By ED CARRUTHERS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and MATTHEW LAMBERT AT MELBOURNE PARK
Published: 01:46 EST, 21 January 2025 | Updated: 08:25 EST, 21 January 2025
Follow Mail Sport’s live blog for the latest score and game-by-game updates as Aryna Sabalenka and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova go head-to-head, with Novak Djokovic’s mouthwatering tie against Carlos Alcaraz coming this evening.
The ice-cold moment Djokovic hit back at hecklers
The crowd has been getting on the back of the world No 7 here at the Rod Laver Arena.
In that last set, Djokovic appeared to become incensed as some members of the audience heckled and shouted at both players while they tried to serve.
The chair umpire has also issued several warnings to members of the audience to be quiet between points, with Djokovic heading over to the official to vent his frustrations in the third set.
But after winning the set he appeared to hit back at those who had heckled him, turning to the crowd and pointing to his ear.
Ice-cold stuff from the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who is currently staging a comeback for the ages.
Boisterous crowds have been a big talking point over the last two weeks
Again, the chair umpire has to remind one member of the audience to be quiet.
‘Ladies and gentlemen please do not disturb the players,’ she says.
It’s getting a bit tedious now and the players are growing more tired of the constant heckling.
Boisterous crowds have been a big talking point at this year’s Australian Open with British star Harriet Dart claiming last week that she felt like she was playing tennis at a football match.
I felt like I was at a football match. Obviously it’s great to have lots of people there watching and everything but I also think there has to be respect towards both players. I think a few people were about to be kicked out. I can only really compare it to the Billie Jean King Cup and I don’t even think I’ve had it be like that before.I think (the umpire) did as best as she could – maybe there should be a stricter policy in terms of if people are doing something, if they do it more than once they are out, but I don’t make those rules.
Other players have also hit out at the atmosphere at this year’s tournament. Danielle Collins notably angered some members of the Aussie crowd for her antics after she secured victory against Destanee Aiava last week.
I think there were a lot of people who were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited.
One match was even moved to a quieter court last week, after some fans on the party court continued to cheer and shout as Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina went toe-to-toe in their second-round clash.
What a comeback! Djokovic takes the second set
Wow! After going off injured and struggling to get around the court, Novak Djokovic has bounced back after going a set down to take a 2-1 lead against Carlos Alcaraz!
You can never write off the Serbian who just seems to have found another gear!
More drama as Djokovic vents to the chair umpire!
Djokovic holds serve to go 5-3 up but there’s more drama on the court.
The Serbian is now venting to the chair umpire.
It seems he’s becoming incensed by the amount of people who keep heckling both players between points.
After winning that last game, Djokovic turned to the crowd and pointed his finger to his ear, hitting back at those who have heckled him.
It’s not the first time this week that he’s become frustrated by members of the audience.
During his fourth-round victory against Jiri Lehecka, Djokovic appeared to become incensed by shouts from members of the audience.
Some had also called out while he was serving, with the Serbian seen sighing before shaking his head.
During one point of the match, Djokovic was attempting to save service when one fan called out, angering the Serbian. He protested to the chair umpire, Mohamed Lahyani, over the interruption, but the official waved him away.
‘I don’t think someone did it on purpose,’ the umpire said.
Speaking to Eurosport after the match, Djokovic appeared to shed some light on the surprising moment.
‘We all try to handle it in our own specific way. Sometimes I do it better and sometimes I kind of work against myself,’ he said.
‘Only people who have been there at the highest level know what you need to deal with.
‘You need to weather the storm when you feel challenged. When I faced adversity the last few matches, I think I have handled it well. It’s a good signal for the next one.’
Huge break for Alcaraz!
Djokovic looked to have taken control of the set but Alcaraz is right back in it.
He breaks back against the 24-time Grand Slam champion, with the Spaniard taking the set to 4-3 as Djokovic slams a backhand into the net.
