Published: January 25, 2026 at 7:59 pm
It turned out to be an American invasion at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday. Uncle Sam made his presence felt Down Under as two youngsters from California enjoyed milestone wins on the eighth day of main draw action. Iva Jovic and Learner Tien both romped into the quarterfinals at a major for the first time.
Eighteen-year-old Jovic astonishingly dropped just a single game to beat the experienced Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 in her first-ever Grand Slam fourth round match, before Tien later thrashed three-time Melbourne Park finalist Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.
https://x.com/TheTennisLetter/status/2015333133244359073?s=20
Jovic, who is the youngest member of the WTA Top 100, scored a first Top 10 win in this tournament against Jasmine Paolini, and incredibly still hasn’t dropped a set in Melbourne after her 53-minute demolition job on Day 8.
“I still don’t think it feels real,” Jovic told ESPN. “This is what you dream about. I thought maybe it would happen in many years to come, and maybe one day I would make it far, but I didn’t think it would be so quick.”
American Learner Tien, who is coached by former Australian Open runner-up Michael Chang, is the youngest American to reach his first major quarterfinal since Andy Roddick in 2001
Twenty-year-old Tien, who is coached by former Australian Open runner-up Michael Chang, is the youngest American to reach his first major quarterfinal since Andy Roddick in 2001. In the last eight, the left-handed player will go up against 2025 runner-up Alexander Zverev, who had a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 success over good friend Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina.
https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2015352690734199068?s=20
Coco Gauff was another American winner on Sunday when she outplayed Czech Karolina Muchova 6-3 in the third set to make it at least three playing under the Stars and Stripes into the quarterfinals across both draws. It will be a 10th major quarterfinal appearance already for the 21-year-old.
https://x.com/tntsports/status/2015327337521332228?s=20
Sabalenka, Alcaraz cruise on
Both World No.1s were back in action, Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz, and are yet to drop a set during the event after hitting top gear during fourth-round tests.
Alcaraz earned a win over another American Tommy Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 inside Rod Laver Arena to set up a sixth meeting with local hero Alex de Minaur. The Australian ‘Demon’ won a tight first set before cruising 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 against World No.10 Alexander Bublik during the evening session.
Sabalenka notched up a record 20th consecutive winning tiebreak at a Grand Slam on her way to beating exciting young Canadian Victoria Mboko 6-1, 7-6(1) on the same court. The top seed and two-time champion has won 24 of her past 25 matches in Melbourne and faces Jovic next.
Svitolina stops Andreeva in her tracks
In the final Sunday match at Rod Laver Arena, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina continued her perfect start to 2026 by ousting No.8 seed Mirra Andreeva 6-2, 6-4. The recent Auckland champion has now won all nine of her matches this season and moves into her fourth Australian Open quarterfinal, where she’ll face Gauff.
“It’s unbelievable,” Svitolina said post-match. “Very, very pleased with the performance tonight. I had to really put up the fight and fight until the very last point. It was an extremely nerve-racking match, and I was very happy with the way I held myself.”
https://x.com/TheTennisLetter/status/2015393355493175477?s=20
Asked if her husband Gael Monfils’ chilled approach found its way to her, Svitolina replied with a smile, “I was not chilled tonight so he would not be happy, but I think he might be happy with my win today.”
Djokovic in quarters without hitting a ball
Late on Sunday there was sad news from young Czech Jakub Mensik, who pulled out of the tournament with an abdominal injury. That means his fourth-round opponent Novak Djokovic, who he was expected to face on Monday, moves into a 16th Australian Open quarterfinal with a walkover. Djokovic will play either Lorenzo Musetti or Taylor Fritz on Wednesday.
