Djokovic through to quarter finals after opponent withdraws from AO

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DAY 8 RECAP

Alex de Minaur has claimed a spot in the last eight of the Australian Open following a scintillating win against Alexander Bublik.

The World No. 6 did so in straight sets (6-4, 6-1, 6-1) with the Kazakhstani unable to find any answers.

Without having to play a point, Novak Djokovic has made his way into the quarters with his opponent, Jakub Mensik, withdrawing from the tournament with an abdominal muscle injury.

American young guns Iva Jovic, Coco Gauff and Learner Tien have continued their runs at the AO with impressive wins.

No. 12 seed Ukrainian Elina Svitolina has also kept her chances of claiming the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy following her victory against No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva.

And World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has responded to claims made by Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Oliynykova, with the Belarusian reiterating her pro-peace stance.

See all the big moments below.

10:14pm DJOKOVIC THROUGH TO THE QUARTERS

No. 16 seed Jakub Mensik has withdrawn from the Australian Open, which gives Novak Djokovic a spot in the last eight.

The 20-year-old announced the decision on his Instagram story, confirming he had suffered an abdominal muscle injury.

The Czech Republic No. 1 had come into Melbourne Park with some form, having won an ATP 250 event in Auckland the week before.

Djokovic has not lost a quarter-final at the Australian Open since 2014.

11:28pm SVITOLINA MAKES IT BACK TO BACK QFs

Elina Svitolina has made back-to-back quarter-final appearances at the Australian Open.

The No. 12 seed defeated Russian (and No. 8 seed) Mirra Andreeva 6-2, 6-4 out on Rod Laver Arena.

She'll play against Coco Gauff for a spot in the semi-finals.

10:34pm TIEN CONTINUES AO LOVE AFFAIR

While most of the attention from an Australian point of view will have been on Alex de Minaur's win, there was another win that was equally dominant just next door.

Over on Margaret Court Arena, No. 25 seed Learner Tien knocked out 2022 AO Finalist Daniil Medvedev in straight sets 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.

Similar to de Minaur's match, it was a tight first set before the floodgates opened in the second.

And the third appeared to be heading in a similar direction with Tien going up 4-nil.

The World No.12 put up some resistance, having broken the 20-year-old serve to get to 4-3.

But the American got the break to win the match and make his first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final.

His previous best at a major was a fourth round appearance at last year's AO. In fact, seven of his eight Grand Slam wins have been at Melbourne Park.

He will now play No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, whom he has beaten on a hard court surface.

9:07pm DE MINAUR PUTS ON AN ABSOLUTE PERFORMANCE

If that wasn't his best win at the Australian Open, then I don't know what is.

Alex de Minaur has beaten No. 10 seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.

Every set, he got better and better. And considering that in their last match, the Kazakhstani had previously come back to beat de Minaur from two sets down to win at Roland Garros, there was always the possibility of it going pear-shaped.

But it didn't.

There had been so many question marks about whether the World No. 6 could beat these seeded opponents in his home slam, considering he had only done it once at an Australian Open prior to this year.

And in an hour and 32 minutes, he has quashed those concerns completely.

And now Carlos Alcaraz awaits in what'll be a blockbuster of a quarter-final.

8:20pm DEMON CONTINUES TO RUN RIOT

Alex de Minaur is looking unstoppable at the moment.

He's now two sets ahead in the space of an hour, having just won the second 6-1.

And SEN Tennis' Brett Phillips couldn't be happier about how the Australian is playing.

Phillips: "Alex de Minaur couldn't be in a better position than what he is right now."

"His game to lose."

Bublik is struggling to find any answers at the moment. He hit 13 unforced errors in that set and is looking lost.

And he's already been broken in the third set with the World No. 6 yet to serve. This is getting grim.

8:05pm THE STAT IN THE DEMON'S FAVOUR

If history is anything to go by, then Alex de Minaur is all but assured a spot in the quarter finals at the AO following his first set win.

SEN Tennis' Brett Phillips has noted that when the World No. 6 wins the opening set at his home slam, he is yet to lose a match.

Phillips: "(de Minaur) is 16 and 0 when he's won the first set here at the AO."