Alcaraz vents at the chair umpire
Here’s that interesting moment again from Alcaraz in the second set, after he fumed at the chair umpire for a late call.
Djokovic’s serve had clearly hit the let and it took a little while for the chair umpire to call the let.
Alcaraz subsequently vented his frustrations towards the chair umpire.
Meanwhile, the chair umpire is having to ask fans inside the Rod Laver Arena to calm down.
‘Ladies and gentlemen please do not talk when the players are ready to serve,’ she says and receives a round of applause from the fans.
Sabalenka speaks out on facing her good friend Paula Badosa in the semi-finals
The world No 1 will face off against her good friend Paula Badosa in the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Speaking on the encounter, though, Sabalneka lumped praise on her friend after she has made a monumental comeback to the court following a long injury lay-off with a serious back injury.
She’s a great player and she has been through a lot. Now she’s back on her best game. I’m really happy to see that. I saw her games here. She’s playing really great tennis, I think. I just need to focus on myself and I have to stay aggressive and I have to put her under a lot of pressure. I’m really excited to face her in the semi-finals. It’s definitely going to be a great battle and I’m really looking forward to it.
Badosa, meanwhile, said that the pair have spoken about facing off on the court previously, but once they step over the white line it’s game on.
We deal with it pretty normal. Plenty of times we had messages before the match. It’s pretty chill. We know how to separate things very well. We spoke about it so many times.We admire, respect each other. It’s going to be a battle inside the court, of course, but outside it’s super normal.
‘Djokovic is extraordinarily good at playing while injured’
It is a little reminiscent of Djokovic’s fourth-round match against Francisco Cerundolo at Roland Garros last year, when he won despite tearing meniscus in his knee. He is extraordinarily good at playing while injured.
Djokovic breaks and wins the second set!
Well well well well well. Djokovic has always been a master at playing through injury and he is doing it again.He has been forced by his physical condition to swing for the fences and so has finally gained that agency in the match we talked about earlier. He is playing extremely aggressively off the return and the first ball after a serve. Alcaraz has dropped his concentration and his level just enough to give Djokovic an opening.Surely a four-set Alcaraz win is still the most likely outcome but Djokovic was perhaps beginning to move a tad easier at the end of that second set.It is possible that Alcaraz will go to his drop shot almost as a default – he has to do a better job of testing the movement of his opponent.
Djokovic and Jones’ spat has snowballed
Nick Kyrgios weighed into the spat between Tony Jones and Novak Djokovic on Monday.
The Aussie star released a humorous skit on his Instagram account during which he mocked the Channel 9 broadcaster for the ‘offensive and insulting’ comments he made about the Serbian.
Kyrgios and Djokovic have been playing doubles together recently and the Aussie star has taken to the defence of the Serbian multiple times this week.
Kyrgios, though, hasn’t gone without criticism himself this week. After he published his skit on Instagram on Monday, footy great Kane Cornes lashed out at the Aussie firebrand during a live radio broadcast earlier today.
Cornes claimed that Kyrgios was the ‘most disappointing Australian athlete ever’ in an unfiltered and scathing attack on the 29-year-old who had crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round, after suffering an abdominal strain in the build-up to the tournament.
A brief stoppage in play here
We’ve just had a brief stoppage in play as one of the ball kids is leaving the court.
Hopefully, she is doing OK!
Djokovic holds service to take a 5-4 lead in the second set.
More worrying signs for Djokovic
Remarkably he’s just given himself a chance to break back against Alcaraz.
But is showing signs that the injury to his thigh is hampering his movements.
Djokovic was seen grimacing again and walking unsteadily after leaping in the air to play a forehand winner but landing on his affected left leg.
He is hanging in admirably here…
Controversy in the middle
Carlos Alcaraz is arguing with the chair umpire here.
He returns Djokovic’s service well, and while the chair umpire was right to call the let, he’s just exchanged a few words with the official and is furious over how late the umpire called a let there.
