The 2026 Australian Open continues but the path of Jasmine Paolini, the last Italian player left on the draw Down Under, comes to a halt. Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Alex De Minaur are not wrong. Victory in the fifth set for Daniil Medvedev over Fabian Marozsan, Rublev out. Tomorrow Jannik Sinner returns to the pitch, playing on the Rod Laver Arena against Eliot Spizzirri no earlier than 2.00 am (Italian time). At 00.30 Lorenzo Musetti and Luciano Darderi engaged, respectively with Tomas Machac and Karen Khachanov.
Jasmine Paolini, conditioned by some stomach problems, surrendered in two sets to Iva Jovic, class of 2007: 6-2, 7-6 (3), in an hour and 46 minutes on court, the score in favor of the American, seeded number 29, who will play for a place in the quarter-finals with the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, who interrupts the dream journey of the Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez, knockout for 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3. “It was very hard because I couldn’t move as well as I could. Lying down on the sofa after lunch wasn’t a good idea for my stomach. I tried to stay there at every point, to play deep and reach the third set, but it wasn’t enough. I think today wasn’t my day because the serve was really bad”, were the words, in the press conference, of Paolini, who leaves Melbourne and is unable to match the best result obtained in Australia (round of 16 in 2024).
Carlos Alcaraz makes no mistakes and enters the round of 16 with ease. The world number one gets rid of Corentin Moutet in three sets and earns a place in the best 16 players in Melbourne: 6-2, 6-4, 6-1, in two hours and 7 minutes on court, the score in favor of the Spaniard. “It’s never easy to play against Moutet, you never know what he can do, it’s not a given to prepare for the match against him, I’m happy with how I managed”, the words, in the on-field interview, of Alcaraz, who will compete for a place in the quarter-finals with Tommy Paul. The American takes advantage of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s retirement after two sets (6-1 6-1) to save energy for the match with the six-time Slam champion from Murcia.