The Latest: No. 1 Barty into Australian Open quarterfinals – Sports

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Hamish Blair

United States’ Jessica Pegula hits a forehand to France’s Kristina Mladenovic throughout their match on the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021.

Up to date 3 hours in the past

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Newest on the Australian Open (all instances native):

8:30 p.m.

Prime-ranked Ash Barty moved into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third straight yr by beating Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-4.

Barty misplaced within the semifinals final yr to eventual champion Sofia Kenin and didn’t play one other main match in 2020 after deciding to remain in Australia throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

She had two match factors within the eighth recreation of the second set however made 4 consecutive errors. Rogers capitalized to interrupt after which maintain and power Barty to once more serve for the match.

Barty made no errors the second time when she held at love to shut it out. Barty is aiming to be the primary Australian lady since 1978 to win the Australian title. She is going to subsequent play No. 25 Karolina Muchova.

Muchova rallied from 5-2 down within the first set to upset 18th-seeded Elise Mertens 7-6 (5), 7-5.

Mertens gained the Gippsland Trophy tuneup match at Melbourne Park earlier than the Australian Open began and gained the primary 4 video games towards Muchova however then began to tighten up because the Czech participant discovered her vary along with her large floor strokes.

Muchova is into the quarterfinals at a significant for the second time.

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6:50 p.m.

Ninth-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy has pulled out of the Australian Open earlier than his fourth-round match towards Stefanos Tsitsipas due to an stomach damage.

That permits the fifth-seeded Tsitsipas to maneuver into the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the second time in three years. He’ll face Rafael Nadal subsequent.

Tsitsipas misplaced to Nadal within the Australian Open semifinals in 2019.

Berrettini mentioned he was informed he might harm himself worse if he tried taking part in Monday.

He mentioned he was injured within the third set of his fourth-round victory over Karen Khachanov on Saturday.

Berrettini’s greatest Grand Slam displaying was reaching the semifinals of the 2019 U.S. Open.

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5:50 p.m.

Rafael Nadal has superior to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the thirteenth time.

The No. 2-ranked Nadal closed his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Sixteenth-seeded Fabio Fognini with an ace.

He was cautious of Fognini and lifted his recreation within the second and third units to keep away from any repeat of the 2015 U.S. Open. That’s when Fognini grew to become certainly one of solely two gamers who’ve rallied from two units right down to beat Nadal in 5.

There was no likelihood this time. Nadal responded to dropping a service recreation within the second set by breaking straight again.

He’ll now play both fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas or ninth-seeded Matteo Berrettini within the final eight. It will likely be Nadal’s forty third Grand Slam quarterfinal. He shares the file for many males’s main titles with Roger Federer. They every have 20.

Nadal’s preparation for the yr’s first main was hampered by again stiffness.

After the win over Fognini he mentioned: “I’m blissful the again is holding higher.”

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4:25 p.m.

Casper Ruud has retired after dropping the primary two units of his fourth-round match on the Australian Open and giving Andrey Rublev a better run into an all-Russian quarterfinal towards fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev.

The No. 24-seeded Ruud had remedy for an obvious abdomen muscle damage throughout the match on Margaret Court docket Area and stop after falling behind 6-2, 7-6 (3).

The match lasted 1 hour and 17 minutes.

Rublev superior to a fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal and joins two different Russians within the final eight. It’s the primary time within the Open period that three Russian males have reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam match.

Medvedev earlier beat American Mackenzie McDonald in straight units. Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev has additionally reached the quarterfinals within the different half of the draw.

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3:10 p.m.

Jennifer Brady has arrange an all-American quarterfinal on the Australian Open towards Jessica Pegula.

The Twenty second-seeded Brady made it to the spherical of eight at Melbourne Park for the primary time by defeating No. 28 Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-1, 7-5 with the assistance of 9 aces.

Brady went by two weeks of exhausting quarantine when she acquired to Australia final month as a result of somebody on her flight examined constructive for COVID-19 upon arrival. She was not allowed to go away her lodge room in any respect throughout that point.

Brady is from Pennsylvania and performed school tennis at UCLA.

She was a semifinalist eventually yr’s U.S. Open.

Vekic’s proper knee was closely taped by a coach early within the second set, however she saved issues shut from there till 5-all. That is when a double-fault handed over a break at like to Brady, who then served out the victory.

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2:40 p.m.

Daniil Medvedev has added the Australian Open to his record of main quarterfinal appearances and stopped the run of 192nd-ranked American Mackenzie McDonald.

The No. 4-seeded Medvedev wanted simply 1 1/2 hours to stretch his profitable streak to 18 matches with the 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory at Margaret Court docket Area.

Medvedev was the 2019 U.S. Open runner-up and reached the semifinals there final yr.

He had misplaced within the fourth spherical at Melbourne Park every of the previous two years. However he compiled 29 winners to only 15 unforced errors towards McDonald, who gained NCAA singles and doubles titles for UCLA in 2016 however is working his means again from a torn hamstring tendon lower than two years in the past.

Subsequent up will probably be a match towards both his Russian countryman Andrey Rublev or Norway’s Casper Ruud.

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1:15 p.m.

Jessica Pegula has reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal on the Australian Open by incomes her first victory over an opponent ranked within the Prime 10.

The 61st-ranked American, whose dad and mom personal Buffalo’s NFL and NHL franchises, beat No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in Rod Laver Area.

Pegula is a 26-year-old who has gained 4 matches at Melbourne Park over the previous week after getting into the match with a complete of three Grand Slam match wins for her profession.

She got here into the day with an 0-6 file towards Prime 10 ladies.

Within the quarterfinals, the unseeded Pegula will play No. 22 Jennifer Brady of america or No. 28 Donna Vekic of Croatia.

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11:15 a.m.

Play is underway on Day 8 as Individuals Jessica Pegula, Jennifer Brady and Shelby Rogers look to advance to the quarterfinals.

Pegula, who’s showing within the second week of a significant for the primary time, takes on fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina. Svitolina beat Pegula in straight units once they met final month in Abu Dhabi.

Subsequent up at Rod Laver Area will probably be Brady’s fourth-round match towards Donna Vekic. Brady has solely had her service damaged as soon as in three matches.

Rogers has the hardest job of all when she faces top-ranked Ash Barty to start evening play at Rod Laver. Rogers’ solely benefit is that Barty will not have any partisan Aussie followers to cheer her on — for the third day in a row, spectators are banned on-site resulting from a five-day COVID-19 lockdown.

Rafael Nadal continues his quest for a males’s-record twenty first Grand Slam singles title when he performs Fabio Fognini. Unseeded American Mackenzie McDonald performs fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev at Margaret Court docket Area, with Medvedev on a 17-match profitable streak.

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