The match continues and the Spaniard secures another break against Djokovic to pull the set back to 3-2.
Alcaraz is in control
Great play from the world No 3 who forces the error from Djokovic to break the 24-time Grand Slam champion early in the second set.
Djokovic is moving a little more freely now following that early injury but Alcaraz’s movement and power around the court, dispatching some thumping groundstrokes is getting the better of Djokovic right now.
Andy Murray, meanwhile, looks a little stressed, as Djokovic swipes an overhead smash straight into the net, giving Alcaraz another chance to secure a break point.
Djokovic returns!
That was only a couple of minutes but Novak Djokovic is walking a little easier now.
He’s got some strapping under his shorts here so it looks like he may have strained his hamstring as he attempted to reach for a shot earlier in that game.
Breaking:Djokovic leaves the court!
Djokovic has left the court for a medical timeout. In the previous game, he sprinted to reach an Alcaraz drop shot and immediately afterwards looked to feel pain in his groin.He was not moving comfortably for the rest of the game. When Djokovic returns, his opponent will serve for the first set, and there has to be a danger of the most anticipated match of this Australian Open petering out.
Andy Murray cuts a nervous figure
Djokovic is in a bit of bother here. Looks like he may have just suffered a bit of a strain to his knee, grimacing as he fends off Alcaraz’s advances on his serve.
I understand the physios are on the way and looks like he’ll get some treatment in the next interchange.
Credit to the 37-year-old though, he’s battling hard here and has just saved three break points.
But he’s not walking easy and Andy Murray in his coaching corner is looking particularly nervous.
MATTHEW LAMBERT: ‘Djokovic struggling to hurt Alcaraz’
Interesting start. Scores are level but it is difficult to see Djokovic winning if these patterns continue. He has hit only one winner so far and is seemingly unable to hurt Alcaraz on the groundstrokes.At the moment every point is on the Alcaraz racket and Djokovic cannot just wait for his opponent to miss – he needs to find a way to gain some agency in this match.
Sabalenka is set to come face-to-face with her good friend in the next round
After sealing a 2-1 victory against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova earlier tonight, Aryna Sabalenka has booked her place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
With a berth in the final on the line, there will be more at play for the defending champion though, as she comes up against her good friend Paula Badosa.
The Spaniard, who also claimed a huge victory against Coco Gauff earlier today, had stated last year that it will be ‘uncomfortable’ to play against the world No 1.
They’ve played against each other eight times in the past, with the Belarusian winning six of those meetings, with the last coming at the World Tennis League back in December.
They first became friends back in 2021 at the Cincinnati Masters and have since claimed that they are ‘soulmates’ on social media, regularly posting snaps of their off-court excursions.
Badosa even said Sabalenka is her ‘closest friend’ too!
Read more about their relationship ahead of their semi-final below!
Youth vs experience?
The youth vs experience debate has been raging for a long while in tennis, particularly in discussions around how many more Grand Slam titles Novak Djokovic can win.
And it must be said the 37-year-old really does not look like he’s slowing down any time soon…
But what does Carlos Alcaraz think about younger stars taking the mantle off stars like the 24-time Grand Slam winner?
Speaking ahead of tonight’s match he said:
Well, I think he’s the player who has the most quarterfinals in a Grand Slam in history if I’m not wrong. I don’t know. I think, yeah, obviously he has experience. When we are seeing him playing, he seems like he’s young again, so… It’s unbelievable. He’s in a really good shape.I mean, in a quarterfinal, I’ve been in this position few times already. I don’t know. Obviously the experience, getting more experience on that situation, is important. I don’t think that it’s going to take advantage on it.I just ready and I know what I have to do in the quarter-finals.
What a point!
And we’re only just getting started…
Djokovic got off to a flying start taking a 2-0 lead. But Alcaraz has struck back winning a big break back at the start of the first set to pull the match back to 2-2.
