Individuals Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul advance to quarterfinals; Djokovic cruises

On the Australian Open, one thing unimaginable has to occur for Novak Djokovic’s no-fuss win over Alex de Minaur to grow to be an also-ran, however that is the place we’re at this time.

For the primary time since 2000, three American males have made the Aussie Open quarterfinals, and so they’re all first-timers. Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul, each unseeded, punched their tickets to the ultimate eight on Monday, whereas Sebastian Korda superior on Sunday (more on his win here).

Shelton, Paul storm into quarterfinals

Shelton, simply 20 and utilizing his passport for the very first time, is enjoying in solely his second Grand Slam. His a part of the draw opened up broad when No. 8 Taylor Fritz was eradicated within the second spherical, and he is been in a position to experience the wave. He is seemed boyishly excited on the courtroom, and has credited his creativity for serving to him get this far. On Monday, Shelton beat fellow American J.J. Wolf 6(5)-7, 6-2, 6(4)-7, 7-6(4), 6-2 in a ridiculous five-setter that included three separate tiebreaks.

Paul, already a fixture on the tour at 25, is one other American who’s engaged on a significant breakthrough. Not like Shelton, Paul has confronted a number of seeded opponents on his technique to the quarterfinals. On Monday, he confronted No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut and received 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. Paul has by no means made a Grand Slam quarterfinal, and his finest end on the Aussie Open was a third-round exit in 2020.

Extra outcomes

• As talked about earlier, No. 4 Djokovic simply defeated No. 24 de Minaur 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 and is on to his thirteenth Australian Open quarterfinal and his 54th Grand Slam quarterfinal total. He is been coping with a balky hamstring, however has seemed robust and positive and appears destined to make not less than the semifinals, if not the finals.

• It is exhausting to name any match win an “upset” at this stage, however when an unseeded participant beats the No. 4 seeded girl to advance to the quarterfinals, that is an upset. That is what occurred on Monday when 30-year-old Magda Linette defeated No. 4 Caroline Garcia 7-6(3), 6-4 to make her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal.

• No. 5 Andrey Rublev and No. 9 Holger Rune staged an exhilarating five-set battle for the fitting to play within the quarterfinals. In the long run, after three hours and 37 minutes, Rublev emerged victorious, beating Rune 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6). Rublev got here again from 0-5 down within the tiebreaker to shut out the match.

• No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka continues to dominate. She beat No. 12 Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-2 in below 90 minutes and seemed robust and assured. With Iga Swiatek out of the event, Sabalenka — together with her intense energy and growing composure — is the darkish horse to win all of it.

• Karolina Pliskova, seeded thirtieth, defeated No. 23 Shuai Zhang 6-0, 6-4 in below an hour.

• Within the battle of the unseeded ladies, Donna Vekic beat Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

Spotlight of the day

Shingo Kunieda, who at 38 is probably the most profitable wheelchair tennis participant within the historical past of the game, introduced his retirement on Saturday. He impressed so many different wheelchair customers to select up tennis, and his impression on the game was clear on this beautiful video the Australian Open Twitter account revealed on Monday.

Extra highlights of the day

Making the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam is an enormous deal. Let’s have a look at some reactions!

As any 20-year-old would, Ben Shelton flexed his biceps when he celebrated his win.

Novak Djokovic has been to the Aussie Open quarterfinals so many occasions he barely celebrates anymore.

The look on Magda Linette’s face when she beat Caroline Garcia was absolute gold.

This is not precisely the best way Tommy Paul wished to advance to the quarterfinals, however he celebrated anyway.

What to look at on Day 9

We have made it to the quarterfinals! With simply eight matches over the following two days, issues have slowed down significantly from per week in the past. Listed here are Tuesday’s 4 quarterfinal battles, which embrace two Individuals: Jessica Pegula and Sebastian Korda.

• No. 22 Elena Rybakina vs. No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko

• No. 18 Karen Khachanov vs. No. 29 Sebastian Korda

• No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 24 Victoria Azarenka

• No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jiri Lehecka