Stefanos Tsitsipas found another gear when it counted to fend off Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals in a rare win for the high seeds on Sunday.

A year after dumping Sinner out in the quarters at Melbourne Park, third seed Tsitsipas crushed the Italian’s hopes of a great escape as he held firm to complete a 6-4 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 victory at a heaving Rod Laver Arena.

With the Greek dominated for two sets as Sinner roared back into the match, Tsitsipas captured the decisive break in the sixth game of the decider before sealing it in style with a cross-court forehand winner.

The three-times Australian Open semi-finalist will meet unseeded 21-year-old Czech Jiri Lehecka for a place in the semi-finals.

Australian Open 2023 LIVE - Latest scores and results

• Game, set match! Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 Jannik Sinner

• Game, fourth set! Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 Jannik Sinner

• Game, third set! Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6 Jannik Sinner

• Game, second set! Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 Jannik Sinner

• Game, first set! Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 Jannik Sinner

• Stefanos Tsitsipas taking on Jannik Sinner for place in quarter-finals

• Elena Rybakina stuns world No 1 Iga Swiatek with straight-sets win

• Jelena Ostapenko overwhelms Coco Guaff in straight sets

• Karen Khachanov blasts past Yoshihito Nishioka

• Sebastian Korda overcomes Hubert Hurkacz in five-set battle

Stefanos Tsitsipas wins five-set thriller with Jannik Sinner to keep Australian Open dream alive

13:15 , Lawrence Ostlere

The only way to explain this wild Australian Open match is that everything after the second set was different to before. The sun set over Rod Laver Arena, Jannik Sinner went off for a bathroom break, and when he returned he was another player. Suddenly he was lithe and alive, a 6ft 6in spider scuttling up to the net to administer deadly, delicate drop shots. On the other side Stefanos Tsitsipas’s shoulders slumped, the legs grew heavy, and his once-pristine hair flopped over his increasingly furrowed brow.

Tsitsipas had won the first two sets with a clinical touch worthy of the No 3 seed. He had already beaten his 21-year-old opponent in four matches of their five, including a quarter-final in Melbourne last year which was done and dusted in three quick sets, and here was another destined for the win column. But then the momentum swung, the many Greek fans grew anxious, and so did Tsitsipas. Sinner dominated the third set, eked out the fourth, and forced a fifth.

The decider intially swung to and fro. On serve at 2-1, Tsitsipas engineered three break points, then lost them all. When he did it again a few minutes later, he lost two more and it seemed like Sinner had become indestructible. But the Italian hit long to finally give up his serve, and he never quite recovered. From then on the only thing that interrupted Tsitsipas’s smooth progress to the quarter-finals was a bug on the court, halted gingerly by Sinner, and after exactly four hours Tsitsipas unleashed a crosscourt forehand to win 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3.

Full report:

Stefanos Tsitsipas wins five-set thriller with Jannik Sinner to keep dream alive

Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3

12:29 , Lawrence Ostlere

Tsitsipas will now meet the unseeded Czech Jiri Lehecka, who toppled sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals.

Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3

12:24 , Lawrence Ostlere

Stefanos Tsitsipas on that fourth-round match: “It felt so long. It felt like an entire century on this court. What a great night. That was a ripper, as they say here. I had an unbelievable opponent on the other side of the net playing incredible tennis in the third and fourth set. I just stayed calm, like Mr Rod Laver did in the day [Laver, watching on, gets a big cheer and waves].”

How did he turn the fifth set his way? “I released my arm a bit, released my wrist on the serve, and that helped me generate more and power and accuracy, something I wasn’t doing before. It completely changed the way I approached this match when I did this minor adjustment, and that helped me serve it out without being too tense, so I owe that fifth set to figuring it out.”

