Alize Cornet survived a second-set meltdown to advance to her first Grand Slam quarter-final after 63 main-draw appearances with a win over Simona Halep.
Felix Auger-Aliassime celebrates after defeating Marin Cilic in their fourth round match. AP
Melbourne, Australia: US Open champion Daniil Medvedev has advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-5 win over Maxime Cressy.
The No 2-ranked Medvedev is trying to be the first man in the Open era to win his second major singles title in the next Grand Slam event.
He’s now potentially three wins from winning back-to-back major titles.
Medvedev was a runner-up in Australia last year but avenged that with a win over Novak Djokovic in the US Open final. Djokovic isn’t defending his Australian Open title after being deported on the eve of the year’s first major for failing to meet the country’s strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.
Medvedev had to struggle against the No 70-ranked Cressy in a match lasting 3 1/2 hours. Cressy saved eight break-point chances in the fourth set before Medvedev got the decisive break in the 11th game, then served out at love to finish it off.
Medvedev will next play ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (4).
Auger-Aliassime joins Denis Shapovalov in the last eight to make it the first time two Canadian men have reached that stage at the Australian Open.
Cornet beats Halep
Alize Cornet survived a second-set meltdown to advance to her first Grand Slam quarter-final after 63 main-draw appearances with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Simona Halep.
Cornet led by a set and 3-1 before losing five consecutive games and 16 straight points to send the match to a decider.
Halep saved two match points on her serve in the ninth game before Cornet clinched the match in the 10th. She dropped to her knees and clasped her hands together as she looked up to her support team when Halep netted a return.
Cornet had a 3-1 lead in their head-to-head meetings and improved on that record in the Rod Laver Arena fourth-rounder.
Cornet made her Grand Slam singles debut as a wild-card entry at the 2005 French Open. She is the first French woman to reach an Australian Open quarterfinal since Marion Bartoli in 2009.
Halep won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019. She lost the 2018 Australian Open final to Caroline Wozniacki.
Earlier, Danielle Collins took advantage of Elise Mertens’ double fault on match point to advance to the quarter-finals and join two other Americans in the final eight at Melbourne Park.
Collins advanced 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and will play Cornet in the last eight.
Jessica Pergula and Madison Keys are the other Americans in the quarter-finals and will play their matches on Tuesday. It is the second year in a row that three Americans have featured in the quarter-finals.
With AP and AFP inputs
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