Lehecka stuns Auger-Aliassime; Tsitsipas survives scare

MELBOURNE: Stefanos Tsitsipas found another gear when it counted to fend off Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals in a rare win for the high seeds on Sunday.

A year after dumping Sinner out in the quarters at Melbourne Park, third seed Tsitsipas crushed the Italian's hopes of a great escape as he held firm to complete a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory at a heaving Rod Laver Arena.

With the Greek dominated for two sets as Sinner roared back into the match, Tsitsipas captured the decisive break in the sixth game of the decider before sealing it in style with a cross-court forehand winner.

The three-times Australian Open semi-finalist will meet unseeded 21-year-old Czech Jiri Lehecka for a place in the semi-finals.

Unseeded Czech Jiri Lehecka toppled sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals, as the exit of yet another big name left the Grand Slam thin on star power for its second week.

Auger-Aliassime, 22, broke in the third game on the way to taking the opening set in 35 minutes but a huge momentum shift saw unseeded Lehecka take control.

American Sebastian Korda reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time after defeating Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(10-7).

Korda, who dumped 2021 and 2022 runner-up Daniil Medvedev out in the third round, got off to a shaky start on Rod Laver Arena against 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Hurkacz but the 29th seed bounced back to take the second and third sets.

A dominant Karen Khachanov won the first 14 games before surging into his maiden Australian Open quarterfinals in a straight sets romp over Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.

The 18th seed swept past his racquet-smashing opponent 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (7/4) on John Cain Arena. Nishioka, seeded 31, was so out of touch in the opening two sets that he won just 13 points.

In set two, he managed only two points across six games in an embarrassing annihilation.

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