Australian Open 2025: Lys v Swiatek, Michelsen v De Minaur coming – live | Australian Open 2025

I’ve saved Shelton’s post-match interview for a quieter moment, so let’s do that. The interviewer tells him that Monfils “is almost your father”; “Is that a black joke?” the answer comes back.

Shelton laughs and says he’s been watching Monfils, who has “the greatest highlight reel ever,” since he was a little kid, and we saw some of his best work today. He hopes he can still walk without crutches at 38 and to play like he did today and entertain everyone is amazing and he hopes to make memories like that with his family when he’s that age .

He knew Monfils had played a lot of tennis so he wanted to make the match as physical as possible, but his opponent served so well and made him uncomfortable on the court.

Shelton is doing well in the majors now and asked why, he explains it’s a physical and mental test of who wants it more and he always backs it up when it comes down to it. Over five sets it feels like you have all the time in the world and he’s pretty fit so it works for him.

Navarro quickly makes 0-15 and then Kasatkina, who hit so freely moments ago, goes long after 0-30. But it’s soon 40-30 and set point, a T-serve follows, and even though the Russian then scores herself a goal at the net, Navarro wipes a forehand wide and must again play a third set if she is to advance! This is a belt match, level at one set apiece.

Swiatek breaks Lys the first time he asks in set two, and it’s borderline cruelty; she leads 6-0 2-0, while Kasatkina has broken Navarro for -6 6-5 and will now serve to win a decision! This is a really good match that deserves a third set, and I say that without any vested interest in my own entertainment.

A nice forehand gives Kasatkina advantage and then Navarro nets; a monstrous hold for the Russian, while the American may regret not going for more when he got up to match point. She leads 6-4 5-5.

…but Kasatkina invents a nice angle in the forehand, opens the lane before finishing in the opposite corner. No sooner have I written, however, than she has to go again, this time she saves herself with a big backhand and well-delivered overhead.

Kasatkina has a forehand, and with advantage Navarro has another match point…

On Cain, Navarro – at 6-4 5-4 – leads a leaping backhand winner to 30-all on the Kasatkina serve and moves two points away from victory. And although the Russian then does very well to set up and execute an overhead, two more fantastic passes mean she is match-point down; a net forehand return saves it for her.

Ben Shelton (21) beat Gaël Monfils 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 7-6(2) 1-0 retired

To the surprise of absolutely no one, probably not even Daria Kasatkina, Navarro soon makes it 15-40, then a long backhand restores parity at 4-4 in set two. My feeling is that at some point the American will do the needful as the ugly, more reliable competitor. Meanwhile at Laver, Swiatek looks out of another bagel set leading Lys 6-0, while on court Shelton has broken Monfils to 2-1 1-0.

about Cain, Kasatkina has stepped up and hit more aggressively from behind and Navarro doesn’t respond, broken at 3-4 in the second. But as I write, a beautiful forehand pass, hooked cross, makes her 0-15. These two go really well together.

Meanwhile in court, the melody of the championships is in full swing, Monfils has taken a break.

You are the voice, try to understand it
Make a noise and make it clear, oh, woah
We will not sit in silence
We don’t want to live in fear, oh, woah.

Exactly even now.

Swiatek is over Lys now, ahead 4-0 in no time at all as Kasatkina fights hard not to lose her serve again and saves a break point before Navarro swipes a backhand wide. The American leads 6-4 3-3.

Shelton makes it 6-2 and seems to have found his rhythm again his injured opponentopens the body to insert an inside-out forehand winner that breaks the sideline and he leads 7-6 6-7 7-6. It’s amazing that Monfils is still going.

Navarro is just a little too solid and a little too ugly for Kasatkina, I think. broke her back to lead 6-4 3-2.

Back on court, Shelton Monfils leads 4-2 in their third set breaker and if he sees it, can the Frenchman retreat? I could see him convincing himself he’s good for one more set, but two?

Light starts well, narrowly missing a backhand down the line that would have given her a break before Swiatek secures her hold through deuces. She’s never made it past the semifinals here, which is somehow surprising—the balls bounce slower and lower than on other hard courts, meaning the surface is more clayey than at Flushing Meadow, where she won in 2022. And though , in 2023 it took Elena Rybakina to beat her in Melbourme, last term it was Linda Noskova. I would be surprised if she got past Coco Gauff or Aryna Sabalenka, likely final opponents, but she has a good chance to get there as standing in her way is Kasatkina or Navarro and then Svitolina. She immediately breaks to 2-0.

It’s also busy in Sydney…

Monfils is a total freak of nature, barely able to run and yet Shelton gives plenty. His anticipation is incredible – his younger, fitter opponent is really struggling to keep the ball away from him – and we’re at 5-5 in set three, with the first two split in tiebreaks.

Eva Lys by the way. She was on the physio couch after being beaten in the final qualifying round by our old friend Destanee Aiava and then got word that Anna Kalinskaya had pulled out and she was on the field after 10 minutes. Three wins later, here we are: She’s at Laver, playing a night session against the No. 1 seed. 2, and she wins the first point of the match on return.

Kasatkina breaks Navarro in the first game of set two then fights back from 0-30 to secure her consolidation. It’s a really good competition.

On Laver, Lys and Swiatek are out.

Meanwhile in court, Gael Monfils, now 38, is serving at 1-1 3-4 against Ben Shelton, but he has injured a leg and is not moving freely. He does a decent job of hanging around and holding at 4-4, but I’m not sure he can win from this position.

about Cain, Navarro raced into an early lead but Kasatkina fought back and is now serving at 4-5 in the first and, as I write, finds herself 0-40 down; Kasatkina then claps long and the American takes a 41-minute first set 6-4.

Preamble