Preview Australian Open Day Ten | Alcaraz-De Minaur, Sabalenka, Gauff feature in appetising quarter-final lineup

The quarter-finals are set to commence in the Australian Open, with day ten of the Grand Slam showcasing four mouth-watering ties for tennis fans to watch all over the world.

It is headlined by the world number one pair of Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, who will look to take on home favourite Alex de Minaur and Iva Jovic respectively. Former finalist Alexander Zverev has a tricky task in the form of Learner Tien while Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina are set to challenge for a semi-final spot.

It has been a very good showing Down Under so far for Sabalenka. She is yet to drop a set in the opening two tournaments competed in, defending her title in the Brisbane International before getting past Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, Zhuoxuan Bai, Anastasia Potapova and Victoria Mboko with relative ease. Her immense tiebreaker form continued, winning three in a row in the final two matches to make 20 and break Novak Djokovic’s record in Grand Slams.

It is not just that which is crucial to her game, but also the sheer class and power she possesses on court, making her practically untouchable to many. No one has had a chance against her yet with the Australian Open title looking like it could well be making a return to the Belarusian camp.

She is targeting a fourth consecutive final in Melbourne but has two matches before this is compete. She takes on quite possibly the future of the sport, with Jovic enjoying a stunning start to the campaign.

Her name is firmly in the conversations of many tennis debacles after some brilliant performances and showings to see herself reach a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final. She took down Katie Volynets and Priscilla Hon before picking up a first top 10 victory over Jasmine Paolini. A routing against Yulia Putintseva confirmed a first matchup against the world number one on Rod Laver Arena, something that is a very exciting prospect for the 18-year-old who is looking to produce a huge upset.

A big talking point of the clash will not be on the tennis, but the brutal conditions currently being experienced in Melbourne. With temperatures set to blast well over 40 Degrees Celsius, it could be a case of whoever deals with it better on the day goes through.

Following that comes last year’s runner-up Zverev. He has improved throughout the event and is starting to gain a slight bit of momentum heading into the deeper stages of the event.

Sluggish starts against Gabriel Diallo and Alexandre Muller were put right before wins against Cameron Norrie and Francisco Cerundolo show where exactly the German’s game is, with the chance of finally getting his hands on a long-awaited Grand Slam trophy the ultimate goal.

No quarter-final task is straight forward. Similar to Sabalenka, he will also be facing a young American who is making his debut in a major last-eight, but this time in the form of Tien.

The 20-year-old has turned a lot of heads with his brilliant showings on the court. He survived a tense five-set match against Marcos Giron before Alexander Shevchenko and Nuno Borges were defeated. In the latest chapter to what is becoming a compelling rivalry, Tien once more got the better of three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev, handing the Russian his first defeat of the year. In that tie, Tien won 11 games in a row which saw him clinch the first set, win the second and give him some leeway in the third.

A spurt like that against Zverev could prove to be very deadly. The pair have met on two occasions, both coming in 2025. While Tien overcame an out of sought German in the Mexican Open, he was powerless to halt the German in the opening match of the French Open. It is a match that could go either way, which makes it a hugely interesting match.

Due to the start times of the earlier matches beginning an hour earlier there will be a break in play on Rod Laver Arena. When the tennis returns, the eager fans will get to see the world number three Gauff back in action.

The American is into a third Australian Open quarter-final, previously converting one of them into a semi-final. She hopes to repeat the fate but will quite possibly have to be at her imperious best.

Already she has picked up some big wins at Melbourne Park. The concern over her serve looms large, but she has managed to avoid any serious collapses so far in defeating Kamila Rakhimova and Olga Danilovic before coming through a brace of three-set battles against good friend Hailey Baptiste and former Roland Garros finalist Karolina Muchova.

She is set to come up against an opponent who has not lost in 2026. After taking a break from the sport at the end of last year, Svitolina has been hugely rejuvenated. She was imperious on her run to the ASB Classic title while yet to drop a set in this event. After giving Cristina Bucsa and Linda Klimovicova no chance, two of Russia’s best players in the form of Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva could not produce the tennis needed to compete against the Ukrainian.

Gauff and Svitolina have had a lot of experience facing off against each other Down Under. Their first meeting came in 2021 in this major tournament, with a 15-year-old Gauff’s competition ending in round four to the hands of Svitolina. Their next clash came three years later in the ASB Classic final, in which Gauff came back from a set down to win the title. Later that year, she repeated that fate in the US Open third round.

The final quarter-final clash of the day sees world number one Alcaraz continue his hunt for the career Grand Slam against Aussie number one de Minaur in the contest of the day.

Huge flocks of tennis fans all around the world will have their eyes firmly on their TVs to watch two of the best tennis players on the ATP Tour clash once more. Alcaraz will go into it as the favourite as he hunts down a first Australian Open title.

Never previously making it past this stage, it seems unusual that the 22-year-old is set to break new ground if he wins a last-eight match, but that just sums up his prior form in Melbourne, and in fact the continent of Oceania. So far, it has been a solid showing from the Spaniard, taking down Adam Walton, Yannick Hanfmann, Corentin Moutet and Tommy Paul all in straight set affairs.

These opponents do not come close to the talent levels of de Minaur, especially what he has produced this tournament. He has been electric, retrieving every ball flying his way with sucker punches for returns. He is everywhere on the court, darting round while showing off his sheer class with a racket in his hand.

Mackenzie McDonald, Hamad Medjedovic, Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Bublik have all left the court powerless against the world number six. He is too looking to make it into a first Australian Open semi-final, which in turn would be a first Grand Slam last four appearance. De Minaur has made six prior quarter-finals, which has ended abruptly. He will be hoping for seventh time lucky.

If that is going to be the case, he will need to quicky figure out a game plan to take down Alcaraz. Five previous meetings on the ATP Tour have gone the way of the six-time Grand Slam champion. If the trend is to be debunked, then de Minaur needs to be at his absolute best to even have a chance against Alcaraz. He will have the crowd support on his side, with passionate Australian tennis fans cheering for every point he wins.