World number one Rafael Nadal was sent tumbling out of the Australian Open in the quarter-finals by an inspired Dominic Thiem.
The fifth seed overcame nerves to win 7-6 (3) 7-6 (4) 4-6 7-6 (6) and set up a clash with Alexander Zverev, who reached his first slam semi-final by beating Stan Wawrinka in four sets.
Wimbledon champion Simona Halep raced through to the last four, beating Anett Kontaveit in less than an hour, and there she will face a resurgent Garbine Muguruza, who defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Picture of the day
Rafa is a joke.The Dominator is a joke.This match will be brutal.Who’s gonna be last man standing?#AusOpen
— Jamie Murray (@jamie_murray) January 29, 2020
France’s Benoit Paire has been given the biggest fine so far, 7,500 dollars for an offence of unsportsmanlike conduct, while Nick Kyrgios’ two racket smashes have earned him combined punishment of 5,000 dollars.
Fed Cup for Coco
? Washington #fedcup #TeamUSA Let’s goooooo‼️ https://t.co/J1uR5Nuvbq
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) January 28, 2020
If she plays, the 15-year-old would be the second youngest player ever to represent the US after Jennifer Capriati. Meanwhile, US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, who missed this tournament through injury, will make her return in Canada’s tie with Switzerland.
Fallen seeds
Women: Anett Kontaveit (28), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (30)
Men: Rafael Nadal (1), Stan Wawrinka (15)
Who’s up next?
Locked and loaded ?
?? [1] @ashbarty v [14] @SofiaKenin ???? [4] @Simona_Halep v @GarbiMuguruza ??#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/DwlyGmLrWJ
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2020
Before that, the women’s semi-finals see home favourite Ashleigh Barty bid to ramp up the hype even more when she takes on Sofia Kenin and Halep meet Muguruza.
Britain’s Joe Salisbury will attempt to reach his first grand slam final in men’s doubles. He and American partner Rajeev Ram face Kazakh duo Alexander Bublik and Mikhail Kukushkin.
