While world No.1 Iga Swiatek is on her way home, No.4 seed Gauff’s campaign for a second grand slam title continues to build momentum after she dominated from the outset against Poland’s Magdalena Frech in their fourth-round clash on centre court.

The American took just 63 minutes to dispatch world No.69 Frech 6-1 6-2 to improve on her best result at Melbourne Park.

Gauff had previously reached the fourth-round of the Australian Open twice, most recently last year.

The 19-year-old is yet to drop a set in her 2024 campaign as she seeks to add the Australian Open crown to her breakthrough US Open win last year.

1.40PM: RAIN HALTS PLAY IN MELBOURNE

Play has been suspended in the fourth-round match between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova on Margaret Court Arena due to a rain delay.

Play was halted once, before the players resumed only for play to be stopped for a second time.

The umpire then announced the roof would be closed.

Sabalenka leads 4-1 in the opening set, while Anisimova was 30-0 up in her service game before play was stopped.

Similarly, the start to the clash between Novak Djokovic and Adrian Mannarino copped a brief delay as ball kids mopped up the court on Rod Laver Arena.

1.30PM: WOMEN’S SEEDS IN SCARY FORM

It’s a day of carnage at Melbourne Park so far – with the big seeds flexing their muscles as we speed towards the business end of the tournament.

Fourth seed Coco Gauff took just 63 minutes to destroy Magdalena Frech in straight sets, and now defending champion Aryna Sabalenka is doing some serious damage on Margaret Court Arena.

She’s jumped out to a 3-0 start against American Amanda Anisimova to cement her status as the player to beat in the woman’s draw.

1.10PM: ALCARAZ BREAKS RECORD, EYES NOVAK

Carlos Alcaraz is the young star, barely out of his teens, who seems destined to take over from Novak Djokovic as the most feared player in the tennis world.

The 20-year-old on Saturday notched another stunning record for his resume when he broke Bjorn Borg’s record to become the youngest player in the Open era to reached the second week in seven consecutive grand slams.

A mighty achievement, but not one worth celebrating, according to Alcaraz.

Because his focus is only on breaking the records of one man.

“I try not to give it importance because the records I want to break are the ones that Novak (Djokovic) is breaking,” Alcaraz said.

“These are the goals I have set for my career. Taking them away from legends like Borg is always a good thing, but if you put too much value on them, it can work against you.”

He next faces Miomir Kecmanovic for a place in the quarter-finals.

12.50PM: ‘IT’S CRAZY’: NOVAK RIVAL’S BIZARRE SUPERSTITION REVEALED

Adrian Mannarino has been described as the most interesting man in tennis – and not just because of his tequila-swigging antics, loosely strung racquet and non-sponsored clothing.

The quirk that has truly captured the imagination of the tennis world is his phobia of learning who his upcoming opponent is until the last minute before a match.

That means that, yes, if all things go to plan then the unique 35-year-old doesn’t know he is playing world No.1 Novak Djokovic later today.

It speaks to the Frenchman’s relaxed style that he prefers not to know who he next plays, and doesn’t come up with player-specific match plans.

But it certainly confuses everyone else on tour.

“The interesting thing about Adrian Mannarino, he doesn’t realise who he plays until he walks out on the court – it’s a known fact,” said the recently retired John Millman.

“If you’re around Adrian, don’t tell him who his next opponent is. He doesn’t look really. It’s crazy. It’s crazy.”

12.44PM: GAUFF STUNS IN 26-MINUTE BLOODBATH

– Rebecca Williams

The top women’s seed is on her way home, but teenage star Coco Gauff looks more than comfortable in her fourth-round match on Rod Laver Arena.

The No.4 seed took just 26 minutes to wrap up the first set against Polish player Magdalena Frech.

Gauff dropped just one game in the opening set against the world No.69, who has not passed the first round of the Australian Open before this year.

12.35PM: GAUFF STORMS OUT OF THE BLOCKS EARLY

It’s been a hot start from Coco Gauff on Rod Laver Arena.

The American fourth seed broke Magdelena Frech in the opening game of the match, and backed it up with another break in the Pole’s third service game, to race to a 4-1 lead in the opening set of the match.

It’s a cool 18 degrees in Melbourne today, but Gauff doesn’t look like she wants to spent any extra time than she has to on centre court.

12.15PM: GAUFF EYES QUARTER-FINALS

The first match up on Rod Laver Arena is about to get underway.

US Open champion and fourth seed Coco Gauff has been in good touch and is up against Poland’s Magdalena Frech as she attempts to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

At just 19, Gauff is ranked 3rd in the world and is already a grand slam champion – following her 2023 US Open triumph.