The Australian will certainly be hoping to make it 17-0 tonight.

And after breaking Alexander Bublik to now be leading 3-love in the second, he is certainly on his way.

7:55pm DEMON GETS THE ALL IMPORTANT BREAK AND OPENING SET

Alex de Minaur has got the start he has wanted.

With a lead of 5-4 in the first set, he went up 40-15, creating the first break point opportunity of the match.

Bublik responded with a 212km/h ace to save the first point. But he's tried to go for it again, and he ends up double faulting.

It's a one-set lead for the Australian.

7:45pm TIEN LEARNING RATHER FAST

After a close first set, Learner Tien has proceeded to run riot in the second against Daniil Medvedev.

The American created three break point chances. And he converted them all to give the Russian a bagel.

But don't count out the No. 11 seed just yet. In his last match, he found himself two sets down and found a way to still progress.

7:37pm ZVEREV SECURES LAST 8 SPOT

A regulation win for the No. 3 seed out on John Cain Arena.

Alexander Zverev has beaten Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

While it might be the end of the Argentine's run here at the AO, his fourth round exit marks his best performance at a Grand Slam.

For the German, he's looking to go one better after making his maiden Aus Open final last year.

7:23pm TIEN CONTINUES HIS DOMINANCE OVER MEDVEDEV

Learner Tien is off the mark with an opening set win against Daniil Medvedev (6-4).

The No. 25 seed got a break of serve in the first game of the match.

The American has the head-to-head record against the 2021 US Open Champion, which includes a victory at Melbourne Park from last year.

7:13pm THE DEMON HAS HIT RLA

We're just moments away from Alex de Minaur beginning his fourth round clash against No. 10 seed Alexander Bublik.

De Minaur will be serving first.

7:04pm ZVEREV NEARS QUARTER FINAL SPOT

It's going to be a tough ask for Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo to get past Alexander Zverev.

The German is now two sets ahead (6-2, 6-4) on John Cain Arena and looks likely to book his third straight quarter-final at the AO.

He'll play either Daniil Medvedev or Learner Tien, which is taking place on Margaret Court Arena.

6:23pm DAY 9 SCHEDULE RELEASED

Maddison Inglis will finally get her shot out on Rod Laver Arena with Tennis Australia confirming the singles schedule for Day 9.

Having been initially scheduled to play Naomi Osaka for the third round on Saturday at the same venue, the qualifier was given a walkover as the two-time AO champion pulled out after a left abdominal injury just hours before the match.

Now, she'll open the night session on centre court against World No.2 Iga Swiatek. The West Aussie will be looking to become the first Aussie woman since Ash Barty to make the final eight at the Aus Open.

That will be followed by Novak Djokovic, who plays No. 16 seed Jakub Mensik.

For the day session, it's going to be an American-fest with No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula and reigning AO champ Madison Keys versing one another before Taylor Fritz plays Lorenzo Musetti.

On Margaret Court Arena, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina takes on Belgium's Elise Mertens.

After that, it's an Italian clash that would make Richie Benaud proud with No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner against No. 22 Luciano Darderi.

And on John Cain Arena, Amanda Anisimova faces off against China's Xinyu Wang while fellow American Ben Shelton plays Casper Ruud.

6:08pm GAUFF CLAIMS LAST 8 SPOT

And it's Coco Gauff who gets the all important third set.

After losing the second set, the No. 3 seed has responded to claim the deciding set 6-3 and a place in the quarter finals.

While her opponent Karolina Muchova got better as the rally progressed, the American was really good as winning points early on.

It's the third time the 21-year-old has made the last eight at Melbourne Park.

5:56pm ATTENDANCE FOR DAY 8 (DAY SESSION)

63,067 people have attended the day session of the middle Sunday session at Melbourne Park.

That breaks the previous record from 2024 by 7907.

5:37pm MUCHOVA STRIKES BACK

Anything Coco Gauff can do, Karolina Muchova can do as well.

Having lost the first set to the American (6-1), which included being down 5-0, the Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova has responded to take this fourth round match into a third set.

The 2021 AO semifinalist proceeded to force eight return errors out of the No. 3 seed to break her first three service games of the set.

