Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2023 | Leigh Rogers
Aussie hope Alex de Minaur is excited to challenge world No.5 Novak Djokovic in a fourth-round showdown at Rod Laver Arena this evening.
“These are the matches you want to be playing,” said the 23-year-old Australian. “You want to be playing the best in the world.”
This is the first time that De Minaur has faced the nine-time Australian Open champion, who is currently on a 24-match winning streak at Melbourne Park.
“I’m ready for the battle,” vowed the world No.24. “I want to take it to him and show what I’m made of, you know, in the biggest of stages and just test myself out there.”
De Minaur is among 23 Aussies in action on an unmissable day eight at Australian Open 2023.
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Aussies in action:
[22] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [4] Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Men’s singles, fourth round, Rod Laver Arena, night session, first match (from 7pm AEDT)
Aussie favourite De Minaur has a big challenge tonight, as he aims to become the first player to beat Djokovic at the Australian Open since 2018. The 23-year-old Aussie has, however, won three of his six most recent meetings against a top 10-ranked opponent, including a stunning victory over world No.2 Rafael Nadal at the United Cup earlier this month. This is De Minaur’s second fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open, while 35-year-old Djokovic is making his 15th.
Head-to-head record: First meeting
> VIEW: Australian Open 2023 men’s singles draw
[WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/Jason Kubler (AUS) v Tomislav Brkic (BIH)/Gonzalo Escobar (ECU)
Men’s doubles, third round, Margaret Court Arena, third match (not before 2pm AEDT)
After eliminating the sixth seeds in the second round, 21-year-old Hijikata and 29-year-old Kubler are determined to continue their impressive run. The Aussie wildcards are aiming to reach their first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating world No.65 Brkic, a 32-year-old Bosnian, and world No.44 Escobar, a 33-year-old from Ecuador, in the third round.
[14] John Peers (AUS)/Andreas Mies (GER) v [WC] Alex Bolt (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS)
Men’s doubles, third round, Kia Arena, fourth match
World No.38 Peers is aiming to reach a fourth Australian Open quarterfinal. The 34-year-old Aussie faces two compatriots, 30-year-old Bolt and 28-year-old Saville, who have a lot of respect for the former world No.2’s achievements. “Peersy has had a great career, he’s well established on the doubles tour as one of the best players in the world,” Bolt said. “We’ll enjoy the battle.”
> VIEW: Australian Open 2023 men’s doubles draw
[4] Storm Hunter (AUS)/Elise Mertens (BEL) v Viktorija Golubic (SUI)/Monica Niculescu (ROU)
Women’s doubles, third round, Rod Laver Arena, night session, second match
World No.12 Hunter is enjoying a new partnership with world No.5 Mertens, a 27-year-old from Belgium. The fourth seeds have defeated two dangerous teams to reach the third round and now face world No.88 Golubic and world No.53 Niculescu. Hunter, a 28-year-old who lives in Melbourne, is aiming to reach the Australian Open doubles quarterfinals for a second straight year.
> VIEW: Australian Open 2023 women’s doubles draw
[WC] Alana Parnaby (AUS)/Andrew Harris (AUS) v [3] Desirae Krawczyk (USA)/Neal Skupski (GBR)
Mixed doubles, second round, Court 7, fourth match
World No.220 Parnaby, a 28-year-old Victorian, is looking to extend her amazing Australian Open debut. Her partner, world No.124 Harris, finds himself in an unusual position today. An off-court couple become on-court opponents, with the 28-year-old from Melbourne competing against his girlfriend Krawczyk. The 29-year-old American is ranked No.16 and teaming with world No.3 Skupski.
[WC] Kimberly Birrell (AUS)/Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v [WC] Olivia Gadecki (AUS)/Marc Polmans (AUS)
Mixed doubles, second round, Kia Arena, fifth match
One set of Aussie wildcards will advance to the quarterfinals – but the question is which one? The 25-year-old Polmans is the only player in this all-Australian showdown to have previously reached that stage in a Grand Slam mixed doubles draw. The 24-year-old Birrell, 21-year-old Hijikata and 20-year-old Gadecki all scored their first major mixed doubles wins this tournament.
