By Ian Ransom and Shrivathsa Sridhar
MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) – One champion survived and another succumbed at the Australian Open on Monday as Jannik Sinner reached the quarter-finals after women’s holder Madison Keys crashed out at the hands of friend Jessica Pegula.
Sinner became the second Italian into the last eight after Lorenzo Musetti beat an injury-hampered Taylor Fritz, while Iga Swiatek sent the last Australian out of the women’s draw with a 6-0 6-3 thumping of qualifier Maddison Inglis.
Two days after suffering dramatic cramps in a third round scare against Eliot Spizzirri, Sinner rebounded with a 6-1 6-3 7-6(2) win over fellow Italian Luciano Darderi as the heat returned to Melbourne Park.
With the sun having retreated in the late afternoon, the double-defending champion was relieved to play in the shade at Margaret Court Arena on a day when temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius (94F).
“It’s definitely a bit different when there is no sun, even if it’s quite warm outside still,” said Sinner, who booked his ninth successive Grand Slam quarter-final.
“So I felt quite good out there physically. Everything was okay today.”
Sinner will next meet American eighth seed Ben Shelton, who stepped in for the absent Novak Djokovic and overhauled 12th seed Casper Ruud 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 in the late match at Rod Laver Arena.
Shelton lost to Sinner in last year’s semi-finals, one of a run of eight successive defeats to the Italian.
A year after hoisting the women’s trophy with a brilliant win over Aryna Sabalenka, Keys’ title defence ended with a 6-3 6-4 loss to sixth seed Pegula.
Good friends with Pegula, with whom she does a podcast, Keys promised to honour a pre-match wager by eating a cheese-smothered apple pie.
“A bet is a bet, so I’ll do it,” said the ninth seed.
Pegula reached her fourth quarter-final at Melbourne Park and will meet Amanda Anisimova, who made it four U.S. players in the women’s final eight after beating China’s Wang Xinyu 7-6(4) 6-4.
Second seed Swiatek will face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the other quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw, the resurgent Kazakh having blitzed Elise Mertens 6-1 6-3.
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Musetti had revenge on his mind after losing to Fritz at the ATP Finals in November, and the fifth-seeded Italian delivered, winning 6-2 7-5 6-4 to reach his first Australian Open quarter-finals.
“Honestly, I feel very proud. I know Taylor very well, we’ve played many matches, many battles. And last time in Turin he was the winner,” Musetti said.
“I came here with a different mentality and I think I made one of my best performances.”
Musetti’s reward is a blockbuster clash against 10-times champion Djokovic, who will be as fresh as he can be after a three-day break.
The Serbian great had a walkover when fourth round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew with injury.
Fritz also bowed out sore and sorry, saying he had aggravated knee and abdominal issues during his previous win over Stan Wawrinka.
“Today I was feeling it from the get-go,” he said.
A day after Iva Jovic and Coco Gauff advanced, Anisimova became the fourth American through to the quarters.
Her opponent Wang had a medical time-out off-court after being broken twice in the second set and returned with strapping on her thigh, but she was unable to stick with the Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up.
While Monday’s heat was stifling, day 10 of the Grand Slam on Tuesday will be on another level, with a forecast of 45 degrees Celsius (113F), raising the prospect of match disruptions and closed roofs at the main stadiums.
Two-times champion Sabalenka will meet 18-year-old wunderkind Jovic in the first quarter-final on Rod Laver Arena, while men’s top seed Carlos Alcaraz will resume his bid for a career Grand Slam against Australia’s last hope, Alex de Minaur, in the late match.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Christian Radnedge)
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