The quarterfinals begin on Tuesday, on what is forecasted to be an extremely hot day in Melbourne.
World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz is yet to drop a set on the way to his third Australian Open quarterfinal. However, he has stalled in this round in each of the last two years, in a pair of four-set losses to Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic. In this year’s quarterfinals, he faces Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur, who is in danger of entering Rublevian territory, as he owns an 0-6 record in quarterfinals across all Majors.
Zverev is also back in the quarterfinals this year, playing 20-year-old Learner Tien, who is making his Major quarterfinal debut.
WTA No.1 Aryna Sabalenka also goes up against a young American making their first appearance at this stage of a Slam, in 18-year-old Iva Jovic. And Coco Gauff takes on Elina Svitolina in Tuesday’s other singles quarterfinal.
Here’s a rundown of the most notable matches on Day 10 (in chronological order, all times local):
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Iva Jovic (29) – 11:30am on Rod Laver Arena
Sabalenka has not dropped a set, and she has now reached the quarterfinals in her last 13 Major appearances. But Jovic is also yet to lose a set, and she utterly destroyed Yulia Putintseva in the last round, by a score of 6-0, 6-1. Iva will debut inside the world’s top 20 next week, and would move into the top 15 with a win on Tuesday. Her combination of baseline aggression and all-court variety could prove frustrating to Aryna, especially if the World No.1 becomes error-prone in this match. However, Sabalenka’s more commanding serve and groundstrokes should enable her to prevail.
Alexander Zverev (3) vs. Learner Tien (25) – Not Before 1:30pm on Rod Laver Arena
This is a 16th Major quarterfinal Zverev, and he is 9-6 at this stage. The German allowed his opponents a set in each of his first three rounds, before defeated Francisco Cerundolo in straights on Sunday. Tien has also lost three sets thus far, but he thumped Daniil Medvedev in the last round, dropping just seven games in a rematch of their long five-setter from a year ago. These players split two prior meetings, both during 2025, with Learner winning in straights on a hard court, and Sascha prevailing in straights on clay. If Tien can come close to maintaining his level from the Medvedev match, he has a real shot at achieving his first Major semifinal. However, his lefty-ness is not something that should bother Zverev. As per Tennis Abstract, Zverev has claimed 37 of his last 38 matches against lefties, with last season’s loss to Tien being the only outlier.
Coco Gauff (3) vs. Elina Svitolina (12) – Not Before 7:00pm on Rod Laver Arena
Gauff has survived three-setters in each of her last two matches, including a tight contest on Sunday against Karolina Muchova. In the sets she’s lost, her double fault numbers have increased, a recurring issue we’ve witnessed with Coco across the past few seasons. Svitoilina has taken all eight sets she’s played, including a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the eighth seed, Mirra Andreeva. But Svitolina is just 3-10 lifetime in Slam quarterfinals, while Gauff is 5-4. And the American leads their head-to-head 2-1, which includes two hard court wins during 2024, though both went this distance.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Alex de Minaur (6) – Last on Rod Laver Arena
De Minaur played excellently in the last two rounds, with straight-set victories over both Frances Tiafoe and a red-hot Alexander Bublik. But overcoming Alcaraz, as well as de Minaur’s 0-6 record in this round of Majors, will be a tall task. Plus, Carlitos is a perfect 5-0 against Alex, which reflects how there’s just not much in the Australian’s game that threatens the top seed. Even with the Aussie crowd’s support, a de MInaur upset on Tuesday night would be quite surprising.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
