Novak Djokovic appears to be like to keep away from an upset towards dwelling favorite Alex de Minaur after they meet within the fourth spherical Monday on the 2023 Australian Open. Additionally on Monday’s card is a Rod Laver Area showdown which can resolve the conflict of High-10 seeds Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune. And the People look to proceed their robust efficiency in Melbourne, the place Tommy Paul, J.J. Wolf, and Ben Shelton are all competing within the spherical of 16.
ATPTour.com appears to be like at what to look at on Day 8 at Melbourne Park as gamers bid for a quarter-final spot.
[4] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [22] Alex de Minaur (AUS)
With a possible tenth Australian Open crown in sight, the fourth seed should first get previous a difficult check underneath the lights on Rod Laver Area as dwelling hope de Minaur appears to be like to spoil the Serbian’s probabilities of their first assembly.
Djokovic, who hasn’t misplaced in Melbourne since 2018 (didn’t play in 2022), is bidding to report his twenty fifth consecutive match win on the Australian Open and equal his longest streak of victories on the season’s first Slam.
The 21-time main champion, who has handled a hamstring harm for the reason that ATP 250 occasion in Adelaide earlier this month, has dropped only one set by way of his first three matches and stays optimistic that the harm received’t hamper his title probabilities.
“It requires quite a lot of vitality that’s being spent from my aspect mentally and bodily,” Djokovic stated of his harm drawback that’s pressured him to play together with his left hamstring strapped this fortnight. “To cope with the match with my opponent and in addition not the best bodily state. It’s what it’s. It is a form of circumstance that it’s important to settle for. I am simply very grateful that I am really capable of play. The way in which it appeared simply earlier than the event began, I believed that it would not be attainable. I am nonetheless right here and nonetheless holding on.”
Ought to de Minaur stun Djokovic, the Aussie would equal his greatest Grand Slam efficiency (2020 US Open QFs). With the house crowd behind him, de Minaur has motive to imagine he can add to this 12 months’s Australian Open upset checklist. The Sydney native recorded his first victory towards a High-5 opponent in November, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev on the Rolex Paris Masters and adopted it up with a win towards Rafael Nadal on the season-opening United Cup.
[5] Andrey Rublev vs. [9] Holger Rune (DEN)
After each males cruised by way of their third-round matches, Monday’s contest is bound to be an exhilarating battle from the baseline. On Saturday, Rublev crushed 60 winners to take down Nice Britain’s Daniel Evans. The Danish teen will look to counter Rublev’s heavy-hitting together with his personal energy and precision.
Rublev is bidding to achieve the quarter-finals of a Slam for a seventh time and second Down Beneath. A four-time titlist this previous season, Rublev produced robust performances within the opening three rounds towards 2020 finalist Dominic Thiem, Emil Ruusuvuori, and Evans. Rublev is searching for revenge from this previous season, when Rune defeated him on the ATP Masters 1000 occasion in Paris en path to accumulating the most important title of his profession.
Rune, 19, hasn’t given up a set this event. {The teenager} is aiming to change into the youngest man to achieve the quarter-finals on the Australian Open since 1990 (Andrey Cherkasov). A 2022 Roland Garros quarter-finalist (l. Ruud), Rune is seeking to equal his greatest Grand Slam efficiency in simply his second look in Melbourne.
[24] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs. Tommy Paul (USA)
Though the Spaniard leads the ATP Head2Head sequence 3-1, ‘RBA’ will search revenge on Margaret Court docket Area after the American received their most up-to-date encounter on the Rolex Paris Masters.
Bautista Agut is bidding to achieve the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the second time and equal his greatest Australian Open outcome. Ought to he advance, he would change into the fifth Spanish man within the Open Period to achieve the quarter-finals on the Australian Open on a number of events (Nadal, Ferrer, Moya, Ferrero).
After cruising by way of the opening spherical, Bautista Agut got here again from two units to like right down to defeat American Brandon Holt and within the third around the 34-year-old wanted three hours, 29 minutes to outlive Andy Murray.
Paul appears to be like to hold his momentum from his Saturday victory, when he conceded simply eight video games to countryman Jenson Brooksby. The World No. 35, who has equalled his greatest Grand Slam outcome (Wimbledon 2022), is seeking to be a part of Sebastian Korda and the winner of Shelton and Wolf within the quarter-finals. The final time three People reached the final eight on the Australian Open was 2000 (Sampras, Agassi, Woodruff).
Ben Shelton (USA) vs. J.J. Wolf (USA)
The all-American conflict between Ben Shelton and J.J. Wolf options two former school standouts. The winner will change into the fourth man prior to now 20 years to achieve the quarter-finals on his Australian Open debut. With Sebastian Korda already by way of to the final eight, it’s assured that two American males will attain the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the primary time since 2007.
Shelton, who received the 2022 NCAA singles title on the College of Florida, hopes to proceed his dream run in simply his second Grand Slam look. After surviving a five-set opening spherical match towards Zhang Zhizhen, the American solidified victory in straight units towards Nicolas Jarry and Alexei Popyrin.
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Boasting a heavy serve and the flexibility to hit winners from all corners of the courtroom, Shelton would rise into the High 50 within the Pepperstone ATP Stay Rankings with a victory over his countryman. This previous season, the 20-year-old made fast progress on the ATP Challenger Tour and have become the youngest participant to win three Challenger titles (Charlottesville, Knoxville, Champaign) in as many weeks.
Wolf, 24, is aiming to enhance on what’s already his greatest main efficiency. The previous Ohio State College star has given up only one set all week en path to taking out Jordan Thompson, Diego Schwartzman, and Michael Mmoh.
In Doubles Motion…
High seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski kick off Kia Area motion towards Nikola Cacic and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. On Court docket 3, third seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Marcelo Arevalo meet Dutch duo Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop. 2020 Australian Open champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury proceed their title quest towards Polish group Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.