Australian Open Quarterfinal Matchups Set
An exciting weekend of tennis in Melbourne, Australia shaved the singles draws for the year’s first major down to just eight men and eight women, as the Australian Open quarterfinals are all set.
There is one American remaining in each respective draw: 14th seeded Sofia Kenin on the women’s side, and Tennys Sandgren on the men’s side.
Kenin ousted fellow American Coco Gauff in the fourth round in her match on Sunday, outlasting Gauff 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-0 to reach her first career major quarterfinal.
For a spot in the semifinals, Kenin will take on Tunisian Ons Jabeur.
Top seed Ashleigh Barty continued her run at her home tournament as the Australian defeated 18th seeded American Alison Riske 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, and will meet last year’s finalist Petra Kvitova next.
The seventh-seeded Kvitova came back from a set down to beat Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2.
Simona Halep was relentless on defense, setting up 14 break points in a 6-4, 6-4 win over 16th seeded Belgian Elise Mertens. The fourth-seeded Halep will meet 28th seed Anett Kontaveit for a spot in the semifinals.
Kontaveit is into her first Grand Slam quarterfinal after beating Poland’s Iga Swiatek 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-5.
“I’m looking forward to playing against Simona,” said Kontaveit, the first Estonian to reach a major quarterfinal. “She’s a really great player, so I have got to play my best tennis. She’s incredibly consistent. She’s playing so well, moving so well, and I have definitely got it be consistent but try and play my game and be aggressive.”
Unseeded Garbine Muguruza rolled past ninth-seed Kiki Bertens 6-3, 6-3 to secure her spot in the final eight, and will take on 30th seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova next.
On the men’s side, Sandgren ousted 12th seeded Italian Fabio Fognini 7-6(5), 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the second time in three years.
Sandgren now squares off against third-seed Roger Federer.
“It will be very special, very special [to play against Federer],” said Sandgren. “I was kicking myself that I lost to a too good Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in the Round of 16 because I would have played Rafa in the quarterfinals. That would have been very special. I was a little upset that I wasn’t able to get to that match. It will incredibly special to be able ti play him at least once in my career. To play him on a big stage like the quarterfinals of a Slam will be a ton of fun really.”
Defending champion Novak Djokovic continued his title defense as dispatched Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours. The second-seeded Djokovic now takes on 32nd seed Milos Raonic who blasted 35 aces in a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 win over Marin Cilic.
Top-seed Rafael Nadal edged Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in a tight contest, putting him into a matchup with fifth-seed Dominic Thiem who cruised past Gael Monfils in straight sets.
The other men’s quarterfinal will be a clash between former champion Stan Wawrinka, and Alex Zverev, the seventh-seeded German in pursuit of a spot in his first major semifinal.
