MELBOURNE: One champion survived and another succumbed at the Australian Open on Monday as Jannik Sinner reached the quarter-finals after women’s holder Madison Keys crashed out at the hands of friend Jessica Pegula as Melbourne braced for forecast 45C heat.
Sinner became the second Italian into the last eight after Lorenzo Musetti battled stifling conditions and beat an injury-hampered Taylor Fritz to set up a last-eight showdown with Novak Djokovic, while Iga Swiatek sent the last Australian out of the women’s draw with a 6-0, 6-3 thumping of qualifier Maddison Inglis.
Two days after suffering dramatic cramps in a third round scare against Eliot Spizzirri, Sinner rebounded with 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) win over fellow Italian and close friend Luciano Darderi as the heat returned to Melbourne Park.
With the sun having retreated in the late afternoon, the double-defending champion was relieved to play in the shade at Margaret Court Arena on a day when temperatures reached 33C.
“It’s definitely a bit different when there is no sun, even if it’s quite warm outside still,” said Sinner, who booked his ninth successive Grand Slam quarter-final. “It was difficult to put the match away, happy I closed it in three sets. So I felt quite good out there physically. Everything was okay today.”
Sinner sent down a bumper 19 aces in the match, and said his hard work had paid off. “Still room to improve but happy how I have come back in the new season,” he added.
Sinner will next meet American eighth seed Ben Shelton, who stepped in for the absent Djokovic and overhauled 12th seed Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the late match at Rod Laver Arena.
Shelton lost to Sinner in last year’s semi-finals, one of a run of eight successive defeats to the Italian.
A year after hoisting the women’s trophy with a brilliant win over Aryna Sabalenka, Keys’ title defence ended with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to sixth seed Pegula.
Good friends with Pegula, with whom she does a podcast “The Player’s Box”, Keys promised to honour a pre-match wager by eating a cheese-smothered apple pie.
“A bet is a bet, so I’ll do it. I hope it’s less gross than I think it’s going to be, but we will find out,” said Keys, who described herself as proud despite defeat.
Pegula is chasing an elusive Grand Slam title aged 31, her best performance to date reaching the US Open final in 2024.
An erratic Keys made 27 unforced errors to Pegula’s 17 and fired down six double faults as her title defence folded.
Pegula reached her fourth quarter-final at Melbourne Park and will meet Amanda Anisimova, who made it four US players in the women’s final eight after beating China’s Wang Xinyu.
Fourth seed Anisimova, beaten finalist at last year’s US Open and Wimbledon, cooled herself off with bags of ice before taming Wang 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
Second seed Swiatek will face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the other quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw, the resurgent Kazakh having blitzed Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-3.
Swiatek demolished home qualifier Inglis as she closes on a first Australian crown, having won all three of the other majors.
Inglis, ranked 168, was in the biggest match of her life after two-time Melbourne champion Naomi Osaka pulled out injured from their third-round meeting.
Just being in the fourth round earned Inglis a life-changing Aus$480,000 (US$330,000) — she plans to buy a toaster and a kettle with the windfall.
MANY BATTLES
After brutal weather caused the suspension of matches on Saturday, temperatures rose sharply again.
Longer matches on Monday had 10-minute breaks in certain circumstances as part of measures to protect player health.
Temperatures are forecast to hit a blistering 45C on Tuesday, meaning matches are likely to be played under roofs on the three courts that have them.
Musetti had revenge on his mind after losing to Fritz at the ATP Finals in November, and the fifth-seeded Italian delivered, winning 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his first Australian Open quarter-finals.
“Honestly, I feel very proud. I know Taylor very well, we’ve played many matches, many battles. And last time in Turin he was the winner,” Musetti said. “I came here with a different mentality and I think I made one of my best performances.”
Musetti’s reward is a blockbuster clash against 10-times champion Djokovic, who will be as fresh as he can be after a three-day break.
The Serbian great had a walkover when fourth round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew with injury.
Djokovic has won nine of their 10 previous meetings, but Musetti said: “I feel ready to try to push him to his maximum.”
Fritz also bowed out sore and sorry, saying he had aggravated knee and abdominal issues during his previous win over Stan Wawrinka.
“Today I was feeling it from the get-go,” he said.
Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2026
