Carlos Alcaraz was busted using a banned device, which left an Australian great furious.
Plus Novak Djokovic has booked a record-breaking 16th Australian Open quarter-final berth after his rival’s withdrawal, and it crucially means he’ll stay fresh for a tilt with the new era’s superstars.
Follow all the news from Day 9 of the Australian Open below!
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DEFENDING CHAMP OUT IN PODCAST BATTLE
Madison Keys’ title defence is over as she slumped to a straight sets lost to Jessica Pegula in a match she dubbed “the first match in grand slam history between two podcast co-hosts”.
Pegula dominated the all-American affair on Rod Laver Arena, taking it 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 18 minutes.
The sixth seed advanced to the final eight at Melbourne Park for the fourth time in her career off the back of a rock solid display.
In the first set Pegula made just four unforced errors, and the 31-year-old seized the opportunities that came her way by winning four of five break points.
Keys, on the other hand, was shaky and racked up more than double the amount of unforced errors.
There was none worse than a shanked smash when she had an open court to hit into, but perhaps the sun the played havoc under the high ball.
It may have also been a hinderance as Keys hit six double faults compared to just one by Pegula.
The pair set a wager on their match on their most recent podcast episode.
Pegula, whose father owns NFL team the Buffalo Bills, avoided having to don a Kansas City Chief jersey, but Keys will have to eat what she called a “disgusting” apple pie and cheddar cheese combination that Pegula is fond of.
“She wanted me to wear a Kelce/Taylor Swift Chiefs jersey,” Pegula said in her on court interview.
“So, you know, honestly had a lot of motivation today not to wear that. So, we’re still going strong. So, that’s good.
“Maybe she’ll eat some pie next time we do our podcast.”
In the quarter-finals, Pegula will face either another American in Amanda Anisimova or Xinyi Wang.
‘NOT STEROIDS’: BLOWBACK AFTER ALCARAZ ASKED TO REMOVE DEVICE
Carlos Alcaraz will face off with an entire nation when he takes on Alex de Minaur in a quarter-final showdown on Tuesday.
But in his fourth round victory against Tommy Paul on Sunday, the world No.1 faced off with the chair umpire and the game’s governing body.
During the warm-up on Rod Laver Arena, chair umpire Marija Cicak noticed a fitness-tracking Whoop watch, which is banned from the tournament, on Alcaraz’s wrist and asked the Spaniard to remove the device.
Television cameras captured the exchange and Alcaraz was happy to oblige.
But not everyone else has been so okay with the decision.
Whoop’s founder Will Ahmed took to social media hit back at the turn of events and the technology being blacklisted.
“Ridiculous. Whoop is approved by the International Tennis Federation for in-match wear and poses no safety risk,” Ahmed posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Let the athletes measure their bodies. Data is not steroids.”
Australian greats Todd Woodbridge and Lleyton Hewitt were also angered by the decision.
Woodbridge called for greater consistency in the rules as he explained it is different across the men’s and women’s games.
While Hewitt took aim at the ITF with Australia’s Davis Cup captain citing that event as an example of why the organisation should be more widely questioned.
“We saw yesterday that Carlos Alcaraz had the Whoop underneath his sweatband and, of course, it says the WTA have a deal where the women can wear it at their times, the ITF say you can’t wear it,” Woodbridge said on Channel Nine.
“Now, a Whoop is to collect data about how you’re feeling and they worry about perhaps you could use it for coaching.
“We’ve got coaching; why can’t you have your own data?
“I don’t understand those rules.
“So this provides blood readings, pulse rates.
“This [tracks] your rest, your heart rate, how your body is, sleeping patterns, how much working recovery, all of that type of stuff.
“So why isn’t a player allowed to have their own data and know how they’re feeling? It doesn’t make sense.
“Sometimes our rules in tennis, one rule is over here and then the other one says ‘no’.
“Can we get our rules the same, please?”
Hewitt replied: “Do we really need the ITF? They’ve had a horror with Davis Cup and now with this, making new rules … When you can use it on the WTA Tour, it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”
“This is just a player wellness thing that they can control,” Woodbridge added.
DAY 9 PREVIEW
Djokovic, who was meant to face Jakub Mensik in the fourth round, progressed in a shock walkover after the Czech 16-seed withdrew due to an abdominal injury.
“This is a tough one to write. After doing everything we could to keep going, I have to withdraw from the Australian Open due to an abdominal muscle injury that has progressed over the last matches,” Mensik said in a post to his Instagram story on Sunday night.
It’s an absolutely crucial break for the 38-year-old Djokovic, who’s going for his 25th grand slam title.
