MELBOURNE - Novak Djokovic’s bid for a 10th Australian Open crown shifted up a gear on Monday as he raced into the quarterfinals with a centre court masterclass and left his hamstring troubles behind. A year after being deported from the country on the eve of the Grand Slam, Djokovic sent the last Australian packing with a 6-2 6-1 6-2 demolition of Alex de Minaur at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena. The Serbian great set up a quarter-final against Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev and was thrilled to report the hamstring strain on his left leg was no longer bothering him. “I cannot say I’m sorry that you haven’t watched a longer match,” Djokovic joked to the crowd. “I really wanted to win in straight sets. “Tonight it wasn’t obvious that I was dealing with an injury, I didn’t feel anything today, so today was great.”
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With young gun Ben Shelton winning a five-set battle against compatriot JJ Wolf, and Sebastian Korda advancing on Sunday, Tommy Paul ensured three American men will contest the quarter-finals for the first time since 2000. The unseeded Paul beat 24th seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-5 to book a matchup with 20-yearold Shelton, whose dream run continued with a 6-7(5) 6-2 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 6-2 win over Wolf. Rublev recorded tense five-set win over Danish wunderkind Holger Rune. After coming back from 5-2 down in the fifth set, the Russian redhead claimed the cliffhanger 6-3 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-6 (11-9) courtesy of a lucky net cord on match point. It was smoother sailing on the women’s side as Aryna Sabalenka eased into the quarter-finals for the first time but fourth seed Caroline Garcia was bundled out and 17-yearold Linda Fruhvirtova’s dream run ended. World number 45 Magda Linette ensured Poland would be represented in the last eight by stunning Garcia 7-6(3) 6-4, while Croatian Donna Vekic held her nerve to down Fruhvirtova 6-2 1-6 6-3. Vekic will next play Sabalenka and Linette will take on Karolina Pliskova, who breezed past China’s Zhang Shuai 6-0 6-4. Garcia led 3-0 in the first set against Linette before it all went downhill.
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Linette fought back and Garcia’s unforced error count soared, leaving the normally placid Frenchwoman unleashing a stream of expletives to earn a code violation. With top seed Iga Swiatek eliminated on Sunday, Garcia’s exit leaves Sabalenka and American Jessica Pegula as the only top 10 seeds in the quarters. The Belarusian got her head straight after going down an early break to blast Swiss Belinda Bencic off the court 7-5 6-2.