The Weekly Recap: Pro Tennis Around the Globe (Australian Open Edition)

What happened at the Australian Open this week? Plenty. We can't cover everything, but here's a few key highlights to keep you up to date...

Sabalenka Stays Steady in Week #1

With two consecutive Australian Open titles to her name, the pressure must be building as world #1 Aryna Sabalenka soars into the second week. But the Belarusian isn't showing it. She's won all of her matches in straight sets, starting with her first round win against Sloane Stephens which was featured in last week's article. After that, she took on Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who actually played a very solid game against the powerful righty. After Sabalenka won the first set 6-3, the Spaniard kept herself in the match and pushed the 3-time grand slam champion to 5-5. But that's when she stepped on the gas pedal and the rest was history, getting a powerful break to win the second set and the match 7-5. But her next challenge proved to be the most difficult one so far this week, and it was contested against the very in-form Clara Tauson. 

Photo credit: Hard Rock Stadium / Miami Open.

Tauson, who plays a less aggressive game than Sabalenka, could easily get over-powered by her seemingly unbeatable opponent. But for much of the first set, it was exactly the opposite. The Dane was able to push Sabalenka back, not letting her step up past the baseline which is where the world #1 wins most of her points. In fact, Tauson was able to maintain a 5-3 lead until Sabalenka broke back. But even then Tauson stayed with her, raising the set score to 6-6 before the more experienced Belarusian was able to take control and win the tiebreak. The second set also was close, but Sabalenka was able to win a key break to help her close out the match 6-4. Just hours ago, the 2x champion stepped out on Rod Laver Arena in what was expected to be her most difficult challenge yet---except it wasn't at all. Her opponent, Mirra Andreeva, didn't have a game to play and lost convincingly 1-6, 2-6, giving Sabalenka a good rest before she heads into the second week. And if her next matches are anything like these past four, then we can safely assume that she can add another title to her name. 

Ups & Downs for the Americans (and Floridians!)

The first half of the Australian Open has brought some rather interesting results for the crop of American competitors who are 10,000 miles away from home. There have been some interesting breakthroughs, some surprise upsets, and among all the chaos, Florida natives are making a statement in the draw. On the men's side, Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka, and Sebastian Korda have all suffered defeat before the second week. This is troubling especially for Fritz, who is currently the United State's best man ranked #4. A big "next step" for the Cali kid that people have been talking about for a few years now is producing better results at grand slams, and recently Fritz has been able to live up to that expectation after reaching the US Open final last summer. And with Danielle Collins, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova out on the women's side, things might not be looking as good as our home fans hoped.

Photo credit: ATP Tour.

But there are still so many Americans into the second week Down Under. Tommy Paul is holding strong with a confident three set win against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Coco Gauff slipped past Belinda Bencic after losing the first set. Madison Keys is making a statement and will take on Rybakina. Young guns Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien are also playing good tennis this week, and have secured their spots in the fourth round. In total, seven Americans remain across both sides, meaning that there are lots of chances for them to advance deep into the tournament and inch closer to bringing the prized silverware back to home soil. 

No Clear Favorite on Men's Side

As the quarterfinals are set at the Australian Open, there is still no clear favorite as to a potential victor. The #1 seed Jannik Sinner will take on home hope Alex De Minaur in his matchup. The Australian is seeded #8th at the event. This is certainly not the first time these two have played, let alone the first time at this major. After the Italian led the pair's record 2-0 in 2022, he took on De Minaur in a Round of 16 blockbuster which he won in straight sets. But both players were lower ranked, and as any basic analysis of their performances would illustrate, both have demonstrated enormous growth in general, especially in the last six months. Now, their head to head is 9-1 in Sinner's favor, and their most recent battle was just weeks ago at the Davis Cup Finals which the Italian won strongly 6-3, 6-4. As De Minaur is back on home soil with a potentially rowdy crowd behind him, Sinner's path to victory is a bit more foggy, but as the defending champion he will look to progress through this one in a straightforward manner, conserving energy for the last few rounds ahead. 

Photo credit: Andymiah, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikipedia Commons

Despite the beef between Djokovic and an Australian journalist that has been all the rage surrounding the Serbian the past few days, some people may forget that he is actually playing a very high level of tennis. And we shouldn't get too caught up in the commotion, because what is truly more important is that he will play Carlos Alcaraz in his quarterfinal. Both players have been flying just a bit under the radar in the past few months, and this match is certainly bringing the attention back to the duo's rivalry which is becoming more and more intriguing as the 2025 season starts. Physicality will play a big role in this fight as Alcaraz will look to wear the #7th seed down and take advantage over the fact that Djokovic is now 37 years old and may not be able to withstand a long, grueling battle. On the other hand, Djokovic will try to execute what he has done every time they have played: counter Alcaraz's aggressive game style with steady, well-constructed points and a high first serve percentage. It is hard to claim a favorite in this one as both can find a simple path to victory, but it will be up to which ever one can execute their strategy better.  [Editor's Note: Djokovic took down Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.]

Also in other quarterfinals are a few Americans who are featured in the section above. 

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Written by Will Turvey. Top photo: Hard Rock Stadium / Miami Open.