On Tuesday, the Australian Open quarterfinals begin, featuring the remaining players with the dream of the title drawing closer. The day’s matchups include the highly anticipated rematch between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, their first meeting since the Olympic Games final, in a clash that could easily be a championship match.
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka aims to reinforce her impeccable tournament run and is the favourite to advance to the semifinals. Coco Gauff and Paula Badosa will face off in an open battle between two players with strong cases for moving forward.
Rod Laver Arena - Morning Session
The day at Rod Laver Arena kicks off with an evenly matched contest between Coco Gauff (No. 3) and Paula Badosa (No. 11). The American seeks to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the second consecutive year (fourth in her career). However, she faces a challenging opponent in Badosa, who seems to have fully returned to top form.
The Spaniard is aiming for her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance and comes off a straight-sets win against the talented Serbian Olga Danilovic. Their head-to-head record is tied at 3-3, though Gauff leads 3-1 on hard courts. Their most recent meeting was just a couple of months ago in the China Open semifinals, where Gauff emerged victorious and went on to claim the title.
World No. 2 Alexander Zverev takes the court in the second morning session, facing Tommy Paul, one of two Americans remaining in the men’s draw. World No. 11 Paul could secure a top-10 debut with a strong performance and is coming off a commanding 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He also holds a favourable 2-0 head-to-head record against Zverev.
The German, meanwhile, advanced past world No. 14 Ugo Humbert in a four-set match, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, marking the first set he has dropped in the tournament. ‘Sascha’ is looking to return to the Australian Open semifinals, as he did in 2024, in his ongoing pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title.
Rod Laver Arena - Night Sesion
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will return to the court to assert her dominance. She arrives brimming with confidence after a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory over Mirra Andreeva (No. 14). The teenager was considered one of the few capable of challenging Sabalenka, but the world No. 1 swept her aside with ease. Sabalenka will face former French Open champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the fourth time – her first since 2020.
Undoubtedly, the match of the day will feature 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz. This clash comes earlier than usual; in their previous seven encounters, they always met in semifinals or finals, the most recent being their Olympic Games gold medal battle in Paris 2024. Djokovic leads the head-to-head 4-3, but in Grand Slam meetings, Alcaraz holds a 2-1 advantage.
Alcaraz advanced to the quarterfinals after Jack Draper retired mid-match with the Spaniard leading 7-5, 6-1. The world No. 3 arrives with much less court time, having spent just 7 hours and 45 minutes compared to Djokovic’s 11 hours. The Serbian, however, has benefited from extended time on court, securing straight-set wins over Tomas Machac (26th seed) and Jiri Lehecka (24th seed), showcasing improved form compared to the earlier rounds.
Tomas Machac-
Zhang Zhizhen
15Hugo Nys-
15Edouard Roger-Vasselin
5Hao-Ching Chan-
5Lyudmyla Kichenok
Learner Tien
Lorenzo Sonego
9Daria Kasatkina
Olivia Gadecki-
Timea Babos-
Marcelo Arevalo
1Mate Pavic
16Leylah Fernandez-
11Julian Cash-
Ariel Behar-
2Erin Routliffe-
Sara Sorribes Tormo
15Beatriz Haddad Maia-
15Laura Siegemund
6Elena Rybakina
7Novak Djokovic
Andre Goransson-
Sem Verbeek
13Holger Rune
13Sander Gille-
13Jan Zielinski
6Harri Heliovaara-
mandoist18-01-2025