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Alexander Zverev is in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The German number one did not give a set against the Serb Dusan Lajovic and prevailed 6: 4, 7: 6, 6: 3.
Even in the only critical situation of the match, the 23-year-old remained calm.
Zverev was already one break ahead in the second round, leading 6: 5 and 30:15 when he hit a simple forehand volley behind the baseline.
Instead of two set balls for a 2-0 lead, the German tennis professional conceded the re-break and had to go into the tie-break, which he then won with a concentrated 7: 5.
Sentence three was only a matter of form.
Zverev seems ready for number one, which he could now face in the quarter-finals.
With a win over Novak Djokovic or Milos Raonic, he would move into the semi-finals in Melbourne, as in the previous year, and would have good chances of making it to the final in his half of the tableau after his friend Dominic Thiem was eliminated.
Well roared: Alexander Zverev stayed against Dusan Lajovic without losing a set and is in the quarterfinals
Source: dpa / Andy Brownbill
Thiem experiences debacle, Serena Williams trembles
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The US Open champion lost his round of 16 against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 4: 6, 4: 6, 0: 6 and was largely without a chance.
Two days after his five-set win against the Australian Nick Kyrgios, the 27-year-old world number three looked battered and powerless.
Last year Thiem was still in the final in Melbourne.
"The disappointment is of course huge," said Thiem after his unexpectedly clear defeat.
"It was a combination of several things: a few physical things, a really bad day, and then Grigor is just a good player too," said the Austrian.
He didn't want to go into more detail about his physical problems.
“I don't want to make excuses.
I'm not a machine, even if I would like to be one. "
You can't be so sure about Serena Williams.
The message on her shirt was clear.
“Unstoppable queen” was written in golden letters on the dark top that the 39-year-old wore after making it to the press conference in the quarter-finals.
On her way to the longed-for 24th Grand Slam title, the top favorite on Sunday in Melbourne was not stopped by Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, who was so strong recently.
The American won 6: 4, 2: 6, 6: 4 in the round of 16 and is only three wins away from setting the Grand Slam record of Australian Margaret Court, who is controversial because of her anti-gay and lesbian-hostile statements.
Unstoppable: Serena Williams registers claims for the next triumph in a Grand Slam tournament
Source: AFP / VINCE CALIGIURI
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Williams converted her first match point in the Rod Laver Arena after 2:09 hours.
“It was damn hard,” admitted the long-time number one in the tennis world.
"I just tried to stick with it," Williams said.
After winning the first set, the American made a little hangover in the second round and gave up the section with 2: 6.
In the third set, however, she managed a quick break to 3: 1.
Sabalenka, who had won the tournaments in Ostrava and Linz (both in 2020) and Abu Dhabi (2021) before the trip to Australia, showed a big fighter heart and managed the re-break to 3: 4.
But in the crucial phases the Belarusian overdid it a bit with her powerful game.
In the end, 36 simple mistakes were too many to cause the big surprise against Williams.
In the quarter-finals, Williams will meet Simona Halep from Romania, who beat Poland's Iga Swiatek in three sets (3: 6, 6: 1, 6: 4).
Before Williams, Naomi Osaka from Japan and Hsieh Su-Wei from Taiwan had already made it through the round of 16 at the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season.
US Open Champion Osaka beat last year's finalist Garbiñe Muguruza from Spain 4: 6, 6: 4, 7: 5 in a high-class game.
The 23-year-old fended off two match balls in the third set when the score was 3: 5.
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Because of the lockdown currently in force in Melbourne, no spectators could watch the exciting game in the arena.
"The audience would have enjoyed the game, maybe it would have been an even better match in front of the fans," said Osaka.
Hairy task: against Garbine Muguruza Naomi Osaka had to go over three sets and fend off two match points
Source: Getty Images / Mackenzie Sweetnam
However, the tennis professionals do not have to do without support in the big arenas.
The organizers have been playing audience applause from the tape over the loudspeakers since Sunday.
There is applause for the players both when entering the field and after each point.
"We want to give the professionals but also the viewers in front of the TV at least a little bit of the feeling as it normally would be," said tournament boss Craig Tiley.
Osaka will now face Hsieh Su-Wei from Taiwan on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old had no trouble in her 6: 4, 6: 2 against the Czech Marketa Vondrousova and is in the quarter-finals for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament.
Never before since the introduction of professional tennis in 1968 has a player made her quarter-final debut at a Grand Slam tournament older.
In the men's category, Russian qualifier Aslan Karazew made it into the quarter-finals completely unexpectedly. The 27-year-old prevailed against the number 20 seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime with 3: 6, 1: 6, 6: 3, 6: 3, 6: 4 and is the first to qualify for a grand Slam tournament in the quarter finals. In addition, Karazew is the first qualifier since Alex Radulescu in 1996 at Wimbledon, who survived the round of 16 on his Grand Slam debut. In the quarter-finals, the number 114 of the tennis world will now meet Thiem conqueror Dimitrov. The winner of the duel would then be a possible semi-final opponent of Zverev.