Australian Open 2023 order of play, Day 8 – Novak Djokovic, Belinda Bencic and Caroline Garcia in action
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Published 22/01/2023 at 17:21 GMT
Novak Djokovic is the big name in action as the second week of the 2023 Australian Open begins. The Serb is looking for a record-extending 10th title in Melbourne, but a hamstring issue has caused him visible pain so far. Olympic champion Belinda Bencic takes on Aryna Sabalenka in the standout women's match on Day 8, which also features Holger Rune v Andrey Rublev.
‘It’s going to catch up to him if he’s not right’ - McEnroe on Djokovic injury
The second week of the 2023 Australian Open is here, which means the final spots for a place in the quarter-finals are up for grabs.
A seemingly not fully fit Novak Djokovic is the headline act on Day 8 of the tournament as he takes on Australia’s Alex de Minaur, who will have the support of the home crowd.
With Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff both beaten on Sunday, the match between Aryna Sabalenka and Belinda Bencic has more on the line as both players have shown they are capable of going all the way to the final next Sunday.
Top match I – Alex de Minaur v Novak Djokovic
John McEnroe says the next two matches will tell us what Djokovic’s chances are of winning a record-extending 10th Australian Open title.
He also told Eurosport the Serb’s injury will catch up with him, if it’s serious, so De Minaur has a massive opportunity to reach just his second Grand Slam quarter-final.
The pair have never played each other but it’s difficult to not back Djokovic for the win, even if he’s not at his best.
Top match II – Aryna Sabalenka v Belinda Bencic
Sabalenka has powered her way to the fourth round, not dropping a set along the way, and will be tough to beat.
Bencic also has that perfect set record accolade, but had some tough battles during the first week.
However, the Swiss star is playing arguably the best tennis since she became Olympic champion in Tokyo and has taken her title-winning form from the Adelaide International to become a contender in Melbourne.
Don’t be surprised to see this one go to a deciding set.
Top match III – Andrey Rublev v Holger Rune
Speaking of deciding sets, Andrey Rublev v Holger Rune could be the most exciting match of the day, with both players capable of some brilliant shots.
Given some of the focus on some of the sport’s bigger or older names, both players have gone under the radar with Rune yet to drop a set all tournament.
Rublev was ruthless in his straight sets victory against Dan Evans on Saturday though so this could be a tight one.
They have played each other once, at last year’s Paris Masters, where Rune won his first ATP 1000 title.
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Brit watch
No Brits are left in the singles remember so it’s all about the doubles for the final week of the Australian Open.
In the men’s doubles, Britain have representation from the top two seeds as Neal Skupski and the Netherlands’ Wesley Koolhof are the top seeds. They take on Nikola Cacic and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the last 16 at midnight on the Kia Arena.
No. 2 seeds Joe Salisbury and his American partner Rajeev Ram are the third match on Court 3 (at approximately 03:00 GMT), up against Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.
Skupsi is also in mixed doubles action in the penultimate match on Court 7 (at approximately 05:00) with partner American Desirae Krawczyk. They face Australian duo Alana Parnaby and Andrew Harris.
Show Courts Order of Play – Monday January 23 (All UK times)
Rod Laver Arena
Day session (from 00:00)
- Aryna Sabalenka v Belinda Bencic
- Magda Linette v Caroline Garcia
- Andrey Rublev v Holger Rune
Night session (from 08:00)
- Alex de Minaur v Novak Djokovic
- Storm Hunter & Elise Mertens v Viktorija Golubic & Monica Niculescu
Margaret Court Arena (Play from 01:30)
- Donna Vekic v Linda Fruhvirtova
- Gonzalo Escobar & Tomislav Brkic v Jason Kubler & Rinky Hijikata
- Roberto Bautista Agut v Tommy Paul
Other singles matches
Karolina Pliskova v Shuai Zhang (Kia Arena at 02:00)
Ben Shelton v J.J. Wolf (John Cain Arena at 03:00)
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Stream the 2023 Australian Open live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.co.uk.
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