Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open quarterfinals without striking a ball Sunday after his last-16 opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew.
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The pair were due to play in a night match on centre court on Monday, but "super sad" Czech star Mensik pulled out injured.
ALCARAZ EASES INTO LAST EIGHT
Carlos Alcaraz stepped up his bid for a maiden Australian Open title with a masterclass to reach the quarterfinals on Sunday by dismissing the American Tommy Paul.
The six-time Grand Slam champion won 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 7-5 to equal his best run in Melbourne and is yet to drop a set.
The Spanish top seed plays home hope and sixth seed Alex de Minaur or 10th seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan for a place in the last four.
If Alcaraz, 22, can break his Australian duck he will become the youngest man in history to win a career Grand Slam of all four majors.
"He started really strong, really strong shots, it was a bit difficult at the start," he said.
"But I knew I would have my chances.
"Overall it has been a really high level of tennis from both sides, really happy I got it in straight sets."
The encounter at Rod Laver Arena took place in significantly cooler conditions compared to Saturday, when temperatures approached 40C and matches on outside courts were suspended.
Alcaraz suffered the worst possible start, his serve broken in the first game by the 19th-seeded Paul.
Alcaraz saw two break points on the American's serve come and go, Paul forging a surprise 3-1 lead.
The Spaniard had Paul under pressure again in the eighth game, Alcaraz this time grasping the chance to break and level the set.
They went to a tiebreak and it was finely poised at 3-3 when a medical emergency in the crowd brought a halt to play for about 15 minutes.
The interruption seemed to hurt Paul more, double-faulting to gift Alcaraz the set.
Alcaraz carried the momentum into the second set, breaking once to move to within a set of victory.
It was just a matter of time after that, Alcaraz sealing an emphatic win in two hours and 44 minutes.
Alcaraz has been especially strong on serve, surprising even himself with how clean he is on his first serve in particular.
"In general in the four matches the serve has been a really important weapon for me," he said.
Alcaraz's new-look serve has been compared to Novak Djokovic and the Serbian great joked in Melbourne that he is expecting a slice of the Spaniard's winnings.
Alcaraz has in the past struggled with precision and a lack of consistency in his serving technique.
ZVEREV CRUSHES CERUNDOLO TO REACH QUARTERFINALS
Last year's Australian Open runner-up, Alexander Zverev, stayed on track in his bid for an elusive maiden Grand Slam title, beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-2 6-4 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
The 28-year-old German has lost all three Grand Slam title clashes he has contested, including last year's final to Jannik Sinner at Melbourne Park, and has flown under the radar this time as he seeks another opportunity.
"I'm very happy with the match and the performance. Really happy to be back in the quarterfinals," Zverev said on court, dodging a question on whether he is playing his best tennis.
"I don't want to jinx it, I'll keep my mouth shut. But you have to play at a high level to reach the quarterfinals. I hope to continue the same way."
Dragged to four sets in each of his three previous rounds, the third seed made a blistering start to race through the first two sets on John Cain Arena and used all his experience to seal his most convincing win so far.
Cerundolo, the 16th seed, briefly threatened to make a match of it when he recovered a break late in the second set, but there was no stopping Zverev, who absorbed the pressure and pushed his opponent into a corner with plenty of variations in his game.
"I'm playing a bit more serve and volley, more drop shots," Zverev said. "I'm trying to do things that the two best players in the world are doing. I thought last year was terrible for me. I just hope this will be better.
"I'm as healthy as I've been in the last 12 months. I struggled a lot last year, I played through injuries. When I'm healthy, I feel better on court and everything comes along and becomes a bit easier.
"Hopefully I'll have three more tough matches and I hope I can stay that way."
With vociferous Argentine fans egging him on, Cerundolo came out swinging in the third set and produced some stunning volleys early on, but Zverev broke again for a 4-3 lead and powered into the last-eight of a major for the 16th time.
Zverev plays Daniil Medvedev or Learner Tien next.
TIEN THRASHES MEDVEDEV AFTER NOSEBLEED
Learner Tien battled through a nosebleed to thrash three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open on Sunday and make a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time.
The 20-year-old American, who capped a breakout 2025 by winning the ATP Next Gen title, crushed the Russian 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 in just 1hr 42 mins on Margaret Court Arena.
It put 25th seed Tien into a last-eight clash with third-seeded German Alexander Zverev.
He is the youngest men's singles quarterfinalist at Melbourne Park since Nick Kyrgios in 2015 and the youngest American man to reach the last eight at a Slam since Andy Roddick in 2002 at the US Open.
"It feels amazing. I mean, so special to do it, especially here," Tien, who won his first career title in Metz in November, said of making his maiden quarterfinal.
"It's always so special for me to come back and play here.
"Every year since I've been coming here, the crowd support has been amazing. I don't know why, honestly, a crowd like this with this much energy and support, it means the world to me to do it here."
Defeat was a sorry end for former world No 1 Medvedev, who was also knocked out last year by then-teenage qualifier Tien, in a five-set marathon.
This time the 11th seed Medvedev, who reached three of the last five finals in Melbourne, was a shadow of his former self.
Tien broke immediately to signal his intent, but his momentum was interrupted when he needed treatment for a nosebleed.
They resumed after a seven-minute break, with Tien taking the set.
After that it was all the American, who reeled off 10 straight games as Medvedev imploded, cutting a dejected figure.
He suddenly woke up and against the run of play won three games to give himself a glimmer of hope, before Tien seized back control and sprinted to the finish.
Medvedev was outplayed by Novak Djokovic in the 2021 final before a heart-wrenching defeat to Rafael Nadal a year later.
He lost to Jannik Sinner in 2024, crashing in five sets after being two up.
DE MINAUR BURSTS BUBLIK BUBBLE
Australian No 1 Alex de Minaur pierced 10th-seeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik's defences with relentless pressure to seal a 6 4 6 1 6-1 win on Sunday, reaching his second straight Australian Open quarterfinal and seventh at the Grand Slams overall.
De Minaur, who is looking to become the first Australian man to claim the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup since Mark Edmondson's triumph 50 years ago, will face top seed Carlos Alcaraz and needs a maiden win over the Spaniard for a place in the semifinals.
The first meeting between two top 10 men's players at the Melbourne Park major this year pitted Bublik's unpredictability against De Minaur's court coverage, and it was the Australian who landed the first blow by winning a tight opening set.
De Minaur hammered a forehand winner that sent Bublik the wrong way to earn two set points, and the 26-year-old benefited from a double fault from his Kazakh opponent at the most vital moment to grab the first stanza at Rod Laver Arena.
With the bit between his teeth and Bublik's level dropping a few notches, De Minaur raced to a 4-1 lead in the second set and pounced on his first set point to put one foot in the quarterfinals to the delight of adoring home fans.
The unorthodox Bublik dipped into his bag of tricks in the third set - the 28-year-old was unsuccessful with his 'tweener' but more fortunate with an underarm serve - but De Minaur did not wilt and promptly edged in front to secure the victory.