Check out this stunning passage of play…
What a point!
And we’re only just getting started…
Djokovic got off to a flying start taking a 2-0 lead. But Alcaraz has struck back winning a big break back at the start of the first set to pull the match back to 2-2.
Check out this stunning passage of play…
MATTEW LAMBERT: ‘It’s windy!’
It is pretty windy here on Rod Laver and both players seem to be struggling. Alcaraz hit four unforced errors to be broken in his first service game and neither man is really timing the ball.
Here we go then…
Settle in, grab a cup of tea or a beer, get yourself comfy as this is going to be one hell of a match.
It’s Djokovic to serve first and he gets off on the right foot taking a 15-love lead against Alcaraz.
It’s been a whirlwind week for the Serbian star after Channel 9 broadcaster Tony Jones appeared to Mock the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Djokovic demanded a public apology from the TV star and said he would not be conducting any on-court interviews until Jones said he was sorry.
Djokovic had snubbed an on-court interview after his fourth-round win against Jiri Lehecka earlier this week and Tennis Australia have now announced whether he will face sanctions for the interesting moment…
Here come Alcaraz and Djokovic…
Well, the atmosphere is building inside the Rod Laver Arena and the world No 3 and the world No 7 are just stepping onto the court.
It’s Alcaraz first out of the tunnel and he gets a big roar. Djokovic follows and the fans go absolutely wild for the world No 7.
Djokovic and Alcaraz have played each other seven times during their careers, with the Serbian just holding the edge on the world No 3, having beaten him four times, to Alcaraz’s three victories.
Here’s what Alcaraz said about facing the 24-time Grand Slam winner earlier in the week…
I’m trying not to think about that. If I think about everything he has done in tennis, I couldn’t play. I mean, 24 Grand Slam, the most weeks at No 1, everything. He almost broke every record in tennis. I’m trying not to think about that when I’m in the match. I’m just trying that I’m able to beat him.I know my weapons. I know that I’m able to play a good tennis against him, I’m able to beat him. That’s all I’m thinking when I’m facing him.I think every player or the best players thinks when they facing Novak, just playing and believing in theirselves.
Even Carlos couldn’t believe Sabalenka’s insane skills!
It’d be a real eye-opening experience following Carlos Alcaraz around during his pre-match warm-up.
The 21-year-old has been seen playing golf, breaking a piece of the player’s gym with a tennis ball and also doing keepy-uppies in the tennis centre.
But it also appears he had a close eye on Sabalenka’s clash against Pavlyuchenkova, with the Spaniard marvelling at a moment of brilliance from the women’s world No 1.
Check out the moment his jaw drops below…
Breaking:Sabalenka advances to the semi-finals!
Despite Pavlyuchenkova’s second-set comeback, Sabalenka found her rhythm again late on securing a vital break in the eighth game before holding service to seal the match 6-2 2-6 6-3.
Having struggled to hold her own serve during the match, the defending champion made no mistake this time around, knowing that the game was hanging in the balance.
For Pavlyuchenkova, it was an outstanding comeback in the second set, but Sabalenka’s power and precision just outclassed her there late on.
The world No 1 will now face off against Paula Badosa, who bested Coco Gauff earlier today.
Sabalenka goes in front… but some have been pointing out one detail on Channel 9’s coverage of this match
The third set continued similarly to how the last finished with neither player able to hold on their own serve, with Sabalenka and Pavlyuchenkova trading a pair of breaks each.
But Sabalenka has now pulled ahead going 5-3 up against her opponent and is just one game away from a semi-final berth.
But some fans have pointed out that Channel 9 are not showing either player’s flag on the score HUD.
Zverev lifts the lid on feather-gate
Alexander Zverev is through the semi-finals at the Australian Open but there was a bizarre moment during his quarter-final clash against Tommy Paul earlier today.
The world No 2 fumed at the chair umpire after the official ordered the players to replay the point after a feather had appeared to fall on the court as he played a backhand.