Game, set match! Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 Jannik Sinner

12:16 , Lawrence Ostlere

Tsitsipas finds the serves he needs to move to 30-0, then at 30-15 he drills a powerful, deep forehand into the corner which Sinner can’t get back. That brings up two match points, after exactly four hours, and Tsitsipas takes the first with a forehand crosscourt winner.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 5-3 Jannik Sinner

12:14 , Lawrence Ostlere

A game interrupted by the appearance of a bug on the court - picked up and removed by Sinner, eventually ending up in the pocket of a ballboy - goes the way of Sinner, who holds to make his opponent serve out the match.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 5-2 Jannik Sinner*

12:07 , Lawrence Ostlere

A quick, confident hold from Tsitsipas, who punches the air in the direction of his support team. Sinner looks flat.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 4-2 Jannik Sinner

12:07 , Lawrence Ostlere

Sinner seems to have run out of something - energy, composure, a bit of everything - and Tsitsipas takes advantage. A slip at the back of the court means he misses out on the first break point of three at 0-40, and an ace erases the second, but at the third attempt Tsitsipas makes it count as Sinner hits long. A crucial break.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 3-2 Jannik Sinner*

12:01 , Lawrence Ostlere

Tsitsipas gets ahead in his service game, leading 40-15, and Sinner engineers an inviting opening before slamming a forehand pass too long to give up the game. We go on.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 2-2 Jannik Sinner

11:55 , Lawrence Ostlere

Sinner drops in three critical mistakes in a row and out of nowhere it’s 0-40, and Tsitsipas has three break points. But Sinner shows brilliant resolve, first getting the benefit of a mis-hit return, then clinching a long rally, before dishing out yet another one of his unreturnable serves. Suddenly it’s Tsitsipas with a mental wobble, trying a drop shot from the baseline that has not served him well all night and fails once more. Sinner sees it out, and that’s a HUGE hold.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 1-1 Jannik Sinner

11:45 , Lawrence Ostlere

A bizarre first point - Sinner gets to a drop shot and lobs Tsitsipas, who can only race back and flick the ball high into the sky for the most simple of smashes, but Sinner dumps it into the net! A shocker, and he rightly has his head in his hands.

Tsitsipas holds, but Sinner responds in kind and it’s 1-1 in the fifth.

*denotes next server.

Game, fourth set! *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 Jannik Sinner

11:37 , Lawrence Ostlere

An unforced backhand error and a double fault, with two aces, takes them to 30-all. There Sinner produces two more huge serves, and we’re going to a fifth! What a comeback by the Italian, who looked dead and buried after two sets.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-5 Jannik Sinner

11:31 , Lawrence Ostlere

Brilliant fight from Tsitsipas, who holds from 0-40 down to keep himself alive in the set, finishing with an ace.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 2-3 Jannik Sinner*

11:18 , Lawrence Ostlere

Sinner is just on another level right now, his serving is imperious, and he doesn’t look likely to give up his serve any time soon. The Italian remains a break up in the fourth.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 1-2 Jannik Sinner*

11:04 , Lawrence Ostlere

Brilliant by Sinner, who earns a break point with another delicate dropshot which Tsitsipas fails to read - the Greek is comfortable sliding from side to side but he’s struggled coming forwards to the net. The Italian closes out the break with a deep backhand from midcourt which Tsitsipas can’t get back.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 1-1 Jannik Sinner

10:59 , Lawrence Ostlere

The first two games of the fourth set are held.

*denotes next server.

Game, third set! *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 3-6 Jannik Sinner

10:44 , Lawrence Ostlere

Tsitsipas finds the hold, his serve digging him out of trouble, but Sinner rips through his service game to love, closing out the set with an ace.