It means the legendary Serbian only has to win four matches instead of five to get to the semi-final, where he’ll more-likely-than-not meet two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.
In the quarters, Djokovic will get one of Italian Lorenzo Musetti — who he beat in the Wimbledon semi-final two years ago — or American Taylor Fritz, whom he’s never lost to in 11 meetings.
The extra rest is pivotal for ‘Djoker’, who made all four semi-finals last year but hasn’t won a title since the 2023 US Open.
Notably, after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s US Open semi-final, Djokovic acknowledged the sobering reality of how hard it now is for him to challenge the likes of the Spaniard and Sinner.
“It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in the best-of-five on the Grand Slams. I think I have a better chance best of three, but best of five, it’s tough,” Djokovic said.
“I’m not giving up on Grand Slams in that regard, having said that. I’m going to continue fighting and trying to get to the finals and fight for another trophy at least. But it’s going to be a very difficult task.”
Well, playing one less match en route to a probable rendezvous with Sinner certainly helps his cause.
And for anyone wondering why American Ethan Quinn — who lost to Mensik in the third round — isn’t playing Novak in the fourth round instead, the ‘lucky loser’ system doesn’t happen in main draws of tournaments once the first round has been played.
Not only do players who lose often leave the tournament once eliminated, but Djokovic certainly wouldn’t be expecting to face a player already eliminated in an earlier round.
Implementing an in-tournament ‘lucky loser’ system is the age-old tennis idea that’s constantly debunked. And it’s going to keep getting knocked back.
It’s simply luck of the draw, and one of the all-time greats has happened to be the beneficiary on this occasion.
Meantime, world No.2 Sinner has interestingly avoided the day session — and thus, the Aussie heat — and will play at night in the off-Broadway Margaret Court Arena.
The two-time defending champion comes up against fellow Italian Luciano Darderi, while Ben Shelton and Casper Ruud take centre stage on Rod Laver Arena in place of the called-off Djokovic-Mensik fixture.
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Meanwhile, Maddie Inglis has a chance to make more Australian history, but daunting world No.2 Iga Swiatek stands in the West Aussie’s path to the quarter-finals.
A qualifier at this year’s tournament, Inglis progressed to the fourth round — her best Melbourne Park result in eight tries — by way of a walkover after Naomi Osaka withdrew from their third-round match with an abdominal injury.
And it’s that crucial extra rest in between matches that gives our local hope a leg up, despite obviously going into the Rod Laver Arena fixture as a heavy underdog.
Notably, Inglis is presented with the opportunity to make more Aussie history. An upset win over Swiatek would make the 28-year-old just the fourth Australian woman to make the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park, joining Ash Barty (2019-22), Jelena Dokic (2009) and Alicia Molik (2005).
Further, the only qualifiers to make the quarter-finals of the Australian Open this century are Dayana Yastremska (2024) and Zhang Shuai (2016).
And what makes the gravity of the situation even more significant is the fact that Inglis qualified for her first slam main draw in four years.
The women’s world No.168 remarkably faced a match point in the opening round of qualifying. Now, she’s set to earn at least $480,000 for her performance at this year’s Open.
“I definitely could’ve been out of here 10 days ago. Tennis is pretty crazy like that,” Inglis said following news of Osaka’s withdrawal.
“Now I’ve had the best result I’ve ever had, so I’m just enjoying it.”
Meanwhile, an all-American battle featuring reigning champion Madison Keys will have plenty of eyes on it, with the world No.9 coming up against countrywoman and six-seed Jess Pegula.
China’s Wang Xinyu — who, along with Inglis, are the only two remaining unseeded players in the men’s and women’s — tackles No.4 Amanda Anisimova.
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 8 ORDER OF PLAY
Men’s and Women’s Singles fourth round
Show courts and Aussies – all times AEDT
Rod Laver Arena
Day session from 11:30am
[6] Jessica Pegula (USA) vs [9] Madison Keys (USA)
Not before 2:00pm
[5] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) vs [9] Taylor Fritz (USA)
Night session from 7pm
Maddison Inglis (AUS) vs [9] Iga Swiatek (POL)
Followed by
[8] Ben Shelton (USA) vs [12] Casper Ruud (NOR)
Margaret Court Arena
Not before 4.00pm
[5] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) vs [21] Elise Mertens (BEL)
Not before 6pm
[22] Luciano Darderi (ITA) vs [2] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
John Cain Arena
Not before 1:30pm
Wang Xinyu (CHN) vs [4] Amanda Anisimova (USA)
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