> VIEW: Australian Open 2023 mixed doubles draw
[WC] Zara Larke (AUS) v [14] Yaroslava Bartashevich (FRA)
Girls’ singles, second round, Court 13, first match
After saving match points in her first-round win, Aussie wildcard Larke faces another big test in the second round. The 17-year-old from Queensland, who is ranked No.95, plays 14th-seeded Bartashevich, a 17-year-old from France ranked No.27.
Emerson Jones (AUS) v [2] Tereza Valentova (CZE)
Girls’ singles, second round, Court 16, first match (from 11am AEDT)
Jones is the youngest contender in this year’s Australian Open girls’ singles draw and has made a winning start to her campaign. The 14-year-old from the Gold Coast, who is ranked No.34, today faces world No.6 Valentova, a 15-year-old Czech.
> VIEW: Australian Open 2023 girls’ singles draw
[WC] Pavle Marinkov (AUS)/Zachary Viiala (AUS) v Jakub Filip (CZE)/Maxim Mrva (CZE)
Boys’ doubles, first round, Court 16, third match
Aussie wildcards Marinkov, a 16-year-old from New South Wales, and Viiala, a 17-year-old from Western Australia, play a Czech combination in the first round. Filip is a 17-year-old ranked No.57, while Mrva is a 15-year-old ranked No.20.
[WC] Cooper Errey (AUS)/Marcus Schoeman (AUS) v [4] Mihai Alexandru Coman (ROU)/Matej Dodig (CRO)
Boys’ doubles, first round, Court 12, fourth match
Errey, a 17-year-old Victorian, and Schoeman, a 17-year-old from Queensland, won the 18/u Australian Championships doubles title at the December Showdown. They will look to continue this winning form when they meet world No.15 Coman and world No.30 Dodig.
> VIEW: Australian Open 2023 boys’ doubles draw
Lily Taylor (AUS)/Mara Gae (ROU) v [3] Nikola Daubnerova (SVK)/Ranah Akua Stoiber (GBR)
Girls’ doubles, first round, Court 13, fourth match
The 16-year-old Taylor, a Queensland talent ranked No.47, is partnering Gae, a 17-year-old from Romania ranked No.73. They take on the No.3 seeds Daubnerova, a 17-year-old Slovak ranked No.9, and Stoiber, a 17-year-old Brit ranked No.24.
[WC] Zara Larke (AUS)/Anja Nayar (AUS) v Ashton Bowers (USA)/Naomi Xu (CAN)
Girls’ doubles, first round, Court 15, fourth match
Larke, a 17-year-old from Queensland ranked No.95, saved match points to defeat Bowers, a 17-year-old American ranked No.43, in the singles first round. Now they meet again in doubles. Larke is partnering 17-year-old Nayar, while Bowers is teaming with 16-year-old Canadian Xu.
> VIEW: Australian Open 2023 girls’ doubles draw
Emerson Jones (AUS)/Wakana Sonobe (JPN) v Rositsa Dencheva (BUL)/Yoana Konstantinova (BUL)
Girls’ doubles, first round, Court 16, fourth match
Jones has a big day ahead, competing in both singles and doubles. The 14-year-old is teaming with Sonobe, a 15-year-old from Japan ranked No.64. They face Bulgarian duo, world No.72 Dencheva and world No.53 Konstantinova, who are both 15.
[5] Hayden Jones (AUS)/Danil Panarin v Manas Dhamne (IND)/Aryan Shah (IND)
Boys’ doubles, first round, Court 12, fifth match
Jones, a 16-year-old from the Gold Coast, is Australia’s highest-ranked junior boy at world No.23. He is partnering world No.24 Panarin in the doubles competition. The fifth seeds face Indian combination world No.76 Dhamne and world No.44 Shah.
[WC] Roisin Gilheany (AUS)/Stefani Webb (AUS) v Lavinia Morreale (ITA)/Elizara Yaneva (BUL)
Girls’ doubles, first round, Court 16, fifth match
Victorians, 17-year-old Gilheany and 17-year-old Webb, are teaming up at their home Grand Slam. The wildcard pairing play Morreale, a 17-year-old Italian ranked No.132, and Yaneva, a 15-year-old Bulgarian ranked No.83.
> VIEW: Full Australian Open 2023 day eight schedule
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