The draw is starting to open up for her to add a second slam title to her resume. But first, Frech.

11.45AM: AUSSIE STAR CAUGHT UP IN ‘CONCERNING’ TENNIS MELTDOWN

Australia’s Storm Hunter unwittingly had the best seat in the house for one of the biggest blow-ups of the Australian Open when doubles partner Katarina Siniakova erupted during their second-round match on Saturday.

Down a set to Australian duo Maddison Inglis and Destinee Aiava, Siniakova and Hunter were in control at 4-2 in the second set before the Czech star inexplicably double-faulted to give back the break.

That triggered an explosion from Siniakova, who threw down her racquet in anger before smashing it as she returned to her seat. An emotional Siniakova then turned her attention to her box as commentators expressed their concerns about the doubles star.

“There’s something going on isn’t there?” said commentator Abigail Johnson.

“I think this is something deeper than a match.

“She’s been in tougher situations than this.

“It’s concerning to be honest because we don’t know these players as people … anything could be happening off the court and we have no idea.”

But far from unravelling, Siniakova – with the help of world No.1 Hunter – recovered as the pair took the second set 7-5 and sealed the match with a comfortable 6-1 third set.

The third seeds face Russians Ekaterina Alexandrova and Anna Kalinskaya this afternoon in the third round.

11.20AM: TEEN STAR SHOWS OFF GRUESOME BITE MARK

Mirra Andreeva appeared to bite her own arm during her Australian Open third round clash with Diane Parry.

The 16-year-old has had an impressive breakthrough tournament Down Under.

Beaten in last year’s girls’ singles final, Andreeva has left her mark on the women’s event this time around.

After defeating Bernarda Pera in straight sets in round one, world No.47 Andreeva dismantled fifth seed Ons Jabeur for the loss of just two games in a 6-0, 6-2 demolition.

She looked to back up her incredible Jabeur win against world No.72 Diane Parry.

The Frenchwoman won the first set 6-1 against her precocious opponent on Court 3.

Andreeva came roaring back, however, levelling the contest by winning the second set 6-1.

After falling an early break down in the decider, the Russian furiously berated herself.

And during the third set, Andreeva appeared to have bite marks on her own arm.

She went on to fall 5-1 down and looked on the brink of exiting the tournament.

But Andreeva showed off her steely resolve, somehow clawing her way back from the brink to win the match 10-5 in a deciding tiebreak.

– The Sun

11AM: ‘SPECIAL MOMENT’ AWAITS HEWITT

There’s a familiar name on the schedule today: Hewitt.

And while Lleyton Hewitt was a mainstay at Melbourne Park for two decades, it is son Cruz who will momentarily steal the spotlight today.

The 15-year-old will today take to Court 3 as a wildcard in the junior boys’ singles event – taking on sixth seed Alexander Razeghi.

And Hewitt Snr, who had a warm-up hit with his son this morning, couldn’t be happier.

“Just unbelievably proud, to be honest,” Hewitt said on Channel 9.

“They asked me late last night if I would go out and warm him up this morning on Show Court 3. Just a really special moment.

“My first ever main draw match at the Australian Open was actually out on Show Court 3 as well.

“Just some great memories coming back of me playing here. He’s been around the traps, but he’s worked extremely hard to get this opportunity. He is playing well.

“He’s still very young. This is all a learning experience. That’s what the junior event is all about.

“You want to get the opportunity to play here in seniors one day. He’s been fortunate enough to get a wildcard and hopefully goes out, has a lot of fun.”

10.15AM: FREAKISH NOVAK STAT BEHIND DECADE-LONG DOMINANCE

Novak Djokovic will next face French veteran Adrian Mannarino, but one remarkable statistic has emerged about the world No.1’s incredible Australian Open dominance.

And it spells the end of Mannarino’s impressive run this season.

Why? Because aside from being a 10-time Australian Open champion, Djokovic has only shown frailties against one particular subset of tennis players in recent years: the bespectacled kind.

Because today marks the 10 year anniversary of Djokovic’s last defeat at Melbourne Park… to a player not wearing on-court glasses.

His only defeats in that time came to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin, in 2017, and South Korea’s Hyeon Chung the following year.

Of course, ten years ago Djokovic was defeated by eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in the 2014 quarter-finals.

9.30AM: WHY ‘UNBLEMISHED’ DEMON WILL TRIUMPH

Alex de Minaur faces the biggest test of his Australian Open to date in the form of fifth seed Andrey Rublev tonight.

