Five quick hits from the Australian Open: Alex de Minaur's 'shot of the tournament' and Andrey Rublev's erratic brilliance
By Hanan Dervisevic, Claudia Williams, and Jon HealyAlex de Minaur gives us some memorable highlights on his way out of the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff tries to keep things in perspective as she romps through to the quarters.
Here are five quick hits from day eight at Melbourne Park.
1. Alex de Minaur's 'shot of the tournament'
Lleyton Hewitt has been in Alex de Minaur's camp for years now, so he may be a little biased towards the scrappy Aussie who has emulated so many of the best parts of Hewitt's game.
But it was hard to argue with the former world number one when he labelled de Minaur's shot to reach 2-2 in the second-set tiebreak against Andrey Rublev "the shot of the tournament".
A Rublev forehand popped up off the net cord and fell just on the de Minaur side of the court. The speed Demon snapped into action and charged forward from behind the baseline, sliding into the tram lines and just getting his racquet under the ball before a second bounce.
He also managed to sneak it between the umpire's chair and the net post, and hit it with enough depth to force a half-volley from Rublev, who couldn't get the ball back into play.
The Russian immediately remonstrated with his box as he pointed towards de Minaur, seemingly bemused as to how he got to the ball at all.
2. Rublev rollercoaster rumbles over Aussie hopes
Almost from the opening exchanges on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night, Andrey Rublev was shouting at his box, even as he was on top in the match.
In the third-set tiebreak he threatened to snap a racquet over his knee and almost certainly broke it at least a little bit when he threw it to the ground later in the breaker, surreptitiously sending a couple of sticks for re-stringing so as to avoid a code violation.
He most likely let out some expletives that would have earned a warning for audible obscenities if only umpire Fergus Murphy spoke Russian, but all the while he was playing phenomenal tennis that belied a seeming loss of control.
"Better not to be inside my head," he said on court after the match.
"It's like a scary movie. A lot of emotions up and down."
That was amplified tenfold in the fifth and final set, when it appeared he was cramping in his right leg, with his support staff rushing to get him some electrolytes (i.e. packets of salt).
The ailment in his lower half only served to hyper-focus his powerful groundstrokes and he repeatedly ripped winners like the tennis equivalent of Glenn Maxwell, all with just a single unforced error as he jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
He finished de Minaur off just in time before his body betrayed him, in the midst of a seven-game winning streak.
3. Illness not a problem for Djokovic as he cruises into quarterfinals
Nothing could stop Novak Djokovic from reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals — not the veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino or a viral infection.
As the match approached the one-hour mark, there were some huge signs all was not well for the 10-time champion.
During Djokovic's second service game in the second set, he seemed to dry retch between points as Mannarino pushed him from side to side.
As if that wasn't enough, he also had tissues falling out of his pockets.
But one thing you can't deny is Djokovic's mental game, as somehow he managed to push on to win the set. Maybe it was the fact that he used his entire 25-seconds before every serve to regroup.
And the world number one didn't stop there, eventually eliminating Mannarino in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, 6-3.
Post-match, Djokovic attempted to put to bed any concerns around his health saying he's "really pleased" with his condition.
"The last couple of days have been really good so it's going in a positive direction, health wise and tennis wise so I'm really pleased with where I am at the moment."
Five days prior to the tournament, he mentioned he was battling the flu, but admitted in recent days that he hadn't taken a COVID-19 test.
4. Shoes keep Gauff grounded
When world number four Coco Gauff looks down while she's playing, it is not a sign that she's struggling.
She says she is looking at her shoes which serve as a reminder of where she comes from.
The 19-year-old American is through to the quarterfinals after a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Magdalena Fręch.
After the match, she explained that written on her shoes is the coordinates of the public tennis courts she played on growing up in Florida and her brothers names.
"It is a reminder that life is much more than tennis and how I do out here on the court doesn't define me as a person," she said.
"I think that goes for everyone; your workplace, whatever you do, doesn't define you as a person.
"Everything I do on the court is a plus to my life. I have everything that I need and this is just all extra."
5. Who's playing at the Australian Open today?
All the Australians are out of the singles draws, but there are a few mouth-watering contests to look out for as the fourth round wraps up.