Tsitsipas leads by two sets to one, but Sinner has the momentum right now: game on.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 2-5 Jannik Sinner

10:35 , Lawrence Ostlere

Copy and paste, as Sinner holds just as effectively. Tsitsipas is very close to losing his first set of the tournament now.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 2-4 Jannik Sinner*

10:31 , Lawrence Ostlere

A quick and dominant hold by Tsitsipas to put the spotlight back on Sinner’s serve.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 1-4 Jannik Sinner

10:27 , Lawrence Ostlere

This is some high-quality tennis. At 15-15, Tsitsipas plays a beautifully judged drop shot which draws Sinner to the net, and the Greek executes the lob to complete a clever move. Sinner gets back to 30-30 but then plays a mis-hit backhand slice which doesn’t even reach the net - break point to Tsitsipas. Sinner quashes it with a delicate drop shot and that’s deuce, and he survives, holding his serve, to be in command of this third set.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 1-3 Jannik Sinner*

10:21 , Lawrence Ostlere

Now then! Sinner battles to earn himself a seventh break point of this third set and converts with a well-disguised drop shot winner. Now, can he back it up with a service hold? Tsitsipas has been excellent at responding to setbacks in this match so far.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 1-2 Jannik Sinner

10:13 , Lawrence Ostlere

Back to Rod Laver, where it’s on serve on the third set. Sinner gestures towards his box as if to say “I’m still here” after holding.

*denotes next server.

Unheralded Jiri Lehecka is flying at the Australian Open

09:59 , Lawrence Ostlere

This is the man that awaits the winner in the next round, the unseeded Czech Jiri Lehecka, who toppled sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals as the exit of yet another big name left the Grand Slam thin on star power for its second week.

With holder Rafa Nadal and second seed Casper Ruud going out early, and other title hopefuls such as Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev also exiting, a path was clearing for Auger-Aliassime to go deep at Melbourne Park.

But he ran into an inspired Lehecka, who beat 11th seed Cameron Norrie in the previous round. The Czech will play either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jannik Sinner for a place in the semi-final and he said he is just getting started.

“The run is not over,” Lehecka said. “All the guys I have beaten here are incredible and I’ve played my best tennis to show all the cards I have to beat them. It sounds crazy, but its true and I’m happy to continue the journey.”

Auger-Aliassime, 22, broke in the third game on the way to taking the opening set in 35 minutes but a huge momentum shift saw unseeded Lehecka take control.

After winning the second set to level the match, a delicate volley at the net helped Lehecka hold serve and set up a third-set tiebreak where he pounced on 2022 quarter-finalist Auger-Aliassime’s errors to move ahead.

With a first Grand Slam quarter-final, and a first win over a top-10 player, in sight, the 21-year-old Lehecka went up another gear in the fourth set tie-break to go up 6-3 before sending Auger-Aliassime out with a superb passing shot.

“Honestly it feels amazing,” Lehecka added. “It’s tough to find words because of what we’ve been through in the last year and coming back after losing the first round (in 2022).

“If someone told me I would play like this I would not believe them.”

Game, second set! Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 Jannik Sinner*

09:49 , Lawrence Ostlere

Tsitsipas gets himself up 30-15 before making a rare forehand mistake from the baseline, crushing the ball into the net. A boost for Sinner, who then capitalises on the opportunity with a precise inside-out forehand winner to earn himself a break-back point. Tsitsipas fires an unreturnable serve - after a time warning - and then an ace down the T to swing the game his way. Set point, but he slams a forehand long. Yet when Tsitsipas earns another chance to see it out, Sinner dumps a backhand return into the net, and that’s the set.

It’s been a reasonably even match but on the crucial points, the Greek has proved more decisive.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 5-4 Jannik Sinner

09:42 , Lawrence Ostlere

Once again, the Greek steadies himself before bringing out some phenomenal tennis, and takes advantage of a missed backhand by Sinner to race into the lead, 0-30. Tsitsipas sets up break point before reaching for the ball on the stretch and firing a crosscourt winner to clinch another break. Brilliant athleticism, and Tsitsipas will serve for the second set.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-4 Jannik Sinner*

09:37 , Lawrence Ostlere

Sinner holds with another ace to wrap up the game, and Tsitsipas responds in kind - his game-winning ace clipped the back of the line and the crowd lets out an ‘ooooo’ as the replay shows just how precise Tsitsipas was.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-3 Jannik Sinner*

