rewrite this title Australian Open live: Alcaraz reveals key to breakthrough win after masterclass

The Australian Open semi-final line-up will be complete by the end of Wednesday, with four blockbuster quarter-final clashes on the schedule.

Iga Swiatek is chasing a first Australian Open title but faces her biggest test of the tournament yet in fifth seed Elena Rybakina, who has rediscovered some of her best form to return to grand slam contention.

There is then the all-American clash between Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula, in a battle of two players who are seeking a maiden grand slam triumph. Anisimova is bidding to reach a third consecutive major final.

Then, Novak Djokovic continues his bid for more grand slam history as he faces fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti, before Jannik Sinner resumes his title defence against Ben Shelton, who is confident he can pose a greater threat than last year.

The Australian Open kicks off the tennis grand slams in 2026 as Jannik Sinner returns as defending champion and Aryna Sabalenka bids to regain her crown.

Sinner will be attempting to become just the second man in the Open era, after Novak Djokovic, to win three Australian Open singles titles in a row, while women’s No 1 Sabalenka will be determined after Madison Keys ended her bid for a hat-trick in last year’s final.

Two players will enter the tournament with the mission of completing the career grand slam. Both Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are an Australian Open title away from having won all four of the major titles – Alcaraz would be the youngest man to achieve the feat if he does so this year.

“Playing against Novak is always challenging, especially here, which he won many, many, many times.

“I think it will be a tough match, for sure. Of course, he’s feeling good. He hasn’t lost a set. He had the chance to rest for a few days. I think at this age, I think he was happy about it, of course, to try to be well-prepared and well-relaxed for this match.

“But of course we know each other pretty well because we played a lot. Just won once against him. Hopefully I’ll take my revenge, because last time in Athens we were really, really close. I feel like I have another chance now.”

Amanda Anisimova is ready for another shot at Jessica Pegula in their all-American quarter-final clash.

Anisimova, who reached finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, has lost her three matches against Pegula and has never beaten her.

“She’s such a great player. I really like her game,” Anisimova said. “I’m sure it’s going to be a tough battle again. We always really go for our shots when we play against each other. I feel like we always have really long rallies.

“She’s a very stable player. I know her game pretty well now. I would say it’s just the fact that she gets a lot of balls back. She can challenge any of the top players. She’s obviously at the top for a reason.

”I feel like I always have a chance against anyone. In my head, I feel like every match is new and different. I think the fact that I’ve never beaten her before is an extra challenge for me.”

Iga Swiatek’s quarter-final with Elena Rybakina is a clash of Wimbledon champions – but the second seed said she would not be reading too much into their even head-to-head.

Swiatek lost to Rybakina in their last match at the WTA Finals, where she won just one game in the the final two sets.

“I wouldn’t say head-to-head matters, because even when one of us was winning, it was always a tight match or she beat me easy,” Swiatek said.

“Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t make sense to overanalyse who won the last ones or how it has been looking. Every match is a different story.

“Like on every match she’s been a tough opponent, and her tennis for sure is great. I need to be 100 per cent ready and go for it and use my experience and also the knowledge from previous matches, and that’s it.”

“It doesn’t feel amazing, I’ll tell you that. Yeah, you try to do the right things, you try to keep on improving, but when the results don’t come or the scoreline doesn’t reflect those improvements, then of course you feel quite deflated, I would say.

“I’ve got to take something out of it. In terms of mentality or the way I committed to hitting the ball today, it’s what I set out to do. I just can’t really execute it. I didn’t really execute it for the whole match.

“There was some good parts out there, but overall, I’m playing out of my comfort zone and at times out of my skin. Of course, for me to take that next step, I’ve got to be comfortable in playing that sort of way for the whole match.”

Good news for Elina Svitolina, who is not just back into the Australian Open semi-finals after today’s win over Coco Gauff, but also returns to the world’s top 10.

“I’m very pleased, with the tournament so fa. It has always been my dream to come back here after maternity leave. It was my dream to come back in top 10. Always been my goal.

“Unfortunately it didn’t happen last year. I stopped after September. When we were training in the off-season, I told my coach I want to come back in top 10 still, so this was my goal for this year.”

Aryna Sabalenka said she didn’t understand why she was ordered to remove a wearable fitness tracker before one of her matches at the Australian Open and urged the grand slam tournaments to reconsider the policy.

Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been spotted at the Australian Open wearing a Whoop fitness tracker on their wrist but have been told to remove them because they have not been approved by the organisers of the grand slams.

Iva Jovic’s impressive run at the Australian Open, bolstered by playing tips from tennis legend Novak Djokovic, came to an end on Tuesday as she was defeated by top seed Aryna Sabalenka.

The 18-year-old American fell 6-3, 6-0 in the quarter-final clash at Melbourne Park.

Despite the loss, Jovic expressed immense gratitude for the guidance she received from the Serbian star, who boasts 24 Grand Slam singles titles, ten of which were secured in Australia.