Day 8 of this year’s Australian Open is in the books after a day filled with largely one-sided affairs, despite all eight players on the men’s side of the draw being seeded. And while it still showed us the continuation of a historic quest from what might go down as one of the greatest tennis players in history, it also saw one former finalist crash out, while another arguably rounded back into form at just the right time.
As such, here is a complete guide to all the action that happened.
Australian Open Day 8 Men’s Recap
The day started back at its original time as the weather conditions eased slightly. Also, for the first time in the Open Era, all players in the round of 16 of the men’s draw were seeded, highlighting the depth of competition on tour, even if the matches themselves did not quite live up to that billing.
Who Looked Good
The day began with Carlos Alcaraz producing his best performance of the tournament so far, overcoming a dangerous challenger in Tommy Paul, who had previously played him tough on this surface and again tested him more than any opponent had up to this point. But for every question asked by the American, Alcaraz had an answer. On the back of exceptional forehand and backhand play, particularly on the run and cross-court respectively, Alcaraz reached his third consecutive Australian Open quarterfinal.
There, he will face local top-ranked player Alex de Minaur, who himself delivered a strong showing, overcoming a resurgent Alexander Bublik. The Aussie played his usual suffocating brand of tennis, staying consistent from the baseline and extracting errors from his opponent. Bublik finished with more than 35 unforced errors, compared to only 10 from de Minaur.
As impressive as those performances were, the performance of the day arguably belonged to American youngster Learner Tien against former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev. While this matchup had been tricky for the Russian in the past, few could have imagined Tien dominating so thoroughly, dropping only seven games en route to victory. The young American may not have as many weapons as Jakub Mensik, nor be as flashy as Joao Fonseca, but he continues to prove that what matters most is what a player produces on court, showing clear and consistent signs of development.
Unfortunate Withdrawal
Unfortunately, the day came to a close with the news that Jakub Mensik would have to withdraw from his match against Novak Djokovic, citing an abdominal issue. The 20-year-old Czech, who beat Djokovic in the Miami Open final last year, was playing arguably his best tennis at a Slam to date and will be deeply disappointed by the untimely setback.
This means Djokovic will now have around four days of rest in the middle of the tournament before facing either Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals. That could prove crucial, as the 38-year-old has often looked to be running on a depleted tank in the latter stages of Slams in recent years.
Who Looked Bad
While his opponent played extremely well, Alexander Bublik, who since the French Open last year has arguably been a top-eight player in the world, a run that began with his famous five-set win over this same opponent, will be disappointed with his own performance. Had he played closer to his best, this was a match in which he clearly possessed the bigger weapons. He has now been breadsticked in five of his last six sets played in the ound of 16 of Majors, raising questions about why he tends to get overwhelmed in some of the biggest matches of his career.
Another player who struggled was Francisco Cerundolo. Heading into his match against Alexander Zverev, he had enjoyed success in this head-to-head, but he could not overcome the serve-return mismatch and the backhand-to-backhand pattern on a fast court. He made more than 30 unforced errors and won less than 45 percent of points on his second serve.
Medvedev, who started the year looking more like his old self than the version we saw for much of 2025, once again appeared completely gassed and short of ideas against an opponent he had previously lost to, but never been routed by in this manner. It raises the question of whether, at this stage of his career and with his physical levels clearly declined from his peak, he may only have one truly deep, grinding match per tournament in him — a match he used just two days ago against Fabian Marozsan.
Match of the Day
When there are four matches played in a day, and none of them go to a fourth set, it becomes difficult to crown a match of the day. But if one must be chosen, it would be Carlos Alcaraz versus Tommy Paul, a contest that for long stretches was as competitive as they come.
The two players hit more than 25 winners each and won almost 80 percent of their points on first serve, with many points ending at the net where both were highly efficient. The key difference came in Alcaraz’s dominance on second serve, both when serving and returning. That edge produced three closely contested sets, but still a straight-sets win, as the Spaniard now sits just three matches away from completing a Career Grand Slam.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images
