Sinner surges into Australian Open quarters as key players exit

MELBOURNE: Defending men’s champion Jannik Sinner powered confidently into the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday, while reigning women’s title holder Madison Keys suffered a fourth-round exit, underlining sharply contrasting fortunes for last year’s champions at Melbourne Park.

Two days after battling through severe cramps in a third-round scare, Sinner looked restored as he brushed aside fellow Italian Luciano Darderi 6-1 6-3 7-6(2). Playing under cloudy skies at Margaret Court Arena with temperatures still climbing to 33 degrees Celsius, the world number one showed no lingering physical issues as he booked his ninth consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final.

 “It’s definitely a bit different when there is no sun, even if it’s quite warm,” Sinner said. “Physically, I felt good. Everything was okay today.”

The Italian will next face eighth-seeded American Ben Shelton, who advanced with a four-set win over Casper Ruud. Shelton has yet to solve the Sinner puzzle, losing all eight of their previous meetings, including last year’s semi-final in Melbourne.

While Sinner’s title defence gathered momentum, Keys’ reign came to an abrupt end as the ninth seed fell 6-3 6-4 to close friend Jessica Pegula. The American sixth seed, who co-hosts a podcast with Keys, claimed her fourth Australian Open quarter-final appearance with a composed performance that blunted the defending champion’s power.

Keys took the defeat in stride, joking afterwards that she would honour a pre-match wager by eating a cheese-covered apple pie.

Pegula will face fellow American Amanda Anisimova in the quarter-finals after Anisimova defeated China’s Wang Xinyu 7-6(4) 6-4, continuing a strong showing by U.S. players in the women’s draw.

Elsewhere, second seed Iga Swiatek ended Australian hopes with a dominant 6-0 6-3 victory over qualifier Maddison Inglis and will meet former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who eased past Elise Mertens 6-1 6-3.

In the men’s draw, Lorenzo Musetti joined Sinner in the last eight after defeating an injury-hit Taylor Fritz 6-2 7-5 6-4. Musetti now faces a blockbuster quarter-final against 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, who advanced via a walkover after Jakub Mensik withdrew injured.

With extreme heat forecast to reach 45 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, organisers are bracing for potential schedule disruptions as the tournament heads into the quarter-final stage. Among the headline clashes, two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka will meet teenage American Iva Jovic, while top seed Carlos Alcaraz continues his title bid against Australia’s last remaining hope, Alex de Minaur.