Jannik Sinner qualified, like Iga Swiatek, spared by the World Anti-Doping Agency

The ninth day of the Australian Open, Monday January 20, did not deliver any big surprises: the world number one, the Italian Jannik Sinner, validated his ticket for the quarter-finals of the tournament, while his compatriot, Lorenzo Sonego put an end to the great adventure of the young American, Learner Tien, 19 years old; among women, the Polish Iga Swiatek, world number two, did not tremble against the German Eva Lys, 128^e at the WTA. Gaël Monfils, the last French representative in the tournament, was forced to retire at the start of the fourth set of his match against the American Ben Shelton (6-7, 7-6, 6-7, 0-1 ab .).

Iga Swiatek in demonstration and not worried by the AMA

In the Rod Laver Arena, the Polish Iga Swiatek did not lag behind the surprise guest of the quarter-finals in the women’s draw in Melbourne, the German Eva Lys (23 years old, 128^e at the WTA), who also has Ukrainian nationality. The German was the “lucky loser” of the tournament, that is to say she owed her qualification in the main draw to the withdrawal of a qualified player, in this case the Russian Anna Kalinskaya (seeded number 16).

In a match without any suspense, the world number two won in two straight sets (6-0, 6-1) and an hour of play. Swiatek has only conceded eleven games to her opponents since the start of the tournament. More good news for the Pole this Monday: the World Anti-Doping Agency announced that it would not appeal after her one-month suspension, which she served in 2024.

Jannik Sinner fed Holger Rune

The world number one won in four sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2) against Holger Rune, at the end of a match marked by the latter’s numerous unforced errors. A big hitter, the 21-year-old Dane, seeded number 13, showed his limits on a tactical level. The duel was all the more disjointed as it was interrupted three times, for 46 minutes in total.

In this match played in the middle of the afternoon, when the temperature exceeded 32 degrees in Melbourne, Jannik Sinner suffered physically. Shivering, the Italian tried to cool down by pressing a cold towel to his face and pouring water on the back of his neck. He even requested the intervention of a physiotherapist at the start of the third round.

“It was really very, very hardhe commented after the meeting. I kept in mind that my opponent had some very long matches before this one, so I tried to stay mentally present. » A final interruption was necessary at the end of the match to repair the net, damaged by a serve from the Italian. In the next round, Sinner will face the Australian Alex de Minaur, seeded number 8 and crowd favorite in Melbourne, or the young American Alex Michelsen (42^e) for a place in the semi-finals.

Lorenzo Sonego shares his experience

There will be two Italian players in the quarter-finals this year in Melbourne. As in the previous round against the Brazilian Joao Fonseca (19 years old, 112^e), the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (29 years, 55^e) spoke about his experience against the young American Learner Tien (19 years old, 121^e), from the qualifications. The Turinese won in four sets (6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1) and 2 hours 25 minutes of play. He qualified for the first time in his career for the quarter-finals of a tournament. of the Grand Slam. He will meet in the quarter-finals the American Ben Shelton (seeded number 20), who beat Gaël Monfils on Monday. Learner Tien, who defeated world number 5 Daniil Medvedev in the second round and Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the third, should rise to 80^e world rank in the next ATP rankings.

Ukrainian Elina Svitolina takes out Russian Veronika Kudermetova without a handshake

In the women’s draw, the American Madison Keys (seeded number 19) beat the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (seeded number 6) in three sets (6-3, 1-6, 6-3). Furthermore, the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (seeded n^o 28) easily defeated Russian Veronika Kudermetova: 6-4, 6-1. As since the start of the large-scale invasion of her country by Kremlin troops at the end of February 2022, the two players did not pose together for the official photo at the start of the game and did not shook hands at the end of the match. This is the first time that the Odessa native has won against the Muscovite, in three clashes.