Australian Open Day 8 - Alcaraz sets up de Minaur showdown as Gauff + Sabalenka progress

We are getting to the business end of the Australian Open and Day 8 brought statement wins for the top Men’s seeds with Alcaraz, Zverev and de Minaur winning in emphatic style. Particularly impressive was home hope Alex de Minaur who took out his Roland-Garros conqueror Alexander Bublik in style, winning emphatically 6-4 6-1 6-1. The big question on Australia’s lips is can he do the impossible and take out World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals to make his first slam semi. Also causing a shock in a rematch from last year was Next Gen favourite Learner Tien who bageled Daniil Medvedev as he made it to his first quarter-final and as the youngest since 2015 to do it at Melbourne Park..

On the women’s side Coco Gauff rallied past tricky customer Karolina Muchova to make another quarterfinal in Australia where she will face off against veteran of the game Elina Svitolina who got the better of Mirra Andreeva in the night session, Svitolina has gone 9-0 in 2026 after ending her season following her first round defeat at the US Open last year. In the first match on Rod Laver, Sabalenka won her 20th consecutive tiebreak at grand slam level to oust teenage sensation Mboko but will have to do it again when she takes on another teen sensation Iva Jovic in the last 8. 

The team are also joined by their by David MacCallum, Director & General Manager of STH Group, the company responsible for all things AO Travel and Experiences. He joins the pod to tell Chris and our listeners more about their exciting offering and how you can secure the best AO Experience for 2027.

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Learn more and book your tickets through AO Travel & Experiences at ausopentravel.com

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