“Stefanos Tsitsipas looks set to claim the title.” These words belong to Novak Djokovic and show how real the presence of the Greek champion in the final of the Australian Open. To win it, he will need three victories. The first of these must be achieved today, in the game against Jiří Lehecká (11:15, Eurosport). The third, perhaps, will be needed against Novak Djokovic…

The match between Tsitsipas and Lehecka ends today’s program at the Rod Laver Arena. If Stefanos emerges victorious, he will reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the 4th time (2019, 2020, 2022). The 21-year-old Czech is ranked 71st in the world and has played the Greek only once. They faced each other at a tournament in Rotterdam and Tsitsipas won 2-1.

Novak Djokovic easily got a ticket to the G8. Defeated Alex de Minor 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. He will meet Andrei Rublev. With this win, the Serb has won 25 consecutive Australian Open titles and only needs one title to match Andre Agassi’s record. Sebastian Korda and Karen Katsanov (the match was expected early in the morning), as well as Americans Tom Paul and Ben Shelton will play in the remaining quarterfinals.

As for last year’s final eight of the Melbourne Open, this year only Stefanos Tsitsipas made it to the quarterfinals. All the strongest tennis players did not participate in the tournament, which is a great opportunity for our athlete. The only exception is Djokovic, who did not compete last year.

In women, Arina Sobolenko reached the quarterfinals without losing a set. En route to the G8, she beat Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-2. She will face 26-year-old Croatian Donna Vekic, who beat 17-year-old Linda Frukhvirtova 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Victoria Azarenka stopped Lin Zhu’s run. The 33-year-old Belarusian beat the Chinese 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. In the G8, Azarenka will face American Jessica Pegula (7-5, 6-2 against Kreychikova). Elena Rybakina also made it into the G8, leaving the world No. 1 Iga Sviontek out of competition. The rival of the 24-year-old athlete was Elena Ostapenko (7-5, 6-3 Goff). Their match was supposed to take place today at dawn.