Sinner, Swiatek eye quarter-finals at Australian Open

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek are eyeing a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday while golden couple Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina hope to extend their family odyssey.

Defending champion Sinner breezed through his third-round match in straight sets but his opponent Holger Rune was taken to five for the second time in three matches.

The 13th seed from Denmark needs to recover quickly before an afternoon encounter against Sinner in the heat of Rod Laver Arena, where temperatures are forecast to get into the 30s for the second day running.

“I want to raise my level in the next round match,” warned Sinner.

Lucky loser Eva Lys had to cancel her flight out of Melbourne after her surprise run to the last 16 but she faces a rampant Swiatek in the evening session.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek did not face a single break point in either of her previous two wins at Melbourne and is in a serious mood to challenge for a maiden Australian Open title.

The Pole brutally disposed of 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-0 in the third round.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the match,” said Germany’s world number 128 Lys, who is the first women’s lucky loser to reach the fourth round since the event moved to Melbourne Park 37 years ago.

“I’m just going to go out and enjoy.”

Svitolina and husband Monfils both knocked out world number fours to reach the fourth round on a super Saturday for the happy couple.

Monfils, 38, stunned Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 and Svitolina followed him on to Margaret Court Arena to oust Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Ukraine’s Svitolina kicks off the day’s action on Rod Laver Arena against Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova.

Veteran Frenchman Monfils has a later engagement against American 21st seed Ben Shelton.

Svitolina and Monfils got married in 2021 and had a daughter in 2022.

“Most of the big tournaments we have each other by our sides. It means a lot to have someone who understands what I am going through,” said Svitolina.

Home hope Alex de Minaur, the eighth seed, rounds off the action on the centre court against Alex Michelsen of the US in a night match with a potential quarter-final against Sinner the prize.

Should Monfils win he could face teenager Learner Tien, who at 19 is half his age.

American Tien, who shocked Daniil Medvedev in a late-night five-set thriller, faces Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.

In other round-four women’s singles matches, sixth seed and former finalist Elena Rybakina takes on American Madison Keys.

Rybakina is under an injury cloud after a back spasm on Saturday and said: “It’s not good. I will see my physio and hopefully he does some magic.”

Eighth-seeded American Emma Navarro, who has been taken to three sets in every match so far, will try to outlast Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatkina.

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