Sabalenka rolls into last eight as Alcaraz continues Melbourne bid

MELBOURNE — TikTok influencer and top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka is having to work her way through some rising teenage stars in her bid for a third Australian Open title in four years.

Sabalenka held off 19-year-old Vicky Mboko 6-1, 7-6 (1) at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday to advance to a quarterfinal match against 18-year-old Iva Jovic.

The 29-seeded Jovic overwhelmed Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes at John Cain Arena — with six service breaks and winning the first 10 games — to secure a spot in the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time.

"Obviously, she's No 1 for a reason and had so much success at this tournament," Jovic said of Sabalenka."But that's what I want — I said it last year, I hope to be able to play her this year, because you definitely want to play the best and see how it goes."

Coco Gauff, who was still a teenager when she won her first major title in 2023, is back into the quarterfinals in Australia for the third consecutive year after a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over No 19 Karolina Muchova. In a good omen for Gauff, her four previous wins over Muchova have been during runs to the title, including in the semifinals at the 2023 US Open.

No 1-ranked Carlos Alcaraz is also in the last 8 for the third straight year, continuing his bid for a career Grand Slam at age 22 with a 7-6 (6),6-4, 7-5 win over No 19-seeded Tommy Paul.

He's never gone past the last eight at Melbourne Park, the only one of the four Grand Slam venues where he hasn't won the title. That's a statistic he's determined to rectify, to the point where he's reworking his serve to look a little bit more in style with 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.

No 3 Alexander Zverev, the runner-up in Melbourne last year, beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 and will next meet 20-year-old Learner Tien, the youngest men's quarterfinalist in Australia since Nick Kyrgios in 2015. Tien, who needed treatment for a bloody nose after the third game, beat three-time Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.

Jovic has been getting some good advice from Djokovic, a 24-time major winner, during the tournament. He said he's been happy to help an up-and-coming star with Serbian heritage.

Jovic made it clear last year that she wanted a chance to play the World No 1. Now she'll get that chance.

Sabalenka, who has joked about waiting for a formal invitation to partner Djokovic in mixed doubles at a major, breezed through the first set in 31 minutes against Mboko but had some difficulty in the second.

Mboko saved match points and played well enough to beat many players, but not the two-time Australian Open champion.

"What an incredible player for such a young age," Sabalenka said of Mboko. "It's incredible to see these kids coming up on Tour. I can't believe I say that. I feel like I'm a kid!

"She pushed me so much, and I'm happy to be through," Sabalenka added in her on-court TV interview.

Sabalenka led the second set 4-1, and then failed to convert three match points while leading 5-4. Mboko slowly took momentum and forced a tiebreaker only for Sabalenka to dominate.

It was the 20th straight tiebreaker victory for Sabalenka.

"I try to — not to think this is a tiebreak and play point by point," said Sabalenka, who won back-to-back titles in Australia in 2023 and 2024 before losing last year's final to Madison Keys. "I guess that's the key to consistency."

Agencies via Xinhua