World No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated Holger Rune 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Monday in Australian Open in Melbourne. (Field Level Media)

FIELD LEVEL MEDIA

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner fought through blistering heat and an undisclosed ailment to defeat Holger Rune 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and advance to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Monday.

Sinner, the defending champion, met with the tournament doctor before beginning the match and needed a medical timeout in the third set.

“I think we saw that today I was struggling physically,” the Italian said after the match. “Came here as late as possible. I knew that it was going to be very, very difficult today. You know, playing against a tough opponent, but also playing against myself a little bit.”

The match, played in 90 degrees and humid conditions in Melbourne, Australia, also featured a 21-minute delay that gave players an indoor break as officials repaired a broken ring that keeps the net in place.

Rune, the No. 13 seed, also required his own medical timeout to give a trainer a chance to massage his right knee. The Dane’s break gave Sinner an additional chance to rest in the match, which lasted just over three hours.

Sinner tallied 14 aces among his 35 winners, which accompanied 35 unforced errors, and won 83 percent of his first-serve points. Rune wound up with 54 unforced errors against 31 winners.

In the quarterfinals, Sinner will face No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia, who ousted American Alex Michelsen 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-3. It will be the first quarterfinals appearance for de Minaur in his home country’s Grand Slam, and he became just the third Aussie man to reach the round in 20 years.

“It means the world,” de Minaur said. “There is nothing I want to do more than play well here in Australia in front of you guys. I am glad I finally made it to the quarterfinals. Let’s go for bigger and better things.”

Ben Shelton will be making his second appearance in the Australian Open quarterfinals after 38-year-old Gael Monfils of France was forced to retire due to a back injury, with Shelton up 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 1-0 after two hours, 56 minutes.

The magical run for another American, 19-year-old qualifier Learner Tien, ended with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 loss to Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who will meet Shelton in the quarterfinals. Tien, who struggled physically in the match, defeated World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia in a five-set thriller in the second round.

Swiatek, Navarro

headed for showdown

Second-seeded Iga Swiatek cruised into the Australian Open quarterfinals Monday with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Germany’s Eva Lys in Melbourne, Australia.

Swiatek needed only 59 minutes to oust lucky loser Lys. A five-time major winner, Swiatek has dropped only 11 games in her first four matches of the tournament.

“For sure I’m happy that I played in an efficient way,” said Swiatek, of Poland. “I felt pretty confident. So from the beginning I just pushed. I knew that I could make an impact with that.”

Swiatek hit 28 winners, with Lys recording only seven, and she lost only nine points on her serve.

In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will meet Emma Navarro, the No. 8 seed. The two haven’t played each other since 2018, when they met in an ITF W80 event in South Carolina, won by Swiatek, when both were 17.

On Monday, Navarro defeated Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, the No. 9 seed, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, in a match that saw 17 service breaks. Navarro converted nine of her 25 chances, with Kasatkina winning eight of her 11 break points.

Navarro will be playing in her third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. She reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open last fall, losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.

“For sure, I have to treat Emma as a player that I never played,” Swiatek said. “We both made huge progress since that time that we faced each other. Her journey has been pretty nice and amazing. I saw the U.S. Open matches. She played really well, fighting for every point and everything.”

Navarro agreed that a lot has changed since their meeting as teens.

“When I look back at my tennis career, I feel like there were not too many times when I was totally blown off the court,” Navarro said, “and I definitely was kind of blown off the court playing her. We played at my home club in Charleston. I was, like, ‘Wow, this girl is pretty good.’

“Circumstances are definitely different now. I feel like I’m pretty good, too. I’m ready for a good challenge.”

Madison Keys, the No. 19 seed, became the third American — joining Navarro and Coco Gauff — to reach the final eight when she defeated No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in one hour, 49 minutes.

Keys will be vying to reach her third Australian Open semifinal, having done so in 2015 and 2022, when she meets No. 28 Elina Svitolina. The Ukrainian topped Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1.