Novak Djokovic says his form at the Australian Open is "going in the right direction" as he bids for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic, 36, is aiming to move ahead of Margaret Court's total of 24 successes and is in the quarter-finals.

On Tuesday, he plays American 12th seed Taylor Fritz, who has lost all of his eight previous matches with the Serb.

"It's going in a positive direction health wise, tennis wise, so I'm really happy," said Djokovic.

Having started the tournament battling illness and surviving two long matches, he thrashed France's Adrian Mannarino 6-0 6-0 6-3 in the last 16 to match Roger Federer's record of reaching 58 Slam quarter-finals.

Fritz, 26, was beaten in five sets by Djokovic in the third round in Melbourne three years ago, despite the Serb suffering an abdominal injury mid-match.

"I have a lot more level to bring than I've previously brought against him," said Fritz.

"The last three games [against 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas], I really, really turned it on, almost like I was in a trance. It's been a while since I've had that feeling, so it gives me a lot of confidence."

In the last match on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, two of the top five seeds meet as Italy's Jannik Sinner, the fourth seed, plays fifth seed Andrey Rublev of Russia.

Sinner, 22, is yet to drop a set after a 6-4 7-5 6-3 victory over last year's semi-finalist Karen Khachanov.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Rublev ended hopes of a home winner for another year by defeating 10th seed Alex de Minaur.

Sabalenka targets another Australian Open title
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is aiming for more success as she looks to retain her women's singles title.

Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, the second and fourth seeds respectively, are the only two of the top eight seeds left in the quarter-finals.

"I really want to stay here as long as I can until the very last day. Hopefully, we can get this one, one more time," said Sabalenka.

Neither Sabalenka nor Gauff have dropped a set and they lost only eight games between them in the fourth round. They will meet in the semi-finals on Thursday if they both win their quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Sabalenka, 25, will face 28-year-old ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova, who ended the run of 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory.

US Open champion Gauff is through to the last eight at Melbourne Park for the first time and takes on Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, the 21-year-old who is 35th in the world, from 02:00 GMT.

"I'm super happy to be in this position and be here," said 19-year-old Gauff. "I think I had three fourth rounds. It's cool to get over that hump. Hopefully I can keep going for more."

Kostyuk, 21, reached the third round of the Australian Open as a 15-year-old in 2018 and made the last eight at a Slam for the first time thanks to a 6-2 6-1 victory over qualifier Maria Timofeeva.

"Definitely a lot has changed," said Kostyuk. "I really feel like it was in a different lifetime. A lot of things have happened in the past six years. I've changed probably six times already.

"It was a hell of a journey so far already. It's been a lot of years and I'm very happy I still feel fresh."

Source: BBC

BDST: 1030 HRS, JAN 23, 2024
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