Jannik Sinner faces ‘underdog’ Alex de Minaur on his home turf at Australian Open
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Getting the support on Jan 22 will be a tough ask for Jannik Sinner as the crowd is expected to favour Australia’s last hope Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
MELBOURNE – The Australian Open quarter-finals continue on Jan 22 and top seed Jannik Sinner’s task of retaining his crown is not getting any easier.
The Italian is recovering from an illness and will face Australia’s last hope Alex de Minaur, who will be pumped up by a vocal home crowd.
Sinner battled through dizziness to beat Denmark’s Holger Rune in an entertaining fourth-round encounter where he was visibly shaking, and the 23-year-old Italian thanked the crowd for their support, saying “90 per cent” of the credit goes to them.
He will not have much support in his quarter-final, however, with local favourite de Minaur on the other side of the net.
Although the world No. 1 has a 9-0 record against de Minaur, whose nickname is “Demon”, he is not taking the 25-year-old lightly, especially on his home turf.
“Every match is different,” said Sinner, whose compatriot Lorenzo Sonego will take on American Ben Shelton in the other men’s quarter-final on Jan 22.
“Playing against him here in Australia, it’s for sure different.”
De Minaur, seeking a first Grand Slam semi-final spot, is not looking at his record against Sinner and the eighth seed said he is prepared to “battle from the very first point till the last” on Rod Laver Arena.
“The great thing about tennis is that once you step out on the court, you both start at 0-0,” said de Minaur. “It’s a whole new day, a whole new match and anything can happen.
“It’s going to be my first match this whole tournament where I’m the underdog and don’t have all the pressure and expectation of having to win.”
Over in the women’s quarter-finals on Jan 22, Madison Keys and Elina Svitolina have shown that experienced players can adapt to the changing game and go deep in tournaments as younger top seeds fall by the wayside.
The pair have played each other three times at hard-court Majors, with 30-year-old Svitolina winning the last two.
The Ukrainian has been trying to claw her way back into the top 10 since coming back from her pregnancy and foot surgery in 2024, and Keys said she was impressed by how her opponent has adapted.
“I watched her match against Jasmine (Paolini, in the third round) the other day and I was almost surprised,” Keys, 29, said.
“It’s kind of the evolution of all of us as we’re getting older and trying to make some changes and if you’re not having the success, then maybe you should adapt.”
The American has also been forced to overhaul her game, especially her serve. Her previous motion led to injuries that forced her to miss the 2024 Australian Open and pull out of Wimbledon in the fourth round.
With a title already in the bag this year having won in Adelaide, Keys is looking to extend her winning run to 10 matches.
Her compatriot Emma Navarro will take on second seed Iga Swiatek in the other clash. REUTERS
