Quick Served: Australian Open Day 9
Apologies, Lorenzo Musetti. Also, can Iva Jovic win the tournament?
Week 2 got underway and now that we don’t have a million matches to discuss, Andy can dig deeper into the results and the blockbuster matchups on deck. Find out what to look for going into the popcorn end of the tournament, starting with Aryna Sabalenka [1] versus Iva Jovic today.
Did you catch Andy in the live chat last night? Keep an eye on Served’s socials for more live chat links and announcements.
Bracket Savers
No upsets again, but the day didn’t disappoint.
Apologies to Lorenzo Musetti [5] for underestimating him. Andy thought he would bow out to Taylor Fritz [9], but the Italian won in straight sets. Fritz struggled with injuries that nearly kept him out of the tournament altogether, but credit to Musetti, who has a legitimate chance to leave Melbourne as the World No. 3.
Also, the 23-year-old is now the third player under 26 (along with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner) to make the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slams.
Next up for Musetti is Novak Djokovic [4], who got through on a walkover when Jakub Mensik [16] withdrew ahead of their fourth-round match.
“Novak couldn’t have drawn it up any better. Turned it into a five-day tourney instead of a two-week one. His body will be completely reset with so little tennis and this much rest in between.” —Andy in the Served live chat
More Notable Results
Iga Swiatek [2] def. Maddison Inglis [Q] 6-0, 6-3
Jannik Sinner [2] def. Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-3, 7-6
Elena Rybakina [5] def. Elise Mertens [21] 6-1, 6-3
Jessica Pegula [6] def. Madison Keys [9] 6-3, 6-4
Ben Shelton [8] def. Casper Ruud [12] 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
Petr Nouza/Patrick Rikl def. Henry Patten/Harri Heliovaara [2]
Hsieh Su-Wei/Jelena Ostapenko [3] def. Sofia Kenin/Laura Siegemund [13]
Kimberly Birrell/Talia Gibson [WC] def. Kristina Mladenovic/Guo Hanyu [16]
Quiet Assassinistas
While Aryna Sabalenka [1], Iva Jovic and Naomi Osaka [16] dominated headlines in Week 1, other seeds were slicing through it with no mercy. Elena Rybakina [5], Jessica Pegula [6] and Elina Svitolina [12] have yet to drop a set.
Rybakina and Iga Swiatek [2], in particular, haven’t sparked much conversation yet, but Andy has his eye on both of them ahead of their heavyweight quarterfinal clash tomorrow.
Amanda Anisimova [4] also takes a spotless 8-0 set record going into the quarterfinal against Pegula. But she had her hands full with Wang Xinyu last night, a high-quality slugfest that Anisimova won 7-6, 6-4.
After losing to Pegula, Madison Keys [9] had a thoughtful analysis of Pegula’s form and the threat she poses on the quick daytime courts.
“Jess does a really good job taking time away. She redirects incredibly well … and she hits a lot of very deep balls. So you can’t really do a lot with them … or you have to take a little bit more of a risk because she does a really good job pushing people off their baseline as she is slowly taking her baseline. … At the same token, she hits very flat and low. So especially on a court like here where the ball’s not bouncing super high and the ball’s going through the court pretty quickly, it’s not super easy to try to lift the ball or slow it down. That’s always been, in my opinion, her superpower.” —Madison Keys in her press conference
Sinner vs. Shelton Preview
Jannik Sinner versus Ben Shelton—Benner? SinBen?—is happening. It’s a rematch of their quarterfinal last year, which Sinner won 7-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Big Ben is hyped about taking another shot at the defending champ.
“I wanted to improve on some things I didn’t do last year and leave it all out on the court. I have a lot more that I want to do here and I have a lot more to prove. So I hope you guys come back in two days’ time, because I’ll be ready to go.” —Ben Shelton in his on-court interview last night
Andy spends quality time breaking down the match’s Ps and Qs—chiefly, what Shelton can do when Sinner makes him beat him with his backhand.
Perfect Delivery
A tip of the hat to Maddison Inglis, an Aussie qualifier who thrilled the fans by making the fourth round before falling to Iga Swiatek yesterday. Inglis’s plans for her AU$480,000 prize money are … modest.
“I’ve wanted a Smeg toaster for so long, so long, that I just was, like, no you can’t do that. So I think that’s going to be my treat, and maybe the kettle, too.” —Maddison Inglis in her press conference
Inglis is engaged to fellow Aussie Jason Kubler. Someone buy them a Smeg toaster for their wedding.
Today’s episode includes a bonus Perfect Delivery—Madison Keys’s healthy perspective after failing to defend her title.
6
Top seeds in both draws through to the quarterfinals, an Open Era record
In the 58 years of open professional tennis, someone always got upset before the quarterfinals. According to The Athletic, the last time the top six women stayed alive was the 1998 US Open, and for the men, the 2024 Australian Open.
Marquee Madness
The quarterfinals begin today for both men and women. Here are all the matchups with head-to-heads.
Aryna Sabalenka vs. Iva Jovic—first meeting
Iga Swiatek vs. Elena Rybakina—Swiatek leads 6–5
Coco Gauff vs. Elina Svitolina —Gauff leads 2–1
Amanda Anisimova vs. Jessica Pegula—Pegula leads 3–0
Carlos Alcaraz vs. Alex de Minaur—Alcaraz leads 5–0
Jannik Sinner vs. Ben Shelton—Sinner leads 8–1
Alexander Zverev vs. Learner Tien—tied 1–1
Novak Djokovic vs. Lorenzo Musetti—Djokovic leads 9–1
🍿 Day 10 Matches
Aryna Sabalenka [1] vs. Iva Jovic [29]
Carlos Alcaraz [1] vs. Alex de Minaur [6]
Coco Gauff [3] vs. Elina Svitolina [12]
Alexander Zverev [3] vs. Learner Tien [25]
Elise Mertens/Zhang Shuai [4] vs. Hailey Baptiste/Peyton Stearns
Sadio Doumbia/Fabian Reboul [12] vs. Jason Kubler/Marc Polmans [WC]
🗨️ Join us in the Substack chat at the start of the day session!
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