Sports
Sinner powers on, Keys exits as heatwave hits Melbourne
MELBOURNE: One champion survived and another succumbed at the Australian Open on Monday as Jannik Sinner reached the quarter-finals after women’s holder Madison Keys crashed out at the hands of friend Jessica Pegula as Melbourne braced for forecast 45C heat.
Sinner became the second Italian into the last eight after Lorenzo Musetti battled stifling conditions and beat an injury-hampered Taylor Fritz to set up a last-eight showdown with Novak Djokovic, while Iga Swiatek sent the last Australian out of the women’s draw with a 6-0, 6-3 thumping of qualifier Maddison Inglis.
Two days after suffering dramatic cramps in a third round scare against Eliot Spizzirri, Sinner rebounded with 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) win over fellow Italian and close friend Luciano Darderi as the heat returned to Melbourne Park.
With the sun having retreated in the late afternoon, the double-defending champion was relieved to play in the shade at Margaret Court Arena on a day when temperatures reached 33C.
“It’s definitely a bit different when there is no sun, even if it’s quite warm outside still,” said Sinner, who booked his ninth successive Grand Slam quarter-final. “It was difficult to put the match away, happy I closed it in three sets. So I felt quite good out there physically. Everything was okay today.”
Sinner sent down a bumper 19 aces in the match, and said his hard work had paid off. “Still room to improve but happy how I have come back in the new season,” he added.
Sinner will next meet American eighth seed Ben Shelton, who stepped in for the absent Djokovic and overhauled 12th seed Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the late match at Rod Laver Arena.
Shelton lost to Sinner in last year’s semi-finals, one of a run of eight successive defeats to the Italian.
A year after hoisting the women’s trophy with a brilliant win over Aryna Sabalenka, Keys’ title defence ended with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to sixth seed Pegula.
Good friends with Pegula, with whom she does a podcast “The Player’s Box”, Keys promised to honour a pre-match wager by eating a cheese-smothered apple pie.
“A bet is a bet, so I’ll do it. I hope it’s less gross than I think it’s going to be, but we will find out,” said Keys, who described herself as proud despite defeat.
Pegula is chasing an elusive Grand Slam title aged 31, her best performance to date reaching the US Open final in 2024.
An erratic Keys made 27 unforced errors to Pegula’s 17 and fired down six double faults as her title defence folded.
Pegula reached her fourth quarter-final at Melbourne Park and will meet Amanda Anisimova, who made it four US players in the women’s final eight after beating China’s Wang Xinyu.
Fourth seed Anisimova, beaten finalist at last year’s US Open and Wimbledon, cooled herself off with bags of ice before taming Wang 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
Second seed Swiatek will face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the other quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw, the resurgent Kazakh having blitzed Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-3.
Swiatek demolished home qualifier Inglis as she closes on a first Australian crown, having won all three of the other majors.
Inglis, ranked 168, was in the biggest match of her life after two-time Melbourne champion Naomi Osaka pulled out injured from their third-round meeting.
Just being in the fourth round earned Inglis a life-changing Aus$480,000 (US$330,000) — she plans to buy a toaster and a kettle with the windfall.
MANY BATTLES
After brutal weather caused the suspension of matches on Saturday, temperatures rose sharply again.
Longer matches on Monday had 10-minute breaks in certain circumstances as part of measures to protect player health.
Temperatures are forecast to hit a blistering 45C on Tuesday, meaning matches are likely to be played under roofs on the three courts that have them.
Musetti had revenge on his mind after losing to Fritz at the ATP Finals in November, and the fifth-seeded Italian delivered, winning 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his first Australian Open quarter-finals.
“Honestly, I feel very proud. I know Taylor very well, we’ve played many matches, many battles. And last time in Turin he was the winner,” Musetti said. “I came here with a different mentality and I think I made one of my best performances.”
Musetti’s reward is a blockbuster clash against 10-times champion Djokovic, who will be as fresh as he can be after a three-day break.
The Serbian great had a walkover when fourth round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew with injury.
Djokovic has won nine of their 10 previous meetings, but Musetti said: “I feel ready to try to push him to his maximum.”
Fritz also bowed out sore and sorry, saying he had aggravated knee and abdominal issues during his previous win over Stan Wawrinka.
“Today I was feeling it from the get-go,” he said.
Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2026
The Pakistan cricket team on Monday arrived in Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on February 7.
In a post on X, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a 15-player squad had arrived in the country.
“The 15-player national squad includes Captain Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Naeef, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq,” the PCB said in an earlier post, the informed of the squad’s department for the global event’s venue.
In the latest update about the aquad’s arrival in Colombo, the board said the team would rest on Monday and Tuesday.
“The team will play a warm-up match against Ireland on Feb 4,” PCB added.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is set to begin on Feb 7.
On Sunday, the government gave the go-ahead for Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, but barred it from playing against arch-rival India on February 15.
The announcement came amid uncertainty regarding a possible boycott of the tournament over Bangladesh’s withdrawal following tensions with India.
