Medvedev, Cornet Through To Quarters

MELBOURNE, Jan 24: An agitated Daniil Medvedev teed off at the chair umpire and lost his cool in the heat before steadying to claim a 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-5 win over Maxime Cressy and book his second Australian Open quarter-final on Monday.

The Russian second seed found the American serve-and-volley exponent a tough nut to crack at Margaret Court Arena and his frustration spilled over after losing the third set.

Apparently refused a request to leave the court to freshen up, Medvedev barked at the French chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein and complained that Cressy was spending too much time between serves.

Medvedev's frustration only grew as eight break points slipped through his fingers in the fourth set before he finally slipped a forehand past the American in the 11th game to take his serve.

Medvedev wrapped up proceedings with a slew of huge serves before stepping in to thrash a forehand winner on match point.

Last year's finalist, Medvedev next meets Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the semi-finals.

Jannik Sinner raised the Italian flag high over Melbourne Park, knocking out home hope Alex de Minaur 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4 to join compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals.

It is the first time since Paolo Bertolucci and Adriano Panatta at Roland Garros in 1973 that two Italian men have reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam.

Sinner, who also reached the last eight at the French Open in 2020, played superbly in a high quality match at Rod Laver Arena, taking control after the first set tiebreak.

Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime earned a quarter-final berth when he outlasted veteran Croatian Marin Cilic 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2, 7-6(4).

Alize Cornet survived stifling heat to outlast former world number one Simona Halep 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a battle of attrition, advancing to her first Grand Slam quarter-final where she will meet Danielle Collins.

By reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, Cornet has also set a new record for most majors played before reaching one. Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand held the prior record, achieving the feat in her 45th at Wimbledon in 2008. Cornet is also the first Frenchwoman to reach an Australian Open quarterfinal since 2009.

Collins earlier became the third American woman after Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula to reach the quarters of this year's event after she overhauled Elise Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Danielle Collins won a battle of attrition in scorching heat to overhaul Elise Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and book her second quarter-final at the Australian Open.

In a gruelling clash of former semi-finalists, the American 27th seed snatched the win with a barrage of power hitting as Mertens served to stay in the match.

Polish tennis ace Iga Swiatek dropped her first set of the Australian Open, but rallied to beat Sorana Cirstea of Romania 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach her first quarterfinal.

Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion and No.7 seed here, is into her first Grand Slam quarterfinal outside of Paris, where she also reached the quarterfinal in 2021. However, world No.38 Cirstea competed well before the 20-year-old Swiatek ultimately triumphed in a 2-hour and 28-minute contest.

Swiatek was the only player last season to make the fourth round or better at all four Grand Slam events. Despite being pushed hard by Cirstea, Swiatek now has a 29-2 win-loss record against opponents ranked outside the top-30 in her Grand Slam history.

Also read: Barty to face Pegula in quarters

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