Paul had subsequently struck his return shot out of play, with Zverev venting his fury at the chair umpire.
Reflecting on the moment, he took a light-hearted stance, despite raging at the official over the moment.
Yeah, I’ve never had that before that we stop a point because of a feather. So that was new to me. Not sure it was a hindrance to anybody. It’s not like a hard object. Like even if the tennis ball hits the feather, it doesn’t really change anything. It doesn’t change the trajectory of the ball or the bounce of the ball or anything like that. But, yeah, I don’t know. Maybe the umpire did the right call and maybe not. I have no idea. But it was a bit frustrating because obviously Tommy then would get a first serve and he won the point with that serve as well. I got a warning after that. So it was a bit much happening at that stage.
Who would’ve thought a feather would stop a game of tennis?
Pavlyuchenkova’s right back in it
Sabalenka came out of the blocks to seal the first set 6-2, with a dominant performance but the defending champion appeared to fade in the second set, with Pavlyuchenkova seizing a huge opportunity to pull level with the world No 1.
It was a topsy-turvy set, with neither really able to hold on their own service, with Sabalenka suffering two breaks to go 1-4 down.
She’d pull a break back at 2-4 but couldn’t hold her service, with Pavlyuchenkova holding out to win the second set 2-6.
Can we call this a ‘fore-hand’?
Carlos Alcaraz has literally been practising every other sport other than tennis during his warm-up ahead of tonight’s clash.
I’ve just seen him doing some keepie-uppies in the corridor with a tennis ball – fair play, those are tricky enough with a football.
And now we’ve just seen him working on his golf swing, while nearly taking one of his team member’s eye’s out.
His swing looked pretty solid too… Should he consider swapping the ATP for the PGA Tour?
‘The most polite racket throw I’ve ever seen!’
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova gets the double break against Aryna Sabalenka and takes a 4-1 lead in this match.
But she cannot hold serve to take a four-set lead, with Sabalenka responding with a break of her own.
Pavlyuchenkova concedes the game 2-4 and provides her Belarusian opponent with a glimmer of hope in this set.
While some players have copped fines this week for venting their fury on the court, with Daniil Medvedev paying out a huge sum for his tirade on the net at the Rod Laver Arena last week, Pavlyuchenkova tempered her fury.
Slamming a booming forehand into the net while challenging Sabalenka for her first break, she looked as though she was going to slam her racket onto the ground. But hilariously, the 33-year-old stopped herself from bashing the racket onto the ground, instead, placing it onto the floor of the court.
‘The most polite racket throw I’ve ever seen,’ one Channel 9 commentator said.
Watch the full moment below…
Djokovic’s feud with Jones has ignited another rivalry…
Kane Cornes has once again fumed at Nick Kyrgios after the Australian had taken aim at broadcaster Tony Jones during an Instagram skit.
Kyrgios mocked the broadcaster after Jones made startling comments that Novak Djokovic was a ‘has-been’ during a TV segment on Channel 9.
But Cornes labelled the Aussie’s video ‘ill-timed and awkward’ before laying into Kyrgios as ‘Australia’s most disappointing athlete.’
He also listed many of the Australian’s previous indiscretions during a live radio broadcast on SEN Breakfast.
Read his full rant below…
‘Absolutely boring match-up. No reason to stay here…’
We’re building up for what some believe should really be the Australian Open final, with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz set to take to the court in a mouthwatering match-up.
But Alexander Zverev poked fun at the two stars, stating:
Absolutely boring match-up. No reason for staying here after you’ve just witnessed Zverev vs Paul.
It came during his post-match interview after he booked his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open earlier on Tuesday.
He’ll take on either Djokovic or Alcaraz in the resulting match, but would double back on his jests to praise both players.