09:32 , Lawrence Ostlere

Brilliant by Sinner, who finds the extra level he needed to earn a break back with a huge forehand winner. He clinches a service game with a lovely drop shot, and then pushes the Greek all the way but can’t quite break again. This match has suddenly swung.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 2-1 Jannik Sinner

09:16 , Lawrence Ostlere

The Greek holds, then comes out firing against Sinner’s serve. At 30-all, Sinner goes for an ambitious winner but just misses the line to offer up a break point, and a phenomenal Tsitsipas backhand down the line curls away from Sinner to clinch the break. The No 3 seed is just too good right now.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 0-1 Jannik Sinner

09:07 , Lawrence Ostlere

A big ace down the T moves Sinner to 40-15, and a half-hearted backhand by Tsitsipas floats into the net to close the hold for the Italian.

*denotes next server.

Game, first set! Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 Jannik Sinner*

09:04 , Lawrence Ostlere

Tsitsipas races to 40-0 to earn three set points. The first is lost with a backhand just wide, but he capitalises on the second with an excellent forehand on the run to seal the first set, 6-4.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 5-4 Jannik Sinner

09:01 , Lawrence Ostlere

Sinner’s hard work is undone immediately. Tsitsipas ups his level and dictates the rallies to earn a break point, and when he offers Sinner a forehand it’s too tempting not to take on, but the Italian can’t get enough topspin to land it inside the baseline. Tsitsipas will serve for the first set.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-4 Jannik Sinner*

08:53 , Lawrence Ostlere

Brilliant by Sinner, who fights his way into the Tsitsipas’s service game, earns and break point and grabs the opportunity with a jump-crosscourt-backhand winner. We’re back on serve.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-3 Jannik Sinner

08:48 , Lawrence Ostlere

A phenomenal bit of work at the net by Sinner, defending volley after volley, earns him another point and he’s 40-0 up. He apologises, though, and Tim Henman points out on commentary that his eventual winner was somewhat unconventional technique and a little fortunate. Tsitsipas follows that with a stunning forehand crosscourt winner on the run to get into the game, but Sinner sees it out, another good hold.

Some great tennis on show here.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-2 Jannik Sinner*

08:44 , Lawrence Ostlere

The Greek holds comfortably again, and we reach the business end of the set with only that wayward opening game by Sinner separating them.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-2 Jannik Sinner

08:39 , Lawrence Ostlere

Sinner with a strong love-hold to put the focus straight back on his opponent’s serve.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-1 Jannik Sinner*

08:37 , Lawrence Ostlere

A couple more long rallies but Tsitsipas is playing the better tennis here and getting the better of most of these points. He holds with relative comfort and so far looks every bit like the best player left in the top half of the draw, as his third seeding suggests.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-1 Jannik Sinner

08:31 , Lawrence Ostlere

A long rally ends with Tsitsipas pushed back deep behind the baseline, and he misses with a wide forehand. That moves Sinner 30-15 in front and he adds an ace for 40-15, before he’s stumped by an excellent Tsitsipas return. But another big serve sees Sinner get a game on the board.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-0 Jannik Sinner*

08:28 , Lawrence Ostlere

Tsitsipas hits a couple of wild shots including one off the frame of his racket which balloons into the air and out to give Sinner three break points. But he follows it up with a couple of clean winners, then forces a mistake to erase all three. Sinner fights back with a beautiful cross-court winner on the stretch to earn another break point, but he’s denied again, and Tsitsipas sees out an important first hold to consolidate his break.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: *Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-0 Jannik Sinner

08:22 , Lawrence Ostlere

The perfect start for Tsitsipas, who takes advantage of a some edgy mistakes by his opponent, including a straightforward forehand hit long, to break immediately.

*denotes next server.

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jannik Sinner

08:16 , Lawrence Ostlere

That rounds up the key matches from the day so far.

