Melbourne: Reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in dominant fashion on Sunday when she swept past American Amanda Anisimova with a clinical 6-3, 6-2 victory on Margaret Court Arena.
Taylor Fritz stormed past last year's runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas and into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time after beating the Greek seventh seed 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
The American 12th seed arrived in Australia having never beaten a top-10 opponent at a Grand Slam and sealed a memorable victory with a clinical performance to equal his best result at a major.
Fritz, a quarterfinalist at last year's US Open and Wimbledon in 2022, sent down 13 aces and 50 winners as Tsitsipas's frustration mounted, and closed out the contest in just over three hours with a backhand winner.
Novak Djokovic marked a rare daytime appearance at the Australian Open with a dominant victory over Adrian Mannarino on Sunday as the 10-time champion flirted with a 'triple bagel' before sealing a 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 win to reach the quarterfinals.
Djokovic, handed an early session slot at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2021, said earlier in the week he had been battling a viral affection and the world No. 1 was coughing and appeared to be breathing heavily at times during the match.
The Serb's health issues had no impact on his play, however, and with the roof at Rod Laver Arena closed due to rain he powered to a 32nd straight match victory at the tournament and a 58th Grand Slam quarterfinal, equalling the all-time record of Swiss maestro Roger Federer.
"The way I played today, I don't mind playing in the day to be honest," said Djokovic, who is chasing a 25th Grand Slam to go past Margaret Court.
"It's no secret I like to play at 7 pm but it was not too bad today at all."
Sabalenka on a roll
The top remaining seed after Saturday's early exit for world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka's biggest enemy has often been her own emotions but she continued to keep them strictly under control to reach the last eight without dropping a set.
"I'm super happy with the level, super happy with the win," said Sabalenka.
"I just tried to stay focused on my game, and just focus every single point. I want to stay here right until the very end and hopefully we can get this one again."
The Belarusian was not distracted by her relegation to the second showcourt for the first time in the tournament, or by a couple of rain showers that interrupted the contest and forced the closure of the stadium's roof.
Anisimova, ranked 442nd in the world after an eight-month break from the game, had held a 4-1 lead in career meetings with Sabalenka but found the 2024 version of the 26-year-old a much tougher nut to crack.
In the opening set, the former French Open semifinalist was unable to win a single point off Sabalenka's first serve, which on occasion was clocked at the 195 kph mark.
One break was enough for Sabalenka to win the opening set and another to start the second stanza killed off any hopes the American had of building pressure on her opponent.
Another break for 5-2 in the second set allowed Sabalenka to serve for the match and, although Anisimova finally managed to earn her first break point, the second seed was soon celebrating her spot in the last eight.
Sabalenka, who will next meet ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova, did not drop a set at last year's Australian Open until the final as she landed her maiden Grand Slam title.
Her opponent on Rod Laver Arena that day, Elena Rybakina, exited in the second round and Coco Gauff and Krejcikova are the only other top 10 seeds left in the field.
Fourth seed Coco Gauff reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Pole Magdalena Frech.
The US Open champion, who has yet to drop a set at the Melbourne Park major this year, broke the unseeded Frech in the opening game at a chilly Rod Laver Arena and never let her settle into a rhythm.
With Australian great Rod Laver watching in the crowd, Gauff wrapped up the match in just over an hour to seal a last eight berth against unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
"There's no better court in Australia than Rod Laver Arena and it was an honour to play in front of you, so thank you for coming to my match," the 19-year-old said.
"Luckily when I noticed he came I was up a lot, so I wasn't too nervous. You guys were clapping and I was like 'I know it's not for us' then I saw the screen ... There's a lot of legends in the box there."
Gauff, who successfully defended her Auckland title before the year's first Grand Slam, looked flawless from the baseline and in her forays to the net as she went 5-1 up and sealed the opening set when the 69th-ranked Frech made a forehand error.
The American found the going a little tougher in the next set as the 26-year-old Frech looked to lengthen the rallies but she broke for a 3-1 lead and pushed home her advantage to extend her unbeaten run in 2024 to nine matches.