OVERNIGHT ROUND-UP: Play was suspended on the Australian Open on Saturday whereas two podcast co-hosts will meet within the round-of-16.
Excessive temperatures wreaked havoc on day seven of the Australian Open (Picture: Getty)
Day seven of the Australian Open has gone down as many anticipated after they noticed the forecast. Play has been suspended for round three hours, with the warmth stress scale reaching 5, its highest quantity, forcing all matches on outdoors courts to return to a cease.
The suspension additionally supplied No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner a lifeline, as his match on Rod Laver Enviornment was paused on the excellent second for the roof to be closed. Sinner had been cramping, and welcomed a couple of minutes away from the court docket. Sinner is one in every of three Italian males to advance to the fourth spherical immediately.
On the ladies’s aspect, it’s been an enormous day for the Individuals. However two of them will now face one another. Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula – who co-host a tennis podcast collectively – will meet within the spherical of 16. They need to report an episode earlier than their match, and are already planning some enjoyable forfeits for the loser.
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Warmth chaos
As anticipated, the intense warmth has precipitated chaos at Melbourne Park. Play was introduced ahead to begin at 10.30am in an try to make sure the gamers might get on and off the court docket earlier than the temperatures elevated. Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula each received shortly after getting an earlier begin time. However two-time reigning champion Jannik Sinner has severely struggled.
The No. 2 seed was cramping badly in the beginning of the third set, after splitting the primary two units with world No. 85 Eliot Spizzirri, and referred to as the coach. Whereas Sinner trailed 1-3, the warmth stress scale formally hit 5. Play was suspended on all out of doors courts shortly earlier than 3pm native time, and the referee has now introduced that matches wouldn’t resume till at the least 6.30pm – a suspension of just about 4 hours.
On the sector courts, together with Rod Laver Enviornment, the place Sinner was, play was suspended for a couple of minutes till the roof might be closed. It was a lifeline for the Italian, he got here from a break right down to win the third set, and he and Spizzirri got a 10-minute break in accordance with the warmth coverage earlier than set 4 began, and the Italian went on to win in 4.
Reigning champion Madison Keys faces buddy and podcast co-host Jessica Pegula subsequent (Picture: Getty)
Forfeits deliberate in podcast showdown
Good pals and podcast co-hosts Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula have arrange an thrilling showdown within the fourth spherical of the Australian Open. Reigning champion Keys and No. 6 seed Pegula host the Gamers Field Podcast with fellow American professionals Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk. They may face off on the court docket on Monday, however need to report an episode on Sunday first!
“Truly I feel we will attempt to report tomorrow since we’ve a time without work tomorrow to get our episode for subsequent week,” Pegula stated after reaching the second week. “Possibly it’s going to assist the numbers on the pod. If we movie tomorrow, we are able to form of, yeah, market that it was, like, us recording earlier than we needed to play one another. We’ll see what sort of segments we are able to come up. It might be like a trash speak section earlier than we play.”
Pegula was as soon as uncovered on the podcast after one in every of her Thanksgiving traditions got here to gentle – having apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese on prime. And Keys revealed that they had been considering of forfeits for the loser. The reigning champion defined: “We’re filming tomorrow. She stated she needs to have, like, whoever loses, like, the opposite particular person can provide you with one thing.
“She needs to make me eat her disgusting apple pie with cheese on prime of it if I lose, which I stated I refuse, so she’s going to have to think about one thing else. We’re each going to strive to think about one thing to form of commemorate this second.”
We see it, however we do not imagine it ??????
This return from Valentin Vacherot was wild ?????? @wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/ENeAkDVzUl
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2026
Italian and American success
We’ve seen a theme within the day session matches. American girls Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, and Amanda Anisimova all earned fast, straight-set victories, whereas on the lads’s aspect, the Italians are having fun with success. Luciano Darderi beat Karen Khachanov 7-6(5) 3-6 6-3 6-4 to succeed in the final 16 of a Main for the primary time in his profession earlier than No. 5 seed Lorenzo Musetti beat final week’s Adelaide champion, Tomas Machac, 5-7 6-4 6-2 5-7 6-2.
And Jannik Sinner survived a couple of scares in his conflict with former faculty tennis participant Eliot Spizzirri to advance 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4. The 2-time defending champion was the primary to get damaged within the second, third, and fourth units, however nonetheless battled again. It leaves some room for all-American and all-Italian clashes within the fourth spherical, with Keys vs Pegula and Sinner vs Darderi.
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Vacherot’s mad return
Valentin Vacherot was ousted within the third spherical of the Australian Open on Saturday, dropping to No. 6 seed Ben Shelton 6-4 6-4 7-6(5) below the roof on Margaret Courtroom Enviornment. However the Monegasque nonetheless managed to tug off one of many photographs of the match earlier than bowing out.
At 3-3 within the opening set, Vacherot simply managed to get his racket on one in every of Shelton’s large serves. He smacked the ball again, and it completely caught the road. The No. 30 seed went on to lose the purpose, however commentator John Fitzgerald stated: “That’s probably the most superb photographs I’ve ever seen!”
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