There really isn't much to complain about when you make three selections from the opening four Quarter Final matches played at the Australian Open and all return as winners.
Making it most pleasing is the ease in which the three selections came in- Alexander Zverev did need to win a fourth set Tie-Breaker, but should have won the second set Breaker and things would have been even more comfortable for him.
He has set up another Grand Slam meeting with Carlos Alcaraz, while Elina Svitolina's comprehensive win over Coco Gauff means the Ukrainian is back in the top 10 of the World Rankings and looking like she is playing at a level to finally win a Grand Slam title.
Of course, she only has the World Number 1, the top Seed and the three consecutive time Australian Open Finalist to beat to reach the showpiece event on Saturday evening.
This has not been a tournament of too many surprises, but that does mean there are four more good looking Quarter Final matches heading out on the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday as we hit Day 11 of the Australian Open.
The two women's Quarter Finals look exceptionally strong, while wins for Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner would mean the men's event is going to be concluding with the top four players on the Tour facing off, although neither should assume that Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton are going to be willing to roll over easily.
On Day 11, three more selections are made from the matches scheduled to be heading out onto the courts as the first Grand Slam of 2026 gets closer and closer to crowning Champions.
Iga Swiatek v Elena Rybakina: When the draw was made a little under two weeks ago, most fans would have been hoping that Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina were going to be on a collision course.
For moment Iga Swiatek fans may have been wondering if the former World Number 1 was going to be able to come through an awkward Third Round match that headed into a deciding set, but these two players have been untroubled for the majority of the tournament.
The numbers have been most impressive on the side of Elena Rybakina.
Not only has she won all four matches in straight sets, but Elena Rybakina has been serving at a really high level and that will always make her dangerous on the faster surfaces on the Tour. The first serve is about as good as any on the WTA Tour and Rybakina will know that she needs to land plenty of those if she is going to put Iga Swiatek under pressure.
However, it is the way Elena Rybakina has protected her second serve in the tournament which has really caught the eye, although there is no doubt that her opponent is going to offer a real test of that shot.
Before the tournament began, there were some question marks about Iga Swiatek and whether she had really prepared as well as hoped in the off-season.
Those concerns look to have been put to bed with her level in the event, although Swiatek has benefited from a kind draw with the toughest match being the Third Round contest against Anna Kalinskaya and that needed a deciding set.
The World Number 2 has been returning really well with over half of the return points being won by Swiatek, and that always puts an opponent under pressure. It is very unlikely that she will be able to do that against this Rybakina serve, but Iga Swiatek has tended to be able to get into the return games and eventually prove to have too much for the former Wimbledon Champion.
Elena Rybakina was able to break the mental hold that Swiatek may have had over her when beating this opponent at the WTA Finals a couple of months ago, but there is a feeling that the higher Ranked player was not quite at her best in Riyadh.
Another competitive match has to be expected, but Iga Swiatek may have the edge on the return of serve and that could see her through to the Semi Final.
Amanda Anisimova - 1.5 games v Jessica Pegula: These two compatriots last met in the Final of the Canadian Masters in August 2024 and it was Jessica Pegula who got the better of Amanda Anisimova in three sets to win the title.
Fast forward to January 2026 and so much has changed for the latter, who is going into this Quarter Final as the favourite.
When Amanda Anisimova last faced Jessica Pegula, she was the World Number 132 and still making her way back onto the Tour after taking a break from the sport.
Now it is Anisimova who will go into this Quarter Final as the higher Ranked of the two players and she has also reached the last two Grand Slam Finals, which has given the World Number 4 a huge amount of confidence. The performances here in Melbourne have been from a player who has total belief in what she needs to do on the court and there is a consistency from Amanda Anisimova that will make her very dangerous.
Of course she has to respect Jessica Pegula who has been a consistent feature of the top 10 in the World Rankings and who has just beaten the defending Champion in the Fourth Round.
Prior to the win over Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula had been crushing all opponents behind some spectacular performances, but that is partly down to the draw opening up for her. The win over Keys was solid enough, although it was a match that could have seen the momentum swing at a couple of key moments and Pegula may feel that she has to find another level when facing someone like Amanda Anisimova.
She has never been beaten on the Tour by Anisimova, which has to be noted, but Jessica Pegula will also be aware that this may be the best version of her compatriot to date.
Over the last twelve months there has been contrasting results when these two have faced top 10 Ranked opponents on the hard courts- Amanda Anisimova has won seven out of ten in that spot, while Jessica Pegula has lost seven out of eleven.
Throughout her career, Jessica Pegula has just found things a bit too tough at the business end of the Grand Slam tournaments and that has happened more often than not. She can cause problems with her returning ability, but Anisimova may just have the slight edge at key moments and she can move through to the Semi Final at the Australian Open for the first time.
Novak Djokovic - 1.5 sets v Lorenzo Musetti: It is not going to surprise anyone that 38 year old Novak Djokovic has produced declining numbers on the hard courts over the last couple of seasons.
However, all credit has to be given to the twenty-four time Grand Slam Champion that he continues to produce at a level that most mortals would consider very high.
The drop from the previous level is hard to ignore and makes it easy to not see Djokovic at the same light as previously, but this is a player that continues to look after himself very well and has all of the experience to deal with adversity.
He has yet to be given a real challenge at the Australian Open, but Novak Djokovic is very comfortable on this court and receiving a walkover in the Fourth Round can only be a positive for him. It has been some time that Novak Djokovic has been making it openly known that he feels he has run out of steam at the business end of Grand Slams and not had the energy to beat Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, while also feeling that he would have to beat both to win a twenty-fifth Slam title.
Lacking energy cannot be an excuse when not having to go out on the court in what have been tough conditions over the last few days in Melbourne and Novak Djokovic is the favourite in this Quarter Final.
Lorenzo Musetti just crushed Taylor Fritz and so will be playing with a lot of confidence, while the Italian has easily had his best year on the hard courts. His opening to 2026 suggests Musetti can build on that, while he took a set from Novak Djokovic on the hard courts for the first time when facing him in the Final in Athens at the back end of the 2025 season.
Despite that, Lorenzo Musetti came up short and has lost all four hard court matches played against the former World Number 1 and so will have something to prove.
Here at Melbourne Park, Lorenzo Musetti has been serving pretty well and he is going to have to keep Novak Djokovic from taking control of rallies by producing a strong opening shot.
This has been a challenge for him against this opponent and that may show up over the course of the three plus hours that these two players will likely need to spend on the court.
Novak Djokovic will know that while he is struggling to keep up with the top two players in the world, like many on the ATP Tour, that there is also a closing of the gap between some of those climbing the World Rankings.
However, he still has some real aura on the court and Novak Djokovic can serve well enough to get out of one or two more jams compared with the World Number 5 and that should see the Serb come through in three or four sets.
MY PICKS: Iga Swiatek @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Amanda Anisimova - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Novak Djokovic - 1.5 Sets @ 1.66 Coral (2 Units)
Australian Open Update: 33-19, + 14.48 Units (106 Units Staked, + 13.66% Yield)
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