Jessica Pegula put her close friendship with Madison Keys to one side to knock the defending champion out of the Australian Open on Tuesday, while Amanda Anisimova made it four U.S. players in the women’s quarters after beating China’s Wang Xinyu.
Elena Rybakina is looking to build on a strong finish to 2025 after lifting the WTA Finals title and she powered past Elise Mertens 6-1 6-3 as the tournament’s Heat Stress Scale approached its peak.
Also hitting a peak was Lorenzo Musetti, who said he played some of the best tennis of his career in beating Taylor Fritz to reach his second straight Grand Slam quarter-final.
Pegula enjoyed the best conditions of the day and shrugged off an Australia Day aviation show overhead during her contest with Keys to soar into the last eight with a 6-3 6-4 win and remain on course for her first major title.
The 31-year-old made a blistering start at Rod Laver Arena and only briefly let the momentum slip early in the match before cruising through.
“I’m happy with the way I was able to serve on some really big points, execute my strategy,” Pegula said.
“I have been seeing, hitting, moving, very well this whole tournament, and to be able to keep that up against such a great player as Maddie and defending champion was going to be a lot tougher of a task today.”
Often labelled an underachiever on the game’s biggest stages, Pegula said reaching the last eight of a major was a feat in itself.
“If I’m making quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, that’s pretty good,” she added.
Keys said she would leave with her head held high and promised to honour a pre-match wager by eating a cheese-smothered apple pie.
“A bet is a bet, so I’ll do it.”
MANY BATTLES
Musetti had revenge on his mind after losing to Fritz at the ATP Finals in November, a result that ended his three-match winning run against the American.
The fifth-seeded Italian played with authority and artistry in a 6-2 7-5 6-4 victory to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in Melbourne, where he will meet 10-times champion Novak Djokovic.
“Honestly, I feel very proud. I know Taylor very well, we’ve played many matches, many battles. And last time in Turin he was the winner,” Musetti said.
“I came here with a different mentality and I think I made one of my best performances … I’m very happy. I improved a lot on serve and especially being a little bit more aggressive with the forehand and trying to use my variations.”
Serb Djokovic had already advanced to the last eight after his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew on Sunday with an abdominal injury.
Fritz said later he had aggravated knee and oblique issues during his last match against Stan Wawrinka.
“Today I was feeling it from the get-go,” he added.
Anisimova also benefited from a dangerous opponent’s fitness issues, seeing off China’s Wang 7-6(4) 6-4 and setting up a quarter-final against Pegula. Her U.S. compatriots Iva Jovic and Coco Gauff booked their spots in the last eight on Sunday.
Wang received medical attention off-court after being broken twice in the second set and returned with strapping on her thigh, but she was unable to stick with Wimbledon and U.S. Open finalist Anisimova.
Men’s champion Jannik Sinner was in action against Luciano Darderi late in the afternoon. Ben Shelton meets Casper Ruud later and Iga Swiatek takes on Maddison Inglis.