No I mean, (they are) two of the best tennis players to have ever touched a tennis racket. Novak is the greatest of all time right now. Carlos is going to be one of them. It’s a clash of generations. They have played Grand Slam finals before. They have played the Olympic finals last year. It’s a privilege to witness it here in Australia and please do enjoy it. I think it’s going to be a great match.
Sabalenka goes 1-0 up!
Aryna Sabalenka is in full flow here at the Rod Laver Arena.
The defending champion broke Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova twice in that first set to take a 6-2 lead.
The Belarusian is one of the coolest customers on the WTA Tour and even before heading out to play an Australian Open quarter-finals match she was messing around with one of her coaches during her warm-up.
French star cops $24,000 fine for umpire spray
A whopping $288,734 worth of fines have been dished out to both male and female players at this year’s Australian Open.
Daniil Medvedev is due to pay off the lion’s share of those fees following his meltdown last week where he smashed his racket into a net, breaking a camera.
He copped a $105,869 fine for that infringement alone and was handed a $16,040 fine for a separate offence earlier in the first round of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Corentin Moutet has also found himself on the naughty list, copping a $24,061 following his second-round win against Mitchell Krueger.
On Saturday, he was knocked out of the tournament by youngster Learner Tien in straight sets but during his match against Krueger, Moutet appeared to make some shocking comments, blasting the officials.
He first raged in the third set of the match after he disagreed with an umpire’s call.
‘What the f*** man, how can you call this not-up?’ he said to the chair umpire after the official had refused to overturn the decision.
‘Something like this, you call the wrong ball? Stop being like, “Why are you pissed?”
‘I’m pissed because you call the wrong ball. That’s the problem. You have one thing to watch. You can’t focus on this and make mistake, that’s insane.’
He was handed a code violation and that saw the Frenchman go into meltdown.
‘It’s your mistake, it’s your mistake, it’s your mistake … man it’s always the same,’ Moutet said.
‘It’s crazy man, you are tripping. Every time it’s the same s*** with you guys it’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s crazy.’
He later demanded the umpire overrule his code violation.
‘You’re getting paid…’ he began. ‘Getting paid for that, how is that possible? One thing. One thing. And now everybody’s losing time because of your call. Oh my god.
‘How can you give one euro for guys like this? How? How can you waste euros like this? Or Australian dollars, whatever.
‘Man, every night, all the referees are getting drunk here. And then the next day they are ruining the game. How is that possible, man? I’m here fighting, I’m working every day. I’m fighting to be here and they are ruining the game like this. And I’m supposed to stay calm? How is that possible?’
It was a bizarre outburst, with the Frenchman progressing, before he admitted he had collapsed in the shower before taking on Learner Tien in the third round.
But it is not the first time he has bizarrely raged at an umpire on the court…
Sabalenka and Pavlyuchenkova are underway
So tonight’s huge doubleheader is underway with Aryna Sabalenka and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova squaring off in their quarter-final at the Rod Laver Arena.
The winner of this huge encounter will progress to play Paula Badosa who secured a huge victory against Coco Gauff earlier this afternoon.
Sabalenka has taken a 3-1 lead in the match having just broken Pavlyuchenkova with a booming backhand down the tramline.
A few ruffled feathers…
There was a bizarre moment on court earlier when Alexander Zverev exploded at the chair umpire after a feather dropped onto the court.
The German drifted across his baseline as the feather dropped down right in front of him.
While it did not distract Zverev, who slung a backhand slice back at Tommy Paul on the other side of the net, the German, who ultimately advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament, unfurled his talons as he hit out at the chair umpire who had ordered the pair to replay the point.
His fury seemed to come after Paul had hit the ball out beyond the tramline.
‘Because of what? Because of a feather? Are you insane?’ Zverev chirped.
Furious, he picked up the feather and showed it to the chair umpire, before stating: ‘Because of this?’
But the chair umpire explained his reasoning for stopping the point.
