Auger-Aliassime headlines Day 7 action at Australian Open
Published
Felix Auger-Aliassime is the last Canadian standing at the Australian Open in singles play and he has an opportunity to reach the quarter-final for the second time in his career.
Canada's Denis Shapovalov lost to No. 10 ranked Hubert Hurkacz in the third round in five sets on the men's side of the tournament while Leylah Annie Fernandez fell to No. 4 ranked Caroline Garcia in the second round in straight sets on the women's side, leaving Auger-Aliassime as Canada's remaining hope.
Here are some of the matches to look forward to on the schedule:
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Jiri Lehecka
Auger-Aliassime moves on to the fourth round after knocking out No. 26 Francisco Cerundolo in four sets (6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4) on Thursday.
The 22-year old is trying to equal his best result at the Australian Open as he takes on Czechia's Jiri Lehecka for the right to play in the quarter-finals.
Lehecka, 21, dispatched No. 11 ranked Cameron Norrie in five sets (6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4) on Thursday to reach this point. This is his second-career appearance at this grand slam after being knocked out in the first round in 2022.
The two players are meeting for the first time in this fourth round of the Australian Open.
This is Auger-Aliassime’s fourth Australian Open. His best result came in 2022, where he lost to No. 2 ranked Daniil Medvedev in five sets (7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 5-7, 4-6) in the quarter-final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jannik Sinner
No. 3 ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas is also trying to reach the Austrialian Open quarter-finals as he takes on No. 15 ranked Jannik Sinner in the fourth round.
Tsitsipas, 24, has gotten through each of his first three rounds without much trouble by defeating Quentin Halys, Rinky Hijikata, and Tallon Griekspoor respectively in straight sets each.
The Athens, Greece native reached the semi-finals in 2022 before he was defeated by Daniil Medvedev in four sets (6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 1-6).
Sinner, 21, had no issues in his first two rounds where he defeated Kyle Edmund and Tomas Martin Etcheverry, respectively, in straight sets.
In the third round, Sinner came back from two-sets down to defeat Hungary's Maton Fucsovics (4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0) in five sets to reach the fourth round.
This is a rematch of the 2022 quarter-finals where Tsitsipas defeated Sinner in straight sets (6-3, 6-4, 6-2).
Iga Swiatek vs. Elena Rybakina
World No. 1 ranked Iga Swiatek continues her quest for her first Australian Open title as she takes on No. 22 ranked Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the fourth round.
Swiatek, 21, dispatched German Jule Niemeier in straight sets (6-4, 7-6) in the first round, blew past Colombia’s Camila Osorio in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) in the second round, and crushed Spain's Cristina Bucsa in straight sets (6-0, 6-1) in the third round.
This is Swiatek's fifth Australian open and her best result came in 2022 where she reached the semi-finals but was defeated in straight sets (4-1,1-6) by American Danielle Collins
Rybakina, 23, had no problems in the first two rounds, defeating Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Slovenia's Kaja Juvan in straight sets consecutively. In the third round, Rybakina defeated Collins in three sets (6-2, 5-7, 6-2) to reach her match against Swiatek.
This is Rybakina's fourth Australian Open and it's the first time she's been past the third round.
This match is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.