In Melbourne, the Tuscan takes on the Serbian champion late tonight, while Jannik kicks off the session against the American
Whatever the outcome, it’s another historic moment to add to the annals of Italian tennis. The second round of quarterfinals at the Australian Open features two Italian players among the final eight for the fifth consecutive Grand Slam. As at the last U.S. Open, it will be Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, facing Ben Shelton and Novak Djokovic, respectively. The world No. 2 will play at 9 a.m. Italian time, the first match of the evening session at Rod Laver Arena. The No. 5 seed, who has advanced this far in Melbourne for the first time, will play the third match of an atypical daytime session (following the two women’s quarterfinals), no earlier than 4:30 a.m. between Tuesday, the 27th, and Wednesday, the 28th.
Musetti will face Djokovic, following the Anisimova-Pegula match, for the 11th time in his career. The Serb has won 9 of their 10 previous meetings, losing only in Monte Carlo in 2023: three wins out of three on outdoor hard courts, without ever dropping a set. It will be their third Grand Slam clash—following two at Roland Garros—in the early Australian afternoon. On a day that isn’t expected to see extreme heat. Jannik Sinner, for the fourth time in five meetings, will play in the evening session at 7 p.m. Australian time (9 a.m. our time). This time slot, with slower court conditions, favors him more than it does Shelton. The Italian has beaten the American 8 out of 9 times and is coming off 19 consecutive sets won, including the semifinal of last year’s Australian Open. As the clear favorite, if he wins two matches, there would be a historic all-Italian semifinal at Melbourne Park.
Women’s quarterfinals— However, the day will kick off with the bottom half of the women’s draw: both matches have been scheduled for the daytime session to give the players adequate rest, as they’ll return to the court on Thursday for the semifinals. First up will be Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, the No. 2 and No. 5 seeds, in the most anticipated quarterfinal. The Polish player dreams of completing the Career Grand Slam, while the Kazakhstani aims to return to a Major final three years after her last appearance—in Melbourne, where she also defeated Swiatek along the way. Their head-to-head record stands at 6-5 in favor of the Polish player, though she lost their most recent match at the WTA Finals. Following that, no earlier than 3:00 p.m. Italian time, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula will take the court. Pegula has defeated her American compatriot—the world No. 4—three times in as many meetings: both are seeking their first Australian Open semifinal; for Anisimova, it would be her third consecutive Grand Slam semifinal.
On TV— All Australian Open matches are available on Eurosport, from singles to doubles and the junior tournament. You can also stream Sinner and Musetti’s matches via Discovery Plus, HBO Max, DAZN, and Tim Vision.