‘Please, it’s just that if we have plastic or something coming in the middle of the court…’
But Zverev interrupted him: ‘Buddy. It’s a feather. There’s millions of them on the court.
‘There’s one there. There’s one there. There’s one there,’ he said, pointing with his racket.
… and it’s been a busy day over at the Ralph Lauren marquee
Plenty of recognisable faces have walked through the gates at Melbourne Park today for an event over at the Ralph Lauren marquee, just next to the 1973 Arena.
April Rose Pengilly donned a stunning red dress for the occasion, while Georgia Flood also starred in a flowing yellow gown.
Kiwi actor Tim Kano also attended the event.
Annalise Dalins is in the house!
Annalise Dalins, who recently got engaged to footy star Josh Daicos, stunned as she attended an event at the Ralph Lauren Marquee at Melbourne Park earlier today.
The pair are one of several footy couples to have gotten engaged over the past few months, with Daicos popping the question at a beautiful location in Greece.
His brother and fellow AFL player Nick Daicos sent a message to the happy couple after a video of their engagement dropped on social media, with the Collingwood star writing: ‘Hugeee’.
Their engagement was announced in September of last year, including Oscar Allen and Marcus Bontempelli.
It’s also been wedding season around the AFL, with Touk Miller, Charlie Cameron, Harry Himmelberg, Jack Graham and Callum Mills all tying the knot during the off-season.
Eva Lys’ brilliant reaction after learning how much she’s earned this week
Eva Lys may have agonisingly exited the Australian Open on Monday afternoon but she’ll be leaving Melbourne Park with a huge pay cheque.
Even after going down two sets to Iga Swiatek during the fourth round of the women’s singles, Lys still had a smile on her face and looked like she was pinching herself to even have made it this far into the tournament.
The crowd cheered the German wildly as she hit back at Swiatek to win a game in the second set but would ultimately be unable to fend off the Polish star’s advances, with the five-time Grand Slam champion progressing to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Lys, though, during a post-match interview cut a shocked figure when the 23-year-old, who has never progressed past the second round at a Grand Slam until this week, was told how much she was set to pocket.
Check out the full story below…
Elation for Badosa as she progresses to the semi-finals following her injury hell
Paula Badosa sealed a huge straight-set victory against world No 3 Coco Gauff earlier this afternoon at Melbourne Park.
But it was only a few months ago that the Spaniard, 26, had been contemplating retiring.
A stress fracture in her back had caused Badosa’s ranking to plummet between 2022 and 2023, with the Spaniard falling from world No 13 to 66th on the WTA Tour.
But following her injury woe, Badosa produced an outpouring of pure emotion, with the Spaniard slumping to her haunches and curling up into a ball on the court, having outlasted Gauff, 5-7 4-6.
She’ll take on either Aryna Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semi-finals later this week.
Alcaraz is mortified!
Oh dear Carlos! The world No 3 has just turned back to his team with his head in his hands and looks mortified.
During his warm-up, Alcaraz was practising his forehand but appeared to strike something behind the camera!
I’ll see if I can find out what he hit…
Exhaustion, relief, joy…
This is what it feels like to make the semi-finals of the Australian Open…
Alexander Zverev is through to the quarter-finals
So, let’s just check in on some of the games going on around Melbourne Park this afternoon and Alexander Zverev, who has been quite sensational this week, has bashed his way past American Tommy Paul to book his place in the semi-finals of the men’s singles.
It was his toughest test yet in Melbourne, with No 12 seed, Paul forcing Zverev to two tiebreaks in the opening two sets.
While Paul went 2-0 down, he wowed fans inside the Rod Laver Arena, bouncing back to secure a 6-2 victory in the third set to lump pressure back on Zverev.
But the German bit back to secure a 6-7 (1-7) 6-7 (0-7) 6-2 1-6 victory over his opponent.
The world No 2 will now come up against the winner of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz’s huge tie later this evening.
