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Australian Open defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova were asked if they would move their match off Rod Laver Arena to make way for the men’s quarterfinal on Tuesday.
The night session, which started with a clash between grand slam winners Sabalenka and Krejcikova, was scheduled for 7pm AEDT but didn’t get underway until 9:10pm due to earlier matches.
But before their contest, the women were asked if they would move to Margaret Court Arena so that the men’s match between Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev could get underway earlier.
“They asked our opinions, what did we think, and if we wanted to be moved right now,” Sabalenka said.
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“We just told them that, ‘Well, let’s see how this match goes (between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz). If it’s going to be really long, then yeah, maybe it’s a good idea to be moved’.
“So they’re not going to finish like Medvedev finish the other night. But yeah, Novak won that set 6-2, and it still was quite early, and we decided to wait for this match.
“In that room was me and Barbora, but we just told them, ‘You can ask (the) guys if they want to be moved, because, like, if they don’t want to finish that late’.
“I’m pretty sure they asked guys if they wanted to move, but yeah. It’s not like they pushed us, you know. They just ask our opinion, and what, yeah, what we are thinking about being moved.”
No. 2 seed Sabalenka won the contest in straight sets 6-2 6-3 in 71 minutes in a match that finished at 10:21pm.
“Thank you so much for the atmosphere, I know you’re waiting for the next match, but it reminded me of the atmosphere in the final last year,” Sabalenka said on court.
The clash between fourth seed Sinner and fifth seed Rublev finally got underway at 10:42pm.
Sinner took the first set 6-4 in 38 minutes and then the second 7-6 despite Rublev leading 5-1 in the tiebreak.
The clocked ticked past midnight at 3-3 in the second set and at 2-2 in the third, while Sinner now leads 4-2 with victory in his sights.
It’ll be a miracle if the match finishes before 1am after two marathon matches on Rod Laver Arena delayed the night session on day 10 by more than two hours.
First, Coco Gauff overcame Marta Kostyuk 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 to seal a spot in the semis in a contest that lasted three hours and eight minutes.
Next, Novak Djokovic took three hours and 45 minutes to beat American 12th seed Taylor Fritz 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and book his place in the semis in a match that did not start until 4:43pm AEDT.
DAY 10 LIVE BLOG: Superstar’s embarrassing display as bonkers call to ‘haunt’ Aus Open
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‘I’ll put you on the spot’: The question that made Alcaraz squirm in awkward interview
DAY 10 NIGHT SESSION
Rod Laver Arena
From 9pm: No.9 Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) vs No.2 Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)
Followed by: No.4 Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs No.5 Andrey Rublev (RUS)
Follow all the action from Day 10’s night session at the Australian Open in our LIVE BLOG below!
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