Australian Open 2021 quarters: Eyeing 21st major, Rafael Nadal meets Stefanos Tsitsipas

A fast have a look at the Australian Open:

LOOKAHEAD TO WEDNESDAY

Rafael Nadal’s sore again appears to be enhancing as he heads into the Australian Open quarterfinals with a watch on a males’s-record twenty first Grand Slam singles title. The Spanish left-hander’s opponent can be Stefanos Tsitsipas, who didn’t have to hit a shot within the fourth spherical as a result of No. 9 Matteo Berrettini withdrew with an belly harm. Nadal is 6-1 towards the 22-year-old Tsitsipas, together with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 win within the 2019 semifinals at Melbourne Park. The opposite quarterfinal on their half of the draw can be No. 4 Daniil Medvedev, the 2019 U.S. Open runner-up, towards No. 7 Andrey Rublev in an all-Russian matchup. Medvedev, 25, and Rublev, 23, have been associates since childhood. There’s additionally a one-nation ladies’s quarterfinal between Individuals Jennifer Brady and Jessica Pegula. They’re good associates off the courtroom and have performed doubles collectively. Pegula beat Brady of their solely earlier singles match, on a tough courtroom forward of final yr’s U.S. Open. Brady has not dropped a set via 4 matches on the Australian Open thus far. Pegula beat fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina within the spherical of 16. The opposite ladies’s quarterfinal has top-ranked Ash Barty of Australia enjoying Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Barty beat Muchova on the 2018 U.S. Open of their solely earlier assembly. Barty is bidding to achieve her second successive Australian Open semifinal and win her residence Grand Slam for the primary time. Each gamers are unbeaten in 2021 and haven’t dropped a set this match.

WEDNESDAYS FORECAST

Sunny. Excessive of 31 levels Celsius (88 levels Fahrenheit)

TUESDAY’S WEATHER

Principally sunny, excessive of 31 levels C (88 F).

TUESDAY’S KEY RESULTS (DAY SESSION)

Ladies’s Quarterfinals: No. 10 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3; No. 3 Naomi Osaka beat Hsieh Su-wei 6-2, 6-2.

Males’s Quarterfinals: Aslan Karatsev beat No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.

STATS OF THE DAY

Zero — Variety of males within the Open period who had reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam debut till 114th-ranked qualifier Karatsev’s shocking run in Australia.

19 — Consecutive matches gained by Osaka, together with final yr’s title on the U.S. Open.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“She’s Serena. I really feel actually intimidated once I see her on the opposite facet of the courtroom.” — Osaka, on the potential of dealing with Serena Williams within the semifinals.