Preview Australian Open Day Nine | Reigning champions Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys look to hoover up final quarter-final spots

We are almost at the quarter-final stage in the 2026 Australian Open. But before we get to this stage, we must get through day nine of the tournament where the final action in round four takes place.

Thanks to a retirement in the ATP tournament, there will be three matches instead of the standard four, with a very fortunate Novak Djokovic afforded some time off. Four contests on the WTA side will include last year's champion and a brace of Grand Slam champion with a few former finalists also sprinkled into a packed schedule.

The Italian tennis fans will be getting up in the early hours to watch three of their talents play at Melbourne Park. The main one has to be world number two Jannik Sinner, who will be hoping the events of Saturday do not occur once more.

In the ridiculously hot conditions bestowed upon Australia that day, he started to cramp up and was even losing to the American Eliot Spizzirri. In the end, he managed to recover to come out on top in a tight match, but the danger signs are there.

Fortunately, his round four match is in the evening, away from the blistering heat of the day. This will suit him down to earth as he makes the trip from Rod Laver Arena to Margaret Court Arena to face off against his fellow countryman Luciano Darderi. The 22nd seed knocked out the inform Sebastian Baez before defeating Karen Khachanov, showing the threat he could pose against Sinner.

The third Italian in action is Lorenzo Musetti, who if he wins will rise back up to world number three in the live ATP rankings. After reaching a career-high world number five, he will be desperately hoping to continue his momentum and progress in this event.

His toughest task awaits him in the form of former US Open finalist Taylor Fritz. After knocking out Stan Wawrinka, he is looking to continue his upturn in form after a sketchy start to the year. They last faced off as recently as the ATP Finals in 2025, in which Fritz won in straight sets. It was disappointment for both players who exited the group stage, but one will be jubilant after the match tomorrow.

One player who is already with their feet up is Novak Djokovic. The 10-time champion was due to clash against Jakub Mensik in a repeat of the 2025 Miami Open final in which the young Czech won. However, an abdominal problem has prevented him from taking any further part in this event, allowing a longer period of rest for Djokovic ahead of a quarter-final contest against the winner of Musetti or Fritz.

In place of this match, Casper Ruud's toe against Ben Shelton will now be hosted on Rod Laver Arena, a special treat for the fans after the frustration of missing out on what could have been a thriller. Shelton has had prior happy memories in this event, reaching the quarter-final back in 2023 with a semi-final to defend from last year. It is a complete contrast for Ruud, who has never made it past this stage. There were concerns on whether he would even make it this far with the birth of his child expected to happen any day. He plays on like every match will be his last, win or loss. They previously met in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Shelton won the first meeting with Ruud on top since.

Madison Keys has made very solid progress through this year's event so far. Up next, however, will be a very tricky task as Jessica Pegula looks to halt her title ambitions. The 2025 champion is defending a lot of points, and has done well so far to make it to this stage without dropping a set. She ended last year not on the best of form, skipping the Asian swing before withdrawing halfway through the WTA Finals.

It will be a very interesting test next, with her very good friend and fellow podcast host Jessica Pegula is looking to reach a first quarter-final at the Australian Open since 2023 after two prior early round exits. She is in good form, having reached the semi-final of the Brisbane International along with a whole host of deep runs at the end of last year. Their last matchup went the way of Keys, getting the better of her fellow American enroute to the Adelaide International title last year, which also puts her in front in the head-to-head standings.

If to be champion Down Under, it would be rather significant for Iga Swiatek, with a career Grand Slam very much up for grabs. She has not been at her immense best so far, but she was still good enough to come through her opening matches unscathed. It could have been Naomi Osaka at this point, but after her withdrawal it is now Aussie qualifier Maddison Inglis who benefits hugely from this, and now has a chance to face off against the world number two on Rod Laver Arena.

The winner of that will play either Elise Mertens or the WTA Finals champion Elena Rybakina. She has kept up her form Down Under, looking very ominous on court while not quite reaching the heights she did in Riyadh. If her serve is on song, she is practicably unbeatable. Mertens will beg to differ. The Belgium doubles specialist is yet to drop a set in the singles while still making steady progress in the doubles. Her head-to-head record against the world number five makes for grim reading. Just one win from seven encounters, with that single triumph coming back in the 2021 Madrid Open, while grabbing just one set since.

The other round-of-16 tie sees Amanda Anisimova look for a first quarter-final in Melbourne. The world number four has made this stage on two occasions but is in fantastic form when it comes to major matches. Her last loss which was not in a final of a Grand Slam came back in the 2025 French Open in the fourth round. A third final is still very much on the cards, but will be off if Xinyu Wang can produce a huge upset. After big wins against Jelena Ostapenko and Linda Noskova, anything is possible.