Mannarino swept away by Djokovic, Sabalenka and Gauff hold their place… What to remember from Sunday’s matches

The shock of the night did not reach the hoped-for peak. Frenchman Adrian Mannarino fell to a very high level Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 in Melbourne.

There is only one Frenchman left in the men’s draw for the first Grand Slam lift of the tennis season. Adrian Mannarino will not go further than the round of 16 of the Australian Open, soundly beaten by the master of the place, world number one Novak Djokovic, Sunday January 21. Now only Arthur Cazaux remains, in the running on Monday. Among the women, this time the big names were at the party with the qualifications of the title holder Aryna Sabalenka, and the number 4 seed Coco Gauff.

The Frenchman: Adrian Mannarino came across a merciless Novak Djokovic

There was hope, almost irrational, the kind that gives beauty to sport to the detriment of logic. Adrian Mannarino certainly had it, but logic caught up with him from the first moments. Against Novak Djokovic, world number one and ten-time winner in Australia, the Habs did not exist, crushed 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 in 1h44 of play. The worst part of all that? The 35-year-old wasn’t being ridiculous. He simply came across a Serb in total control and author of by far his best match since the start of the fortnight.

That the start of the match must have seemed long to the Frenchman, the games passing by in a rare proportion at such an advanced stage of a Major. But against a Djokovic as fair in his play (17 aces, 70% first ball) as in the exchange, Mannarino never had the right to this famous hope, waiting for the 14th game to finally open his counter.

The Frenchman will not have passed five sets this time, as during his first three exciting rounds. So much for the show. But Novak Djokovic didn’t care, he joined Roger Federer with a 58^e quarter-final in a Grand Slam, historic record equaled.

The contenders: Fritz dismisses outgoing finalist Tsitsipas, Sinner ensures

At this stage of the quarters, Djokovic will not have the right to a revenge of last season’s final. His 2023 victim, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, was dominated by the American Taylor Fritz in four sets (7-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3). The number 12 seed confirms its progress in the first half of last season and seems to have reached a milestone, with a first quarter-final to come in Australia. Enough to hope to cast doubt on the title holder, who beat him in their first eight confrontations?

Another young wolf ready to stand up to Djoker, Jannik Sinner continues his journey. Without always being brilliant, the Italian dominated the Russian Karen Khachanov in three sets (6-4, 7-5, 6-3). The number 4 seed will have to do better on his serve to spare his efforts in the rest of the tournament. His next match promises to be a new big challenge, against Alex de Minaur (n°10) or Andrey Rublev (n°5).

The favorites: Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, strong in the storm

The wave of surprises in the women’s draw did not take place this Sunday. Winner last year, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka did not tremble to dismiss the American Amanda Anisimova (6-3, 6-2). The poster, however, had everything of a trap against a player who had beaten him in four of their five matches.

But the number 2 seed was ruthless in his fielding, conceding only one break point, unconverted, in the game. She will face the 2021 Roland-Garros winner Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-finals, defeating the new 16-year-old prodigy Mirra Andreeva (4-6, 6-3, 6-2).

Another big name to have avoided the massacre which took away, for example, the world number one Iga Swiatek on Saturday, Cori Gauff (n°4) was even more expeditious than Sabalenka. The winner of the last US Open defeated in 63 minutes the Polish Magdalena Frech (6-1, 6-2), who defeated Caroline Garcia in the 2nd^e round. The 19-year-old American will face the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, barely older (21 years old) and who reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.