Tsitsipas and Sinner are out on court warming up for their fourth-round match. The pair have met five times before with the Greek Tsitsipas coming out on top on four ocassions, though they have only met once before on a hard court - that was Tsitsipas’s win at last year’s Australian Open.

Sinner’s coach has said the Italian will not make the same mistakes twice.

Australian Open 2023: Jelena Ostapenko overwhelms Coco Guaff in straight sets

08:12 , Lawrence Ostlere

Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko ended American Coco Gauff’s run at Melbourne Park with a clinical 7-5 6-3 victory to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Ostapenko had the crowd laughing with her answer to a question on whether she trusted the automatic line-calling system in use at Melbourne Park.

“To be honest? No,” the former French Open champion said. “I mean honestly, this live electronic system ... sometimes it feels like it makes mistakes. I look at my team because I know sometimes I’m wrong, but I feel some balls are pretty close.”

Australian Open 2023: Karen Khachanov blasts past Yoshihito Nishioka

08:10 , Lawrence Ostlere

Yoshihito Nishioka struggled to understand what was happening as he was being blown off the court by Karen Khachanov on Sunday before the Japanese player found his feet in the third set in a 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (4) defeat.

“This was a strange match for me. I didn’t know what was going on the first two sets,” he said.

“I had to do something different ... so I started just grinding against him. I almost had it in the third set, but it’s not my day so I couldn’t take it.”

Australian Open 2023: Sebastian Korda overcomes Hubert Hurkacz in five-set battle

08:08 , Lawrence Ostlere

American Sebastian Korda reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time on Sunday after defeating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7) at the Australian Open.

Korda, who dumped 2021 and 2022 runner-up Daniil Medvedev out in the third round, got off to a shaky start on Rod Laver Arena against 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Hurkacz but the 29th seed bounced back to take the second and third sets.

Hurkacz, seeded 10th, grabbed the fourth set and earned two break points at 5-5 in the fifth but Korda kept his calm to escape the trouble before they headed into a tie-breaker.

Korda raced to a 7-3 lead in the tie-breaker after winning six consecutive points but Hurkacz came fighting back to level it at 7-7.

Korda did not panic and closed out the victory with a backhand winner after nearly three and a half hours on court.

“It feels awesome. I was not feeling too much energy towards the fourth and fifth sets but you guys (the crowd) picked up me,” Korda said in his on-court interview.

“I tried to stay as calm as I possibly could ... it was difficult but I am very happy with the way I kind of just stayed down and kept going through. The outcome was great.”

The 22-year-old, who will face Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals after the Russian knocked out Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets, said he became superstitious in the tie-breaker.

“I got a little superstitious with the towel. The towel got me through it,” he laughed. “Every time I went to the towel I won the point, so I just kept going to it - my new friend.”

Australian Open 2023: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jannik Sinner

08:04 , Lawrence Ostlere

Coming up shortly on Rod Laver is Tsitsipas vs Sinner, two of the brightest young talents in the men’s game.

Stefanos Tsitsipas feels like he’s been around for a long time now but he is still only 24 and the world No 4 could have a real shot at winning his first grand slam here in Melbourne, having not yet dropped a set. Tsitsipas has reached the semi-finals three times here, including both of the last two years, and has the chance to go one step further following plenty of big-name exits, including Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev who are both out of this side of the draw.

Standing in his way today is the Italian 21-year-old Jannik Sinner, who has made the quarter-finals of every grand slam already in his young career and has the chance to reach another, where the unseeded young Czech Jiri Lehecka awaits.

‘I gave everything I had’: Andy Murray ‘proud’ of memorable Australian Open run

08:00 , Jamie Braidwood

Andy Murray reminded himself what grand slam glory nights felt like at the Australian Open and hopes his memorable Melbourne run can be a sign of things to come.

The Scot somehow roused himself following his late-night heroics against Thanasi Kokkinakis to battle for another three hours and 29 minutes on Margaret Court Arena against Roberto Bautista Agut.

