3 minute read
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk has broken through to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam with an Australian Open win over Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva.
SNAPSHOT FROM DAY EIGHT OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN AT MELBOURNE PARK:
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Marta Kostyuk - The Ukrainian world No.35 was fearless in her 6-2 6-1 fourth-round win over qualifier Maria Timofeeva, booking a maiden grand slam quarter-final berth.
STAT OF THE DAY: Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic racked up his 32nd consecutive victory at Melbourne Park with a 6-0 6-0 6-3 win over French world No.19 Adrian Mannarino, marching on in his bid to surpass Australian legend Margaret Court's tally of 24 majors.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It's no secret I love to play at 7pm" - Djokovic takes a thinly-veiled swipe at Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley and schedule organisers after being relegated from his favoured evening timeslot on Rod Laver Arena to the afternoon.
TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff cruised into the quarter-finals with straight-set wins. The pair remain on course for a semi-final showdown and are the highest remaining seeds left in the women's draw after world No.1 Iga Swiatek's exit. In the men's draw, American Taylor Fritz upstaged Greek No.7 seed and last year's runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas to set up a clash with Djokovic in his first quarter-final at Melbourne Park.