A government source told Dawn that Pakistan had refused to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh. According to the government source, the primary reason for boycotting the match with India was the ICC’s “biased decision” towards Bangladesh.
BULAWAYO: India completed the semi-final line-up for the ICC Under-19 World Cup with a comprehensive 58-run win over Pakistan in Bulawayo on Sunday.
The victory in the final Super Six match at the Queens Sports Club means the Indian colts head into the knockouts unbeaten and as Group 2 toppers.
After a late surge helped them to 252 in 49.5 overs, India put in a clinical performance in the field to dismiss Pakistan for 194 in 46.2 overs.
India joined Australia, England and Afghanistan into the final four. The Ayush Mhatre-led side face Afghanistan in the semi-finals in Harare on Wednesday. The first semi-final, between Australia and England, takes place in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
Put into bat, India powered past 250 thanks to the acceleration provided by the lower order in the last 10 overs.
With a spot in the semi-final on line, India were expecting another blockbuster innings from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Though the left-hander gave the team a brisk start, striking five fours and a six as he motored to 30, he was living dangerously. After two close calls, Sooryavanshi fell to a shorter delivery from Mohammad Sayyam, with a bottom-edge carrying to wicket-keeper Hamza Zahoor.
Starting with Sooryavanshi, India lost three and in the space of four balls. While Sayyam also dismissed India captain Ayush Mhatre, Abdul Subhan bowled over opener Aaron George to reduce India to 47-3.
In their previous match in Bulawayo, India had scored a mammoth 352-8 against Zimbabwe. But on Sunday, the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat as well and stayed low. Vedant Trivedi led India’s fightback with 68. His 62-run fourth-wicket partnership with Vihaan Malhotra (21) helped steer India clear of immediate trouble. Trivedi also put on handy stands with Abhigyan Kundu and RS Ambrish.
After the middle order had kept the scoreboard ticking, the lower order provided the late flourish. Kanishk Chouhan (35 off 29) and Khilan Patel (21 off 15) helped India notch 71 runs in the last 10 overs, lifting the score to 252.
For Pakistan, Subhan dismissed Chouhan and Patel to finish with 3-33 in 9.5 overs.
To qualify for the semi-final at India’s expense, Pakistan needed to chase down the target within 33.4 overs; otherwise, if the innings ended with a six to reach 258, they had until 34.3 overs to get there.
Pakistan showed some early intent, scoring 13 runs off the second over. It seemed their chances hinged on Sameer Minhas, but India were able to send the star opener back fairly quickly. He was trapped leg before wicket by Henil Patel.
Following the early setback, Pakistan never showed any urgency to make a run for the semi-final spot. Hamza Zahoor (42), Usman Khan (66) and captain Farhan Yousuf (38) hung in there gamely even as runs slowed down to a trickle.
Chouhan conceded 30 runs off his 10 overs and claimed the wicket of Zahoor and was named the player-of-the-match. Skipper Mhatre claimed three wickets for 21 in his overs while Khilan Patel got 3-35.
Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2026
The Pakistan cricket team on Monday departed for Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on February 7.
In a post on X, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a 15-player squad was departing for Sri Lanka.
“The 15-player national squad includes Captain Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Naeef, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq,” the PCB said.
It said that the team would rest on Monday and Tuesday.
“The team will play a warm-up match against Ireland on Feb 4,” PCB added.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is set to begin on Feb 7.
On Sunday, the government gave the go-ahead for Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, but barred it from playing against arch-rival India on February 15.
The announcement came amid uncertainty regarding a possible boycott of the tournament over Bangladesh’s withdrawal following tensions with India.
A government source told Dawn that Pakistan had refused to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh. According to the government source, the primary reason for boycotting the match with India was the ICC’s “biased decision” towards Bangladesh.
Samsung Has Made An Important Galaxy S26 Ultra Decision
Why Banning Social Media Isn’t The Right Answer For America’s Kids
Apple Releases iPhone Software Update To Address Emergency Call Issue
Australia down Japan in U-19 World Cup to make Super 6s
Trade gap with nine neighbours widens 44.4pc in first half
Realme Neo8 Specs Details Emerge One Day Before Launch
-
Sports2 weeks agoAustralia down Japan in U-19 World Cup to make Super 6s
-
Business1 week agoTrade gap with nine neighbours widens 44.4pc in first half
-
Tech2 weeks ago
Realme Neo8 Specs Details Emerge One Day Before Launch
-
Tech3 days ago
Realme 16 Proves Slim Phones Don’t Need to Have Small Batteries
-
Tech2 weeks ago
The SJCAM C400 Is A Creative Camcorder Designed For Vloggers Looking For Action Shots
-
Tech1 week ago
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Release Date Fights Pixel 10a And iPhone 17e
-
Business2 weeks ago
Regulations amended for rights shares
-
Business6 days ago
Gold’s rally continues past $5,200 after dollar plunges to near four-year low