Sinner, Swiatek eye quarterfinals at Australian Open

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek are eyeing a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday, while golden pair Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina hope to extend their family odyssey.

Defending champion Sinner broke through his third round match in straight sets, but his opponent Holger Rune was taken to five for the second time in three matches.

The 13th seed from Denmark will need to recover quickly before an afternoon meeting against Sinner in the heat of the Rod Laver Arena, where temperatures are expected to reach the 30s for the second day in a row.

“I will raise my level in the next round’s match,” warned Sinner.

Lucky loser Eva Lys had to cancel her flight out of Melbourne after her surprise run to the round of 16, but she faces a ferocious Swiatek in the evening session.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek did not face a single break point in either of his previous two wins in Melbourne and is in serious mood to challenge for a first Australian Open title.

The Pole brutally disposed of 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-0 in the third round.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the match,” said Germany’s world number 128 Lys, the first lucky women’s loser to reach the fourth round since the event moved to Melbourne Park 37 years ago.

“I’m just going to go out and enjoy.”

Svitolina and husband Monfils both beat the world number four to reach the fourth round on a super Saturday for the happy couple.

Monfils, 38, stunned Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 and Svitolina followed him on to Margaret Court Arena to see off Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 6-4, 6 – 0.

Ukraine’s Svitolina kicks off today’s action at Rod Laver Arena against Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova.

French veteran Monfils has a later engagement against American 21st seed Ben Shelton.

Svitolina and Monfils got married in 2021 and had a daughter in 2022.

“Most of the big tournaments we have each other by our side. It means a lot to have someone who understands what I’m going through,” Svitolina said.

Home hope Alex de Minaur, the eighth seed, rounds off the match on center court against Alex Michelsen of the USA in a night match with a potential quarter-final against the Sinner prize.

Should Monfils win, he could face teenager Learner Tien, who at 19 is half his age.

American Tien, who shocked Daniil Medvedev in a late-night five-set thriller, faces Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.

In other round-four women’s singles matches, sixth seed and former finalist Elena Rybakina takes on American Madison Keys.

Rybakina is under an injury cloud after a back spasm on Saturday and said: “It’s not good. I’m going to see my physio and hopefully he’ll do some magic.”

Eighth-seeded American Emma Navarro, who has been taken to three sets in every match so far, will look to outlast Russian ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina.

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