In Melbourne, the Tuscan takes on the Serbian champion late tonight, while Jannik opens the session against the American
Whatever happens, it’s another historic moment to add to the annals of Italian tennis. The second round of quarterfinals at the Australian Open, with two Italians among the final eight for the fifth consecutive Grand Slam. As at the last US 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 on Rod Laver Arena. The No. 5 seed, advancing 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 the two at Roland Garros, in the early Australian afternoon. On a day that is not expected to see excessive heat spikes. 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 slot that, with slower court conditions, favors him more than Shelton. The Italian has beaten the American 8 times out of 9, and is coming off 19 consecutive sets won, including the semifinal of last year’s Australian Open. A clear favorite, two wins would set up a historic all-Italian semifinal at Melbourne Park.
women’s quarterfinals— The day will open, however, 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 will 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 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 therefore stream Sinner and Musetti’s matches via Discovery Plus, HBO Max, DAZN, and Tim Vision.
