By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer
MELBOURNE, Australia — Aryna Sabalenka beat 18-year-old Iva Jovic, 6-3, 6-0, to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday (Monday night PT) before searing heat on Day 10 forced matches to be played under cover.
Elina Svitolina stunned third-seeded Coco Gauff, 6-1, 6-2, in a 59-minute night match to move into the semifinals in Australia for the first time.
Weeks into a tour return from a mental health break, the 12th-seeded Svitolina dominated the two-time major winner from the outset. Gauff struggled with her serve and recorded five double-faults in the first set, when she was broken four times.
She finally held in the fourth game of the second set, but by then it was too late. After leaving the court, Gauff smashed her racket into the ground seven times in the player area.
The 21-year-old American said she tried to find a place where there was no cameras to let out her frustrations, and went to the quietest area she could find.
No such frustration for Svitolina, the 31-year-old Ukrainian who lost quarterfinals here in 2018, 2019 and last year. She’s now on a 10-match winning streak after starting the season with a title in Auckland, New Zealand.
“Very pleased with the tournament so far and, of course, always been my dream to come back here after maternity leave in the Top 10,” said Svitolina, who is playing her 12th major tournament since taking a maternity break in 2022. She and Gael Monfils, the popular French player who is retiring this year, are parents to Skai.
Elina Svitolina celebrates after defeating third-seeded American Coco Gauff in an Australian Open quarterfinal on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Melbourne. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)In an afternoon match, Alexander Zverev got the benefit of playing under a roof at Rod Laver Arena and advanced to the final four with a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Irvine’s Learner Tien. The third-ranked Zverev, last year’s runner-up in Australia, reached his 10th Grand Slam semifinal on the back of 24 aces and just a single double-fault – which he served when he had six match points in the deciding tiebreaker.
Top-ranked Sabalenka, also a runner-up in Melbourne last year, is aiming for her third Australian Open title in four years. She won back-to-back titles here in 2023 and 2024 and lost the final a year ago to Madison Keys.
The first of the four quarterfinals scheduled on Day 10 was played outdoors, despite predictions of the temperature peaking at 113 degrees in Melbourne.
“I guess, yeah, as a woman, we are stronger than the guys,” Sabalenka said her later news conference, laughing. “So they had to close the roof for the guys so they don’t suffer!”
Sabalenka went up 3-0 in the first set and established her dominance early against the 29th-seeded Jovic.
Jovic had three breakpoint chances in the ninth game, which lasted 10 minutes, but wasn’t able to convert against the world’s top-ranked woman. In the last game, Sabalenka served an ace on break point and clinched it with another ace on match point. She saved all five break points she faced.
It gave her back-to-back wins over up-and-coming teenagers following her fourth-round victory over 19-year-old Canadian Vicky Mboko.
“These teenagers have tested me in the last couple of rounds – incredible player,” Sabalenka said of Jovic in an on-court interview.
“It was a tough match,” Sabalenka added. “Don’t look at the score. She played incredible tennis and she pushed me to a one-step better level. It was a battle.”
Aryna Sabalenka plays a forehand return to American Iva Jovic during their Australian Open quarterfinal on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Melbourne. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Jovic was born in California and is the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States. Her father is Serbian and Jovic, naturally, has sought some tips from no other than Novak Djokovic.
CHANG’S INFLUENCE ON TIEN
The Michael Chang influence on Tien’s tennis has people talking about what is possible for the 20-year-old American.
Zverev, the 2025 Australian Open runner-up was startled by the difference he’s noticed in a matter of months.
“I don’t know what Michael Chang has done with him in the offseason,” said Zverev, who reached his 10th Grand Slam semifinal. “Very different than last year, for sure. It was incredible to see how he played from the baseline. I thought he was playing unbelievable.”
The pair played two head-to-heads last year, with Zverev winning in the first round at Roland Garros and Tien winning in the Round of 16 at Acapulco, where he reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier.
Tien was a breakout star last year in Melbourne, where he upset three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in the second round and made it to the Round of 16. He won his first ATP title in Metz and reached the final in Beijing. He also landed the crown at the ATP’s Next Gen Finals in December.
Alexander Zverev, right, is congratulated by Irvine's Learner Tien following their Australian Open quarterfinal on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Melbourne. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)This year at the Australian Open, he thumped Medvedev in straight sets to reach the last eight.
Tien was the youngest man since 2015 to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals. He was also the only player outside the Top 10 to make it.
Chang, the 1989 French Open champion, knows what it takes for a young player to beat the odds. He won the title at Roland Garros at the age of 17, which remains the youngest for a male to have won a Grand Slam singles crown.
He started working with Tien last year and was in the young player’s support crew at Melbourne Park the last two weeks, offering technical advice and encouragement.
Chang’s advice to step up to receive Zverev’s second serve helped in the second set, when there was a noticeable turnaround in Tien’s return points. But his opponent was too consistent with his first serve throughout the match, upping the pressure with 24 aces.