This would see the No. 19 seed lead by 5-0 before winning the set 6-3.

We're on for an absolute belter of a match on Margaret Court Arena.

4:40pm GAUFF OFF TO A FLYER

Coco Gauff has continued the American dominance in the women's singles draw that Iva Jovic started on Day 8.

While she didn't bagel her opponent like Jovic did in the first set, it was a similar domination with Gauff having gone 5-0 against Karolina Muchova before winning the set 6-1.

If the No. 3 seed can win the next set, she would equal her run at last year's AO.

4:30pm ALCARAZ EQUALS CAREER BEST AO PERFORMANCE

And for the third time in his career, Carlos Alcaraz has made it through to the quarterfinals of the AO.

He does so in straight sets, having won 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 7-5 against American and No. 19 seed Tommy Paul.

After outlasting Paul in the first set tiebreak, the 22-year-old improved throughout the match, which sees him through.

He'll have to wait until tonight to find out who he faces in the last eight. That will either be Alex de Minaur or Alexander Bulbik.

4:04pm ALCARAZ ON THE VERGE OF QUARTERFINAL

A break in the third game of the second set has helped Carlos Alcaraz take a 2-nil set lead in his match against American Tommy Paul.

The World No. 1 looked a lot better after getting off to a much better start compared to the opening set.

That was evident in points won on second serve, with Alcaraz winning 82% (nine of his 11) compared to Paul's 55% (six of his 11).

3:20pm WORLD NO. 1 REITERATES PRO-PEACE STANCE

Once again, Aryna Sabalenka has stated that she is pro-peace after being criticised by a Ukrainian player.

This comes after World No. 92 Oleksandra Oliynykova called the World No.1 "a supporter of a bloody dictator" in reference to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on her Instagram story.

She would also criticise Gucci after the fashion brand announced Sabalenka as one of their global ambassadors during the tournament.

Oliynykova has previously referred to Sabalenka during the AO alongside other Russian and Belarusian players as 'dangerous'.

"I am living alongside dangerous people, she said to Ben Rothenburg's Bounces. "And their actions are dangerous."

"I'm talking about the world No 1. Did you know that she signed the list supporting Lukashenko in 2020 during the protests in Belarus when the streets were covered in blood.

"She signed it and declared Lukashenko was her president."

Speaking in her press conference after her fourth round win against Victoria Mboko, the Belarusian reconfirmed her stance.

"I respect that everyone is allowed to have their opinion and use their platforms," she said.

"I've been clear before that I'm pro-peace.

"Nothing has changed. That's all I can say about that."

2:58pm ALCARAZ SECURES OPENER

And Carlos Alcaraz gets it done.

He didn't have to do anything for it, with Tommy Paul double faulting at the worst possible time to hand the World No.1 the opening set.

The World No. 1 wins the tiebreak 8-6.

2:48pm TIEBREAK PLACED ON PAUSE

The World No.1 is certainly being tested out on Rod Laver Arena.

Against American Tommy Paul, Carlos Alcaraz has been pushed in the opening set with a tiebreak now being required.

The No. 19 seed got the perfect start, having broken the Spaniard in the first game of the match.

But the 22-year-old held his nerve and got a break of his own in the eighth game.

Both players avoided breaks on their serve through the opening six points to see the tiebreak sit at 3-3.

However, we've got a delay at Rod Laver Arena with a fan requiring some medical attention.

Let's hope that the person affected is okay.

2:30pm 18-YEAR-OLD THROUGH TO QUARTER FINALS

All Yulia Putintseva could do was shake her head in disbelief after that.

Iva Jovic has reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal in one of the most dominant displays of tennis you'll see.

She has won her fourth round match against Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 in the space of 53 minutes at John Cain Arena.

The 18-year-old restricted the Kazakhstani to just four winners for the match (compared to Jovic's 17), which shows how much the American dictated the tempo.

But now, the No. 29 seed will face the biggest test of her career in the quarterfinals as she faces the World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.

2:16pm JOVIC ON FIRE

Wow.

Iva Jovic is running amok out on John Cain Arena against Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva.

Within 43 minutes, the 18-year-old American has bagelled her opponent in the first set and is now 4-0 up in the second.

