In Melbourne, the Tuscan will challenge the Serbian champion tonight, while Jannik will open the session against the American
Whatever the outcome, it will be another historic date to add to the Italian tennis record books. The second round of quarterfinals at the Australian Open, with two Italians among the last eight for the fifth consecutive Slam. As at the last US Open, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti will face 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 world No. 5, who has never gone this far in Melbourne before, will play the third match of an atypical daytime session (after the two women’s quarterfinals), no earlier than 4:30 a.m. between Tuesday, January 27, and Wednesday, January 28.
Musetti will face Djokovic for the 11th time in his career after the Anisimova-Pegula match. The Serbian has won nine out of ten previous matches, losing only in Monte Carlo in 2023: three wins out of three on outdoor hard courts, without ever losing a set. It will be their third Slam meeting, after two at Roland Garros, in the early afternoon in Australia. On a day that should not see excessive heat peaks. 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. A time that, with slower conditions, is more favorable to him than to Shelton. The Italian has beaten the American 8 times out of 9 and is coming off 19 sets won in a row, including the semifinal of the last Australian Open. He is the clear favorite, and if he wins twice, there will be a historic all-Italian semifinal at Melbourne Park.
Women’s quarterfinals— However, the day will begin with the bottom half of the women’s draw: both matches have been scheduled for the daytime session to give the players adequate rest time, as they will return to the court on Thursday for the semifinals. First up will be Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, seeded No. 2 and No. 5, in the most anticipated quarterfinal. The Polish player dreams of completing the Career Grand Slam, while the Kazakh player wants to return to a Major final three years after her last appearance, also in Melbourne, when she beat Swiatek on her way. The previous matches stand at 6-5 in favor of the Polish player, who, however, lost the last one at the WTA Finals. Following that, no earlier than 3 p.m. Italian time, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula will play. The latter has beaten her compatriot, ranked No. 4 in the world, three times in as many previous matches: both are seeking their first Australian Open semifinal, which would be Anisimova’s third in a row at the Slam level.
On TV— All Australian Open matches are available on Eurosport, from singles to doubles to the junior tournament. It will therefore be possible to follow Sinner and Musetti’s matches via streaming on Discovery Plus, HBO Max, Dazn, and Tim Vision platforms.
