Wednesday’s men’s singles quarterfinals feature four top 10 players. Daniil Medvedev faces Felix Auger-Aliassime in a rematch of the US Open semifinals. And in matchup between ATP Next Gen champions, Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Jannik Sinner.
On the women’s side, 2020 Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek is joined by three players who have never reached a Major final. Danielle Collins was a semifinalist here three years ago, Kaia Kanepi is 0-6 lifetime in Slam quarterfinals, and Alize Cornet had never previously reached the quarters. With both of Wednesday’s WTA quarterfinals being first-time matchups, there is plenty of room for new territory to be seized.
Danielle Collins (27) vs. Alize Cornet – 11:00am on Rod Laver Arena
Both players survived grueling matches on Monday in scorching afternoon temperatures. And the forecast is even hotter for Wednesday. Collins required nearly three hours to hit her way through Elise Mertens, while Cornet and Simona Halep suffered during the hottest part of the day. Both Collins and Cornet eventually prevailed 6-4 in the third. The American is much more accustomed to playing in the heat, and is much more capable of controlling her destiny with her aggressive groundstrokes off both wings, especially her crosscourt backhand which was on fire in the last round. With Danielle’s previous experience at this stage of a Major, she should be favored to achieve her second Australian Open semifinal.
Iga Swiatek (7) vs. Kaia Kanepi – Not Before 1:00pm on Rod Laver Arena
Swiatek overcame a considerable hurdle on Monday. Prior to her fourth round match, she had lost three of her last four matches at Slams when dropping the first set. But as per Tennis Abstract, every time in her career when she’s then won the second set, she’s gone on to win the third as well, just as she did against Sorana Cirstea. For Kanepi, this round presents the biggest hurdle of her career, as she’s lost all six times she’s appeared in a Slam quarterfinal. Kaia has only won one of 13 sets in those matches, which have occurred at the other three Majors. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also held an 0-6 record in Slam quarterfinals, before breaking through in her seventh try at last year’s Roland Garros. While the big-swinging Estonian seems due for a similar breakthrough, Swiatek’s more consistent, versatile style will likely draw plenty of errors from Kanepi. Iga remains the favorite to reach her second Slam semifinal.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Jannik Sinner (11) – Not Before 3:00pm on Rod Laver Arena
A big factor in this match will be how much Tsitsipas has left physically, and how his elbow feels coming off a five-set battle with Taylor Fritz. Stefanos also contested back-to-back four-setters in his two rounds prior. Sinner has advanced much more comfortably, losing only one of 13 sets, and should be the far fresher player. Tsitsipas leads their head-to-head 2-1, though all three matches have taken place on European clay. Sinner feels primed for a breakthrough, and his authoritative groundies may keep Tsitsipas on the defensive. Despite Stefanos’ significant edge in experience, the 20-year-old Italian has a great chance to achieve his first Major semifinal. However, it likely won’t come without a huge fight from the Greek.
Daniil Medvedev (2) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime – 7:30pm on Rod Laver Arena
Their aforementioned US Open semifinal from this past September was pretty one-sided, with Medvedev prevailing in straight sets. And their rematch just a few weeks ago at the ATP Cup was even more so, with Daniil dominating Felix 6-4, 6-0 in only 68 minutes. Their first meeting was by far their tightest, when the Russian needed a third-set tiebreak to beat Auger-Aliassime at the 2018 Canada Masters, when the Canadian was ranked outside the top 100. As impressive was Felix’s last two victories have been over Dan Evans and Marin Cilic, Medvedev has appeared completely unbothered by Auger-Aliassime’s game. And I expect Daniil to remain much more positive today after his unprofessional conduct against Maxime Cressy, where he openly complained his opponent was “lucky.” He will be happy to be back on Rod Laver Arena, as he expressed frustration with getting scheduled on Margaret Court Arena multiple times. He’ll also be happy not to be facing a tricky serve-and-volleyer like Cressy. Medvedev should be able to advance to his fourth consecutive semifinal at a hard court Major.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