It's the type of performance you would expect in the first round, not in the Round of 16. And one you'd expect this from someone far more experienced than Jovic.

And to think that before this, she had never progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam.

Insane stuff.

1:10pm MBOKO NO MATCH FOR SABALENKA

In her first-ever match-up against Victoria Mboko, Aryna Sabalenka has beaten the Canadian in straight sets to make the quarter-finals.

The World No. 1 got the job done in just under 90 minutes after having blitzed the No. 17 seed in the first set to win 6-1.

The second set was on a similar trajectory with the Belarusian getting out to a 4-1 lead.

But the teenager fought back to send the match into a tie-breaker.

However, Sabalenka's experience would prevail, having won that tie break 7-1.

1:00pm AO ACHIEVES HISTORIC FIRST WITH MEN'S DRAW

While it's been a historic AO off the court with the tournament hurtling towards another record attendance, there has also been some history created on the court.

For the first time in Grand Slam history (during the Open era), all 16 men remaining in the draw are seeded.

In fact, out of the top ten seeds, only Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 7) has been knocked out showing how dominant the top players have been at Melbourne Park.

That will change by tonight thou as one of Alex de Minaur (No. 6 seed) or Alexander Bulbik (No. 10) will have their AO campaign end tonight.

While in the women's, there are three unseeded players still remaining.

12:29pm AUSSIE QUALIFIER OPENS UP ON LIFE CHANGING PAY DAY

Maddison Inglis is still in some disbelief that she is through to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

After making it through qualifying, the 28-year-old has continued her incredible run throughout the first week of the AO, having won her first and second round matches.

That would set up a massive clash against two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka to be played on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.

But just hours from the match, SEN's Sam Groth broke the news that Osaka had withdrawn from the tournament, with it being confirmed she had injured her left abdominal injury.

That saw the Western Australian through to the Round of 16, which is something that she still cannot believe.

Particularly given that it now means that she'll at least walk away with just under half a million dollars.

"It's honestly unbelievable, it's like a dream," she said on Channel 9.

"That money is life-changing. When I saw that first round qualifying was $40,000, I thought that's amazing."

With the walkover, it also sees Inglis' live ranking jump to 113, which is one shy of her career best since turning pro.

She now faces World No. 2 Iga Swiatek on Monday.

11:55am STAN THE MAN CELEBRATES FINAL AO IN STYLE

Stan Wawrinka has officially played his last match at the Australian Open and has celebrated in a traditional Aussie way.

The 2014 AO Champion saw his campaign come to an end after losing to American Taylor Fritz on John Cain Arena.

The Swiss maestro had his chances throughout the match, having sent the first set into a tie break (which he lost 7-5) and then winning the second set 6-2.

However, Wawrinka's age would catch up with him during the third and fourth sets, which saw him bow out.

Having previously announced that 2026 would be his last year on tour, the 40-year-old would get somewhat emotional as he spoke to the crowd, thanking them for their support.

But, it ended on a happy note for the former World No. 3 as he and Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley had a post match beer on court - a callback to how he planned on celebrating his second round win against French qualifier Arthur Gea.

11:20am DJOKOVIC APOLOGIES TO BALLKID OVER NEAR DISQUALIFICATION

The 10-time Australian Open champion almost saw his bid for an 11th title go up in smoke overnight in his third round match against Botic van de Zandschulp at Rod Laver Arena.

During the seventh game of the second set of that match (which he won in straight sets), Djokovic lost a point and reacted by hitting the ball.

That ball was hit in the direction of the ballkid crouching at the net, with it just sailing over her head.

This prompted the chair umpire to give the Serbian a stern stare.

Following the conclusion of the match, Djokovic would apologise, saying that it was not necessary.

"Yeah, I apologised for that," he said in his press conference.

"That was not necessary, and in the heat of the moment.

"I was lucky there, and I'm sorry for causing any distress to the ballkid or anybody."

It's not the first time that he has had issues with a misdirected hit.

During the 2020 US Open, the Serbian was disqualified after accidentally hitting a ball that struck a line judge.

He now faces the Czech Republic's Jakub Mensik in the fourth round.

Image credit: Channel 9