The powerhouse Russian is a giant step up in class compared to De Minaur’s three vanquished foes, but retired Australian star John Millman is confident the Demon has what it takes to reach a maiden Melbourne Park quarter-final.

And knocking Novak Djokovic off Rod Laver Arena for the prime-time night match could be De Minaur’s secret weapon against the big-hitting Rublev.

“Andrey hits the absolute cover off the ball,” Millman said on Channel 9.

“I learned that first hand when he annihilated me in Shanghai, but Alex is one of the quickest guys on tour, so I think it’s in this night time condition on it’s going to be a little bit slower.

“I think he’s going to use his wheels to get into the point and he is quietly confident.”

De Minaur’s perfect start to 2024, which included a United Cup victory over Novak Djokovic, is more reason to be confident.

“He hasn’t lost in 2024 … his record has been unblemished and I think that he’ll take that confidence in with him,” Millman added.

“I’ve never seen him so relaxed at the Australian Open. I think he’s fresh, he’s ready to go.

“He’s just entered into the top ten for the first time in his career, and I think he has that belief now, which is a dangerous Alex de Minaur.”

9.10AM: DJOKER, DEMON, HEWITT: AUS OPEN’S BIGGEST DAY YET

Son of a gun Cruz Hewitt will begin his Australian Open Junior Championships campaign on Sunday after being granted a wildcard entry into the tournament.

The son of Australian tennis great Lleyton, the 15-year-old will take on American Alexander Razeghi in his opening match.

Cruz has been described as “one of the best young players in Australia”, with former Australian women’s star Alicia Molik likening his game to both his father and Nick Kyrgios.

Lleyton – a Wimbledon and US Open champion – will next week be honoured with a hall of fame ceremony and bronze bust at Melbourne Park.

Cruz is not the only son of a former tennis star competing in the junior tournament, with American Jagger Leach another player with famous bloodlines.

Leach is the son of Lindsay Davenport, who won the Australian Open in 2000 among three career grand slam singles wins.

Leach won his first-round match against Russian-born Daniil Sarksian on Saturday, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

— Chris Cavanagh

8.45AM: UKRANIAN STAR TORCHES ONLINE TROLLS

– Callum Dick

Ukrainian tennis star Lesia Tsurenko has hit out at online trolls who continue to celebrate her straight-sets defeat to Aryna Sabalenka.

Tsurenko, 34, was knocked out of the Australian Open on Friday 6-0 6-0 by reigning champion Sabalenka.

The two players had a shared history. At Indian Wells last year, Tsurenko withdrew from their scheduled third-round clash, later citing a panic attack brought on by an earlier conversation with WTA CEO Steve Simon about Russian and Belarusian players and the war in Ukraine.

World No.2 Sabalenka is a Belarusian player. She has repeatedly fielded questions about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Friday, Tsurenko and Sabalenka did not shake hands at the net as is the customary gesture at the end of a match. Instead the two players acknowledged each other with a wave.

It has become standard practice for Ukrainian players to not shake the hands of Russian and Belarusian rivals.

On Friday, Tsurenko said it was a “national position” that she would continue to observe – a point which did not sit well with online trolls.

Tsurenko hit out in an Instagram post on Saturday night to address the barrage of abuse she had received.

“I noticed that my loss yesterday made a lot of people happy. So my new post is for you,” Tsurenko wrote on Instagram.

“Please feel free to express whatever you want to me. I hope this will make you happy for a little bit longer.

“But you know, on the eve of the new year, my friend returned from Russian captivity after 1.5 years. Lost 55 kilograms of body weight and with an infection in his legs, but the main thing is that he is alive. This is real happiness.

“So I hope that you will also have real reasons to feel happy in your life, and not because of the loss of some random tennis player whom you have never even met in your life.”

8AM: WELCOME TO THE SECOND WEEK!

Hello and welcome from Melbourne Park, where – owing to the early start to the tournament last Sunday – we’re officially into the second week.

The fourth round is upon us, and that means the tennis is about to go up a gear.

We have a day-time treat today, with Novak Djokovic making a rare appearance in the Melbourne sun when he takes on Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in his first daytime fixture in 1075 days.

But first, American Coco Gauff has a chance to creep closer to another grand slam victory when she takes on Poland’s Magdalena French.

And, of course, tonight we have Australia’s Alex de Minaur and his quest for a maiden quarter-final appearance at his home slam. In his way is fifth seed Andrey Rublev, with that match set for the prime time slot on Rod Laver Arena tonight.

Originally published as Australian Open day 8 live: Novak Djokovic, Alex de Minaur in action in fourth round