Djokovic, Garcia the big names at Day 8 of the Australian Open
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The top-ranked players remaining on both the men's and women's sides of the Australian Open are fourth-ranked Novak Djokovic and Caroline Garcia, respectively, and they're both on the court Sunday as Day 8 of the Australian Open unfolds.
Felix Auger-Aliassime lost in heart-breaking fashion to Jiri Lehecka on Saturday (4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3)), meaning there are no Canadians left in singles play.
Djokovic is on familiar ground, as the record-holding nine-time Australian Open champion seeks to break into double-digit titles Down Under.
Here are the marquee matches to watch in the Round of 16:
Novak Djokovic vs. Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur - the last Australian standing in singles at his home tournament and 22nd-ranked player on the men's side - stands between Djokovic and a quarter-finals appearance.
De Minaur beat France's Benjamin Bonzi in straight sets (7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-1) on Friday to advance to this matchup with Djokovic.
Djokovic, meanwhile, topped Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets (7-6 (9-7), 6-3, 6-4) to advance to the Round of 16.
Not including the 2022 Australian Open, where Djokovic was absent due to his COVID-19 vaccination status, he has advanced to at least the Round of 16 of the tournament every year since 2018, with tournament titles from 2019 to 2021.
This is the first career meeting between the two players. This match is scheduled to take place at 3:00am EST / 12:00am PST.
Magda Linette vs. Caroline Garcia
Magda Linette of Poland has already put together her most successful run at a Grand Slam tournament of her career. She has advanced to the third round six times (once at the Australian Open, in 2018) in 29 Grand Slam appearance, but never to the Round of 16.
She beat two ranked opponents already, taking down 19th-ranked Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) on Friday and 16th-ranked Anett Kontaveit (3-6, 6-3, 6-4) on Wednesday.
Garcia has broken the hearts of Canadian fans twice this tournament as she eliminated Katherine Sebov (6-3, 6-0) and Leylah Annie Fernandez (7-6 (7-5), 7-5) in straight sets on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
This is the first meeting on a hard court between the two players, but Garcia won the first in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) in 2017 at the Strasbourg Open, on clay. This match is scheduled to take place at 8:15pm EST / 5:15pm PST.
Andrey Rublev vs. Holger Rune
On the men's side, a marquee matchup of two top-10 ranked players will also take place.
Fifth-ranked Andrey Rublev saw little resistance from Dan Evans on Friday, as he cruised in straight sets (6-4, 6-2, 6-3) to reach the Round of 16.
Holger Rune of Denmark has not lost a set this entire tournament, and his most recent victory was over Ugo Humbert (6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)).
The 19-year-old Rune won the only meeting between these two at the ATP Masters 1000 last year in Paris.