A new revelation has emerged in the Jones vs Djokovic saga
Tony Jones’ bizarre outburst towards Novak Djokovic has been the talk of the tennis precinct this week.
His comments, claiming that the world No 7 was a ‘has-been’ during a live television broadcast have caught the ire of many around the world, from Piers Morgan to even Elon Musk. Nick Kyrgios even slammed the Channel 9 broadcaster on Monday in a hilarious skit that was published to his Instagram account.
Jones was seen standing on Channel 9’s broadcasting balcony talking to a camera when a group of Serbian fans appeared behind him. The group appeared to start chanting before the 63-year-old turned to the fans and sang: ‘Novak, he’s overrated … Novak’s a has-been. Novak, kick him out,’
The Serbian fans were unable to hear his comments, with Djokovic demanding an apology from Jones following the comments, which he said were ‘insulting and offensive’.
Jones’ apology has also been blasted, with some calling it ‘hollow’ and it appeared to be more of a defence of his words than an apology but a new revelation has emerged over the saga.
Australian tennis great Paul McNamee and the Serbian Council of Australia co-founder Dr Nina Markovic Khaze have both claimed that the crowd that was standing behind Jones, was asked to stand there by Channel Nine.
Djokovic is in the house!
It’s been a crazy week for the world No 7, who had accepted Jones’ apology yesterday afternoon.
In a statement released by Tennis Australia, Djokovic had claimed that he was now looking to move on from the incident earlier in the week and focus on playing tennis.
Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested, and is now moving on and focusing on his next match.
Good afternoon!
It is another sunny and warm day here in Melbourne Park and the atmosphere is building nicely with two big matches coming your way later this afternoon.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka is out to book her place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open later tonight but she faces a tough test in world No 32 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who comes into this clash after beating world No 19 Donna Vekic in the fourth round.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, continues his Australian Open campaign later tonight. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is out to win his 11th Australian Open title but tonight he’ll face his toughest challenge of the tournament so far, with the Serbian coming up against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
It’s been a huge week for the Spaniard, too, with Alcaraz dropping just one set on his way to a berth in the last eighth.
Djokovic, though, has been the talk of the tennis precinct this week, with the Serbian being embroiled in a spat with Channel 9 broadcaster Tony Jones.
On Sunday night, Djokovic claimed that he would no longer be doing on-court interviews until he received a public apology from Jones, who had claimed during a television broadcast that the Serbian was a ‘has-been’.
Questions had been raised over whether Djokovic would be penalised for skipping media commitments after he delivered only a short on-court interview following his victory against Jiri Lehecka.
And Tennis Australia have delivered their judgement on the matter, which you can read below…
Paula Badosa speaks out on how she thought she may have to hang up her tennis racket
Paula Badosa dropped to 66th in the WTA rankings last year after she sustained a stress fracture in her back.
She underwent cortisone injections in an attempt to help ease the pain, but she admitted she was left with a huge call over whether to continue playing or to hang up her racket.
It’s been an incredible journey back to the top of the sport for the Spaniard and today she let out an outpouring of emotion after beating world No 3 Coco Gauff to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Well, it was a stress fracture in my L4/L5 that wasn’t recovering well. Then the facet joints that were inflamed all the time. Every time I was doing exercises, I had to stop because it wasn’t responding well.When I thought about stopping was when I was doing the injections because they told me I had to do max three a year, and I was already on my second one. It was the fourth month of the year. I was quite playing like in the limit with that also.So I think especially it was in the clay court season. It was pretty bad for me and also the back was still hurting. So in that moment I really didn’t know what to do.I think also especially after in my home tournament in Madrid it was very tough for me. A mix of back, mentally, and everything. That moment I was thinking maybe I’m not made for being back again. Yeah, I was doubting a lot.
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Australian Open Day 10 – Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz: Live score and game-by-game updates as Ice-cold moment Djokovic hits back at hecklers during quarter-final thriller against the new golden boy of tennis
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