The quarterfinal lineup of the 2023 Australian Open is set. Here are the key facts and numbers behind the last eight competitors standing.
More from Day 8:
- Sabalenka to face Vekic
- Linette upsets Garcia, meets Pliskova next
- Linette tames emotions to break through
3 - Grand Slam champions remaining out of 12 who started in the main draw. Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 champion, is the only player left who has lifted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup before. She is joined by reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and 2017 Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko.
Karolina Pliskova is the only other competitor left who has contested a Grand Slam final (US Open 2016 and Wimbledon 2021), while Aryna Sabalenka is a three-time major semifinalist (Wimbledon 2021, US Open 2021 and 2022).
4 - Previous Grand Slam quarterfinal losses for Jessica Pegula in as many appearances. The American fell to Jennifer Brady at the Australian Open 2021, Ashleigh Barty at the Australian Open 2022 and Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros and the US Open 2022. She will bid for a first semifinal against Azarenka.
Donna Vekic is also a previous major quarterfinalist aiming to reach a maiden semifinal. The 26-year-old made the last eight of the 2019 US Open, falling to Belinda Bencic.
3 - Previous Grand Slam quarterfinal wins for Sabalenka in as many appearances. She defeated Ons Jabeur at this stage of Wimbledon 2021, Barbora Krejcikova at the US Open 2021 and Karolina Pliskova at the US Open 2022.
Ostapenko is the only other player in the last eight with a positive record in major quarterfinals (2-1). The remaining players' records are as follows: Rybakina 1-1, Pegula 0-4, Azarenka 8-9, Pliskova 4-6, Linette 0-0 and Vekic 0-1.
8 - Consecutive match wins for Adelaide 2 champion Sabalenka, who ended Adelaide 1 champion Belinda Bencic's seven-match winning streak 7-5, 6-2. Sabalenka's career-best winning streak is 15, encompassing three titles at Ostrava 2020, Linz 2020 and Abu Dhabi 2021 and ended by Kaia Kanepi in the second round of the 2021 Gippsland Trophy.
1 - Player making their debut in the last eight of a Grand Slam. Magda Linette had been 0-6 in major third rounds before this fortnight, but upset No.4 seed Caroline Garcia 7-6(3), 6-4 to make her first quarterfinal.
The result was Linette's fourth career Top 10 win -- all of which have come at Grand Slams within the past two years. She previously defeated Ashleigh Barty in the second round of Roland Garros 2021 (via retirement), Elina Svitolina in the second round of Wimbledon 2021 and Ons Jabeur in the first round of Roland Garros 2022.
When you beat the No.16, No.19 and No.4 seeds on your way to a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal 🙌@MagdaLinette • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/xBtdR3dphu
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2023
8 - Players in the past 50 years to reach their first Grand Slam quarterfinal aged 30 or over. Linette, 30, joins Tatjana Maria (aged 34 at Wimbledon 2022); Alizé Cornet (who turned 32 during the Australian Open 2022); Hsieh Su-Wei (aged 35 at the Australian Open 2021, and the oldest first-time major quarterfinalist in the Open Era); Laura Siegemund (aged 32 at Roland Garros 2020); Tamarine Tanasugarn (aged 31 at Wimbledon 2008); Silvia Farina (aged 31 at Wimbledon 2003); and Judith Wiesner (aged 30 at Wimbledon 1996).
7 - Years since Azarenka was last in the Australian Open quarterfinals (2016); it is 10 years since she was last in a semifinal here (her 2013 title run). Azarenka, 33, is the oldest remaining player; Rybakina, 23, is the youngest.
3 - Linette and Vekic are the third Polish and Croatian women respectively to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals in the Open Era. Linette follows Agnieszka Radwanska (a two-time semifinalist in 2014 and 2016, and a four-time quarterfinalist) and 2022 semifinalist Iga Swiatek. Vekic follows 1996 quarterfinalist Iva Majoli and 2017 semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
In the top half of the draw, Rybakina and Ostapenko are the first players representing Kazakhstan and Latvia respectively to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.
She's in a mood today 👀@DonnaVekic • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/cGPZ1c6Lbq
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2023
195 kmph - Rybakina has hit the joint-fastest serve of the tournament so far along with Coco Gauff. The Kazakh notched that speed in her first-round win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
28 - Pliskova's ace tally this fortnight. The Czech moved to the top of the Australian Open's ace leaderboard after firing 12 during her 6-0, 6-4 fourth-round defeat of Zhang Shuai.
4h33m - The amount of time Pliskova has spent on court so far, the least amount of all the quarterfinalists. She is followed by Pegula (5h16m), Sabalenka (5h17m), Rybakina (5h55m), Ostapenko (6h27m), Linette (6h30m), Vekic (7h11m) and Azarenka (7h20m).
Pegula, Pliskova and Sabalenka are yet to drop a set. Three players have dropped one set: Rybakina (in the second round to Danielle Collins), Ostapenko (in the second round to Anna Bondar) and Linette (in the second round to Anett Kontaveit). Two have dropped two sets: Azarenka (in the third round to Madison Keys and fourth round to Zhu Lin) and Vekic (in the first round to Oksana Selekhmeteva and fourth round to Linda Fruhvirtova).
9 - Years between Pliskova's appearances in the qualifying draw of a tour event. She successfully came through to the Adelaide 2 main draw a fortnight ago in her first qualifying matches since New Haven 2014, when she fell 6-1, 6-1 to Monica Niculescu in the first qualifying round. Pliskova has bounced back to reach her first Australian Open quarterfinal since 2019.
At Wimbledon 2021, in the week Pliskova dipped out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2016, she also bounced back to reach her second major final.