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AO Live: Aussie qualifier opens up on 'life-changing' money after career best performance
By SEN
Welcome to SEN.com.au's live blog for Day 8 of the Australian Open.
It's set to be a cracking day of tennis for what is now the middle Sunday of the tournament.
Both World No. 1s, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, will be in action at Rod Laver Arena due to the present smoke around Melbourne Park.
And that will lead into Alex de Minuar's blockbuster clash against the No. 10 seed Alexander Bulbik, with the Aussie looking to make back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at his home slam.
Make sure to keep up to date with all the big moments right here.
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But just hours from the match, SEN's Sam Groth broke the news that Osaka had withdrawn from the tournament, with it being confirmed she had injured her left abdominal injury.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.
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.
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
