Rybakina ousts No. 1 Swiatek; Gauff's run ends

MELBOURNE: World number one Iga Swiatek crashed out of the Australian Open on Sunday after a 6-4, 6-4 defeat by Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Rod Laver Arena. Kazakhstan's Rybakina advanced to the quarter-finals of the season's opening Grand Slam for the first time with an impressive display against the misfiring Pole.

Rybakina, seeded 22nd, will face Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals.

The 17th seed Jelena Ostapenko stunned Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals after putting on a power-hitting clinic.

The Latvian has struggled to reach the heights of her French Open-winning days but the 17th seed simply overpowered the American at Margaret Court Arena.

Ostapenko was ruthless in the finish, unleashing a thumping forehand down the line to bring up match point, then clipping the line with a crosscourt forehand winner to give Gauff no chance.

Jessica Pegula surged into the quarterfinals in straight sets, but warned there was "still a long way to go" to win the title despite Iga Swiatek's exit leaving her the woman to beat.

The American third seed is the highest-ranked player left in the women's draw after beating former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-5, 6-2 in 1hr 41min.

Elena Rybakina's victory over Swiatek means the top two seeds in the men's and women's singles are out before the quarterfinals for the first time since the Open era began in 1968.

Pegula, 28, has never made it to a Grand Slam semifinal before, and didn't regard herself as the Australian Open favourite.

Pegula hit 20 winners to her opponent's 19, but crucially only made 20 unforced errors to Krejcikova's 36 as she reached her third quarter-final in a row at Melbourne Park.

Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka reached the quarterfinals after winning a bruising late-night encounter against China's Zhu Lin.

The 24th-seeded Belarusian won 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and will play Jessica Pegula.

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