Spotless Pegula ends Keys’ Australian Open reign with serve of apple pie and cheese

26 janvier 2026 à 04:32

Sixth seed marches into quarter-finals with 6-3, 6-4 victory while the defending champion must pay forfeit agreed on with her podcast co-host

While speaking on a podcast before her big match against Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula was discussing their battle last January in the Adelaide final. Keys’s performance, Pegula recalled, had prompted Pegula to accurately predict to their mutual friends that Keys would win the Australian Open two weeks later. It is normal for players to discuss future opponents, but they do not usually do so in conversation with each other. With a chuckle, Keys interjected: “Jess is like, ‘I hope I don’t see that level [tomorrow].’”

She did not. Keys’s reign at the Australian Open came to a difficult end in the fourth round as the defending champion and ninth seed was crushed under the weight of her hefty unforced error count and a spotless performance from Pegula, the sixth seed, who marched into the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win. This was, in some ways, a historic match on Rod Laver Arena: the first grand slam singles match between two podcast co-hosts.

Iva Jovic walking in Venus Williams’ footsteps with Melbourne quarter-final date

The Guardian

Par :Tumaini Carayol at Melbourne Park

25 janvier 2026 à 16:51

US 18-year-old dismantles Putintseva in dazzling win
Alcaraz to face De Minaur in men’s quarter-finals

Iva Jovic became the youngest American woman to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open since Venus Williams in 1998, by dismantling the Kazakhstani veteran Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 on Sunday.

At 18, Jovic arrived in Melbourne as the youngest player inside the top 100 and the 27th seed has dominated all opposition, rolling through her four matches without dropping a set. Jovic’s third-round win against the No 7 seed, Jasmine Paolini, was the first top-20 win of her career. Still, Jovic rejected the notion that she is swinging freely with nothing to lose.

Carlos Alcaraz serves up lesson with Australian Open dismissal of Paul

The Guardian

Par :Tumaini Carayol at Melbourne Park

25 janvier 2026 à 13:04

World No 1 claims 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-5 victory over 19th seed
Player been making significant changes to service motion

Carlos Alcaraz spent the final 52 minutes of his fourth-round match at the Australian Open chasing down his prey, determined to convert his two-set lead into a straightforward win against Tommy Paul.

As he worked hard to secure the decisive break in set three, Alcaraz put together a flawless serving performance. He won 86% of his first serve points in the set, landing 76% of his first serves. He did not even come close to facing a break point, losing just five service points in total. Alcaraz, the world No 1, closed out his 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-5 win over the 19th seed Paul with an unreturned serve. He will play Australian Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals.

‘I feel like I’ll never be cold again’: How tennis stars coped with Melbourne heat | Tumaini Carayol

The Guardian

Par :Tumaini Carayol at Melbourne Park

24 janvier 2026 à 19:00

Extreme heat wreaked havoc on Australian Open schedule but tennis has changed its ways of dealing with the sun

Even before the first set and first hour of his match elapsed, Tomas Machac had asked the umpire for the tournament doctor, trainer and pickle juice, the drink du jour for tackling cramps. Those preventive measures taken in the intense early stages of his third-round tussle with Lorenzo Musetti proved to be sensible, for the pair would spend a brutal four hours, 25 minutes on court.

Four hours of that took place inside an open John Cain Arena, a furnace in suffocating heat. “We knew today was going to be really, really hot,” Musetti said. “I think I managed well to finish the match without cramping.”

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