The Latest: Top-ranked Barty into Australian Open quarters

By Associated Press 27 January 2020, 12:00AM

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Latest on the Australian Open (all times local):

8:50 p.m.

Top-ranked Ash Barty is through to the Australian Open quarterfinals as she attempts to become the first Australian woman to win her national championship since Chris O'Neill in 1978.

Barty beat American Alison Riske 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena, breaking Riske's serve in the final game when Riske double-faulted on match point.

French Open champion Barty will play her quarterfinal match on Tuesday against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Kvitova beat Barty in the quarterfinals last year at Melbourne Park.

As part of Australia Day honors, the government awarded 23-year-old Barty the "Young Australian of the Year" award for her strong 2019 on the circuit which saw her rise to No. 1 in the rankings and win the WTA Finals as well as her first Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros.

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8:50 p.m.

Tennys Sandgren is into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second time in three years after beating 12th-seeded Fabio Fognini in four sets in a heated match on Melbourne Arena.

Sandgren won the first set in a tiebreaker and then had an animated conversation with chair umpire Damien Dumusois regarding Fognini. It came as the Italian player took a bathroom break. Fognini received a point penalty to start the second set and then called for a trainer to bandage his blistered fingers. Sandgren will play either Roger Federer or Marton Fucsovics in the quarterfinals.

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5:15 p.m.

Ons Jabeur has advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over No. 27-seeded Wang Qiang.

Wang was coming off an upset win over 23-time major winner Serena Williams in the third round. Jabeur was coming off a win over 2018 Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki, who went into retirement after the loss.

Jabeur lost in the first round in her two previous trips to the Australian Open, and her best previous run at a major was to the third round at the 2017 French Open and at last year's U.S. Open.

The 25-year-old Tunisian player will next take on No. 14 Sofia Kenin, who beat 15-year-old Coco Gauff in three sets in an all-U.S. fourth-round match.

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5 p.m.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic stayed on track for an eighth Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round.

It's the 11th time that Djokovic has reached the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park.

He improved his career record to 4-0 over Schwartzman, including previous wins at the 2014 U.S. Open and the 2017 French Open.

Djokovic will next play 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, who advanced over Marin Cilic in straight sets. Djokovic has a 9-0 career record over the big-serving Canadian, including a win in the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park in 2015.

“Quite different match up to the one today," Djokovic said of the quarterfinal encounter. “I've got to be ready for missiles coming from the other side of the net."

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4:55 p.m.

Sofia Kenin has beaten 15-year-old Coco Gauff 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-0 at the Australian Open to reach the quarterfinals of a major for the first time.

The No. 14-seeded Kenin got early service breaks in all three sets, including the first game of the match against Gauff, who took out defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round and seven-time major winner Venus Williams in the first.

Kenin will next play either Ons Jabeur of Tunisia or No. 27-seeded Wang Qiang, who upset 23-time major winner Serena Williams in the third round.

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4:20 p.m.

Coco Gauff and Sofia Kenin are heading to a third set with an Australian Open quarterfinal berth on the line.

Gauff took the first set of the all-American matchup in a tiebreaker. Kenin evened things by taking the second 6-3.

Neither player has been to a Grand Slam quarterfinal before.

The unseeded Gauff is 15 and eliminated defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round.

The 14th-seeded Kenin is 21.

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3:35 p.m.

Milos Raonic is the first man through to the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Marin Cilic. The Canadian player had 21 aces over the first two sets and 35 overall, including on match point.

Raonic has not dropped a set through four matches so far this tournament, including a third-round win over sixth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas. Raonic faced two sets points in the 10th game of the third set against Cilic but saved them both with aces.

Cilic had two tough five-setters in each of his last two matches.

Raonic will next play defending champion Novak Djokovic or Diego Schwartzman. They were playing their fourth-round match at Rod Laver Arena.

“I haven't gotten to do this much over the last two years, so it means a lot to me,” Raonic said. “It feels pretty damn good.”

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2:30 p.m.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has become the first player to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals. She rallied from a set and a break down to win 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 over Maria Sakkari. She'll next play either top-ranked Ash Barty or Alison Riske, who play a fourth-round night match at Rod Laver Arena.

Kvitova lost last year's final at Melbourne Park to Naomi Osaka. Defending champion Novak Djokovic was scheduled to play the next match at Rod Laver against Diego Schwartzman. Roger Federer and Marton Fucsovics were to play the last match on the main show court.

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More AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By Associated Press 27 January 2020, 12:00AM
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