Grigor Dimitrov has reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third time and put the last local hope out of the season-opening major with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) win over Nick Kyrgios.
Both players got tense in the fourth set, with Dimitrov broken while serving for the match and Kyrgios smashing an easy overhead into the net on a break point.
No. 3-ranked Dimitrov lost to Kyrgios in the semifinals at the Brisbane International earlier this month, but avenged it on the major stage. He will next play Kyle Edmund, who reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
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Fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina started her fourth-round match just before midnight Sunday at the Australian Open and was finished within an hour, beating Czech qualifier Denisa Allertova 6-3, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals here for the first time.
Svitolina was ruthless in the second set, conceding only eight points in the first five games. Even when Allertova at game point at 40-0 in the last, Svitolina went on a five-point roll an closed it out with a backhand winner down the line.
The result extended her winning to nine matches, including a run to the title at the Brisbane International two weeks ago. Svitolina’s next match is against Elise Mertens, who is on a winning streak following a title run in Hobart last week and is into the quarterfinals on debut at the Australian Open.
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Kyle Edmund has defeated Andreas Seppi 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to an Australian Open quarterfinal against either third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov or Nick Kyrgios.
It’s the British player’s first quarterfinal appearance in Melbourne and his best Grand Slam singles result.
Seppi received treatment on his right shoulder in the fourth set.
Dimitrov and Kyrgios had a night match on Rod Laver Arena. The start of their match was delayed by a late finish of the day program on the main arena at Melbourne Park.
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Top-seeded Rafael Nadal overcame a pesky Diego Schwartzman to beat the Argentinian 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3 and advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Nadal struggled at times against Schwartzman and needed 13 minutes to hold his serve in the second game of the fourth set when he saved five break points.
He saved all seven break points he faced in the final set — 15 of 18 in the match — then broke Schwartzman’s serve in the final game, clinching it on his third match point.
Nadal will play sixth-seeded Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals as the Spaniard attempts to win his second Australian Open title and 17th Grand Slam singles championship.
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Elise Mertens extended her winning streak to nine matches with a 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory over Petra Martic, reaching the quarterfinals in her first appearance in the Australian Open main draw.
After unsuccessfully serving for the match, Mertens broke Martic’s service in the 11th game and then held to love in the last game.
Martic took a medical timeout to receive treatment from a trainer for a hip or upper thigh complaint after the fifth game of the second set.
Mertens, who successfully defended her Hobart International title last week, finished last year ranked 35th, up from No. 120 in 2016.
In the quarterfinals, Mertens will play the winner of Sunday night’s match between fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina and qualifier Denisa Allertova, who hasn’t dropped a set in her three main-draw matches.
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Marin Cilic won his 100th Grand Slam singles match and advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (3) victory over Pablo Carreno Busta on Margaret Court Arena.
The sixth-seeded Cilic won his only Grand Slam singles title at the U.S. Open in 2014 when he beat Kei Nishikori in the final.
It is Cilic’s 11th Grand Slam quarterfinal, leaving him level with Goran Ivanisevic for most appearances by a Croatian man at that stage.
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