The second week of a Grand Slam frequently shows that the best players advance. This year is no different. After the usual string of mini-upsets and surprises, the top players in the world are now grabbing hold of the Australian Open.
On Monday, in each of the four men’s Round of 16 matches, the more highly ranked player held off an upset attempt and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Daniil Medvedev defeats Maxime Cressy
American upstart Maxime Cressy advanced to week two in a career best breakout week. However, the pixie dust ran out against world #2 Daniil Medvedev. The Russian proved simply too strong for Cressy, eliminating him in four sets. Cressy managed to claim the third set in a tie-breaker before bowing out in the fourth. Medvedev is now scheduled to play Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals.
Felix Auger-Aliassime defeats Marin Cilic
Like Medvedev, the #9 seeded Auger-Aliassime dismissed #27 Cilic in four sets. The 33 year old Cilic managed to ignite thoughts of an upset by swiping the first set 6-2 and then pushing the second to a tie-breaker. However, the Canadian who is 12 years junior to Cilic narrowly escaped the second set breaker (9-7) to even the match and gain the momentum. From there, Auger-Aliassime continued his upward trend and closed the affair by winning three straight sets.
Jannik Sinner defeats Alex de Minaur
The fast rising #11 seed Janik Sinner needed the minimum amount of sets to send Alex De Minaur out of the tournament. Sinner lost his serve only once in the match and fired 35 winners to move onto the quarters. De Minaur ended his run in his home Grand Slam, falling 7-6 6-3 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas defeats Taylor Fritz
In the closest match of the day, #4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated #20 Taylor Fritz. Tsitsipas needed to overcome a two sets to one deficit to knock out the young American.The five set match took nearly three and one half hours to complete.
Tsitsipas narrowly escaped the match. The Greek star needed a crucial break at 4-4 in the fifth to finally wrestle the advantage away from Fritz. After the break, Tsitsipas held serve to close the match. The final score 4-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4.
As the men’s quarters approach, the lowest ranked player still alive is #17 seeded Gael Monfils. Clearly, the best players are holding form in the 2022 Australian Open.
Main Photo from Getty.
