In-form Jannik Sinner sent last year’s semi-finalist Karen Khachanov tumbling out of the Australian Open Sunday as he swept into the last eight.
The 22-year-old fourth seed proved too hot to handle on Margaret Court Arena, blazing to a 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win to keep his record of not dropping a set during the tournament intact.
He will play either Australian Alex de Minaur, seeded 10, or fifth seed Russian Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals.
It was a sterner test this time for the Italian, who charged through his previous two matches for the loss of just 10 games, but still a comfortable win.
“He is an incredible player, I just tried to stay there mentally and physically,” said Sinner.
“We have quite similar game plans… I just tried to mix up the game and I’m very happy.”
Sinner had won two of the pair’s previous three matches. Khachanov’s sole victory came when he recovered from 0-2 down to win over five sets in the 2020 US Open first round.
Since then, Sinner has firmly established himself as a member of the sport’s elite, while Khachanov has struggled against top-10 opponents.
With the wind in his sails, the Italian broke early in the first set and repelled everything the Muscovite threw at him.
The second set was a tighter affair before Sinner pounced with a forehand winner at the end of an 18-shot rally to break for 6-5 then served out to love.
The pattern was similar in the third set, with Khachanov always on the back foot and chasing the match.
Taylor Fritz beats Stefanos Tsitsipas
American 12th seed Taylor Fritz dumped last year’s Australian Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the tournament on Sunday to set up a quarter-final with defending champion Novak Djokovic.
There was little to separate them in the opening two sets but Fritz stepped up a gear to beat the Greek seventh seed 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in a shade over three hours.
He said the key was “just trusting my shots” and that he had served well throughout.
Fritz trails Djokovic 8-0 in head-to-heads, but he said he had improved and was relishing another battle against the top seed.
“The times I have played him I haven’t brought my best level and you need to if you are going to complete with someone like Djokovic,” he said.
A tight first set, in which neither player broke serve, went to a tie-break, where Fritz quickly edged ahead and did not relinquish his lead.
The second set went with serve until the 11th game, when Tsitsipas broke, going on to take the set 7-5.
Fritz broke twice in the third set to edge ahead and repeated the feat in the fourth set, winning the last four games to claim victory.
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