just trying to be offensive when I could.”

Gauff hit six of her seven double-faults in the second set, but was far steadier at the baseline overall, finishing the match with 11 unforced errors, compared to 37 for Burrage.

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On his grand slam debut, João Fonseca, an 18-year-old Brazilian, beat Andrey Rublev, while there were also wins for Katie Boulter, Daniil Medevdev and Elena Rybakina

Musetti, seeded 16, has taken the third-set breaker to lead Arnaldi by two sets to one; Shelton, seeded 21, leads Nakshima 7-6 7-5 6-5; and Popyrin and Moutet are locked into another brutal game, the clock ticking towards seven minutes when the Frenchman finally secures his hold for 2-1 in the first.

Yet more Italian excellence: Cobolli – a favourite of Coach Calv, our resident expert, who thinks he’s got the lot – leads Etcheverry 7-6. That breaker went to 10-8 and I’d not be surprised if we see a few more in a match that has potential to go on for epochs.

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