But this time there was not to be a happy ending as the metronomic Spaniard withstood a Murray fightback to win 6-1 6-7 (7) 6-3 6-4, ending British singles interest for another year in the third round.

“I feel like I gave everything that I had to this event, so I’m proud of that,” said the Scot, who spent 14 hours and three minutes on court during his three matches.

“That is really, in whatever you’re doing, all you can do. You can’t always control the outcome, you can’t control how well you’re going to play. But I’m also disappointed because I put loads of work into the beginning of this year and was playing well enough to have a really good run.

“I think even tonight, I’m competing against a guy who is 20th in the world, and it’s still very tight considering the circumstances. I’m disappointed because I feel like I could have gone quite a bit further.”

How to watch the Australian Open 2023

07:55 , Jamie Braidwood

You can watch the Australian Open live on Eurosport in the UK. The action will be broadcast on Eurosport’s TV channels, or fans can tune into Discovery+ to stream the tournament, where an Entertainment & Sport pass is available for either £6.99/month or £59.99/year.

Sky has also announced that starting today, Discovery+ will be available at no extra cost for Sky customers, including for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers.

If you’re not already a Sky customer, you can get a Sky Stream box, which comes with Sky TV and a Netflix basic plan. The device is currently discounted in Sky’s winter sale (was £26 per month, now £24 per month, Sky.com). This is Sky’s new device, and doesn’t require a satellite dish as it streams Sky directly over wifi.

Meanwhile, ESPN has the rights in the US.

World No 1 Swiatek: ‘I felt the pressure’

07:47 , Lawrence Ostlere

Iga Swiatek admitted the pressure of the world number one tag got to her after crashing out of the Australian Open in the fourth round to Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

The Russian-turned-Kazakh has spoken of her frustration at not being scheduled on the main courts since her success at the All England Club and, on Rod Laver Arena, she produced a big-stage performance to win 6-4 6-4.

Rybakina, who would be in the top 10 had Wimbledon offered ranking points, dropped only six points on her first serve during the match and recovered from 3-0 down against a frustrated Swiatek.

Full story:

‘I felt the pressure’: World No 1 Iga Swiatek on exit from Australian Open

Australian Open 2023: Elena Rybakina stuns Iga Swiatek with straight-sets win

07:42 , Lawrence Ostlere

Sunday was the first time Kazakhstan’s Rybakina appeared on one of the two main showcourts at Melbourne Park during this tournament, with the Russia-born player starting her campaign on an outer court.

The venue mattered little to Rybakina.

“I actually played at Rod Laver against Ash Barty in 2020,” she said. “I played really well. I kind of knew what to expect on these big courts, and I just try to do my best and tried to focus on my serve.

“I really don’t care on which court I play. I try to improve from every match.”

The 22nd seed’s win over Swiatek was achieved in less than 90 minutes and she said one of the keys to victory was being on the front foot right from the start.

“When you play against the number one, I think you have really nothing to lose,” Rybakina added. “I knew that I had to be aggressive from the first ball because she’s a great mover, and she defends really well.

“So I was trying to just attack her from the first ball, and it really worked well.”

Australian Open 2023: Elena Rybakina stuns Iga Swiatek with straight-sets win

07:29 , Lawrence Ostlere

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina set her sights on taking Iga Swiatek’s world number one ranking after knocking the Pole out of the Australian Open with a 6-4 6-4 victory in the fourth round on Sunday.

Rybakina advanced to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park for the first time with her win at Rod Laver Arena and will meet Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko for a place in the last four.

Rybakina said there were still “many things to improve” on but that she was a match for anyone if she could continue her current form.

“If I perform like I did this week and it’s going to be consistently for sure, I will say that I can be number one, I can beat anyone,” the 23-year-old added.

“For now I need to find my consistency also.”

Australian Open 2023

07:27 , Lawrence Ostlere

Follow all the latest from the Australian Open.