Australian Open day eight: Djokovic storms through and Linette adds to upsets
The story of the eighth day of action from Melbourne Park.
Novak Djokovic established himself as the clear favourite to win a 10th Australian Open title by dismantling home hope Alex De Minaur in the fourth round.
Djokovic reported no pain from his suspect hamstring after a 6-2 6-1 6-2 victory that sets up a clash with fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who defeated Holger Rune over five sets in one of the matches of the tournament.
Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka produced a terrific display to see off Belinda Bencic while Pole Magda Linette knocked out fourth seed Caroline Garcia in the latest shock.
Picture of the day
Tweet of the day
Stat of the day
Fallen seeds
Women: Caroline Garcia (4), Belinda Bencic (12), Zhang Shuai (23)
Men: Holger Rune (9), Alex De Minaur (22), Roberto Bautista Agut (24)
Who’s up next?
The first semi-finalists will be decided at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
The big-hitting battle between Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko kicks things off on Rod Laver Arena before Sebastian Korda takes on Karen Khachanov.
The third seeds both play in the night session – Jessica Pegula against Victoria Azarenka before Stefanos Tsitsipas meets Jiri Lehecka.