“He’s always a very calming presence,” Tien said of the 53-year-old Chang. “Offers me a lot of stuff mid-match, especially stuff that maybe I’m not picking up on.
“Obviously (Zverev) played a good match. He was playing pretty well from start to finish, so you know, for portions of the match, I was just trying to stay with him and not let him kind of run away with things.
“So it’s more of that. (Chang) was just giving me little bits of encouragement.”
Tien said he’s made a lot of headway since his previous trip to Australia, but is still working to improve his serve and his physicality.
“Physically, I wouldn’t say I’m close to, you know, where I hope to be one day,” he said. “But I think weeks like this are good to test myself. I get a lot of takeaways from winning and losing these matches.
“It just really sets me up to come back – come back and be even better the next time.”
Irvine's Learner Tien plays a backhand return to Alexander Zverev during their Australian Open quarterfinal on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Melbourne. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)The temperature topped 108 degrees at 5 p.m. local time, but started to drop ahead of the night session. Play was suspended on outside courts all afternoon. During the quarterfinal between Sabalenka and Jovic, the players held ice packs to their heads and portable fans to their faces during breaks in play.
Photographers shooting the match were supplied with cushions by organizers to avoid heat-related injuries when they sat down and covered their cameras with towels to prevent the devices malfunctioning in the heat or burning their hands. Fans lined up to stand in front of giant misting fans or sought shelter in air-conditioned areas of the venue.
Crowds at the event, which has registered record-breaking turnout days so far, dropped from 50,000 from Monday’s daytime session to 21,000 on Tuesday as people heeded health warnings from officials and stayed home.
Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz was to face Alex de Minaur in the last match of the night. Alcaraz has won six Grand Slam titles but has never won the Australian Open and has lost in the quarterfinals here the last two years.TOP PLAYERS ASKED TO REMOVE FITNESS TRACKERS
Wearable fitness trackers will likely be OK for players to use in future editions of the Australian Open, where leading players Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka have been asked to remove their devices in matches this year.
Sabalenka wants the ban overturned now. The top-ranked player in women’s tennis, aiming for a third Australian title in four years, said after her quarterfinal win that the Australian Open and other three majors are out of step with the rest of tennis.
Alcaraz and Sinner, who have split the last eight major men’s singles titles between them, were approached by chair umpires during the fourth round on Sunday and Monday to take off the straps they usually wear on their wrists.
Video of the interactions drew attention to a conflict between regular tournaments and the four majors.
The devices are widely used in elite sports to collect physiological data that provides insights about health and performance in training, competition, recovery and sleep.
The technology is approved for use by the International Tennis Federation and by the men’s and women’s tours. So far, the approval hasn’t extended to the four Grand Slam tournaments – the Australian, French and U.S. Opens and Wimbledon.
So, that’s why the chair umpire approached top-ranked Alcaraz during his fourth-round match against Tommy Paul and asked him to take it off. The 22-year-old Alcaraz immediately complied, taking off his sweatband and removing the strap.
“Wearables are currently not permitted at Grand Slams,” Tennis Australia said in a statement. “The Australian Open is involved in ongoing discussions on how this situation could change.”
Tennis Australia said some wearables provide athletes with an indication of internal load – measures such as heart rate – “which can give them a 360-degree view of the work they’re doing and how their bodies’ respond.”
Tournament organizers said players had access to data at the Australian Open that helped them monitor “key external load measures” such as distance covered, changes of direction, high acceleration events and speed and spin of shots.
The technology provider, WHOOP, describes it as “your 24/7 wearable coach designed to help you improve your health, fitness, and longevity.”
In a social media post, the company said the technology is “performance-enhancing – by design. That’s the whole point.”
“Taking that insight away is like asking athletes to play blind.”
Sabalenka said she received an email that the devices had approval from the ITF and “I didn’t know that the Grand Slams didn’t come to the same conclusion.”
“I don’t understand why because the whole year we are wearing them in WTA tournaments, all the tournaments I play,” she said. “I don’t understand why the Grand Slams are not allowing us to wear it and I really hope that they will reconsider the decision and let their players track their health monitor.”
Sinner, the two-time Australian Open winner, said the data collected from his wrist device during matches helps with recovery and preparation for future matches.
“There is certain data what we would like to track a little bit on court. It’s not for the live thing,” he said. “It’s more about you can see after the match. These are data we would like to use also in practice sessions because from that you can practice on with the heart rate, how much calories you burn, all these kind of things.”
After his fourth-round win over fellow Italian Luciano Darderi, Sinner said he also accepted the umpire’s decision immediately.
“It’s fine. There are other things we could use – (like) the vest. But it’s a bit for me uncomfortable – you feel like you have something on the shoulders. It’s a bit different,” he said. “But rules are rules. I understand. I won’t use it again.”
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