Linette defeats No. 4 Garcia at Australian Open to reach first Grand Slam quarterfinal

Magda Linette rallied from two breaks in the first set to beat No.4 Caroline Garcia 7-6(3), 6-4 on Monday to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

She will face Karolina Pliskova, who defeated Zhang Shuai 6-0, 6-4 in another fourth-round match on Monday.

Linette was left speechless in the on-court interview after the game.

“I really don’t think so,” he said. “I can’t believe it, really. I don’t know what happened. I’m really speechless. I don’t know what to say.”

Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-2 on Monday to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. Bencic double-faulted to lose the first set, putting Sabalenka in control from that point.

“I’m super happy with today’s victory,” Sabalenka said. “She [Bencic] he is an amazing player. She played so well. I’m very happy with today’s level.”

Sabalenka takes on Donna Vekic, who defeated Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

Two other quarterfinal matchups are already set, with Elena Rybakina facing Jelena Ostapenko and Jessica Pegula playing Victoria Azarkena.

Sabalenka said she had worked hard to control her emotions during matches.

“It takes me a little while to understand that negative emotions are not going to help me on the court,” he said. “You just have to stay strong and believe no matter what.”

Sablenka also said that her fitness has improved.

“We worked a lot in the pre-season and I’m very happy that everything is working at the moment,” he said.

Novak Djokovic faced Alex de Minaur on Monday for a place in the men’s quarterfinals. Djokovic is targeting this tenth Australian Open title and his 22nd Grand Slam title. The Grand Slam record would tie him with Rafael Nadal for more than any man.