Wang Meiren will face Nováková and Guo Hanyu advances to the round of 16, is Sinner feeling dizzy? Kecmanovic meets Pegula

In just three minutes a day, stay updated on all things tennis worldwide. Hello tennis fans, today is Saturday, January 24, 2026. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Early this morning Beijing time, the 2026 Australian Open continued with its seventh day of matches. On the singles court, China's second-ranked Wang Xinyu appeared near noon to compete against the Czech young talent Nosková in the third round. At the time of this report, the match had reached the fifth game of the first set, tied 2-2 after four games. Then, due to excessive heat, the referee suspended the match.

In doubles, good news came as the 16th seeds Guo Hanyu and Muradnovic defeated Pavlyuchenkova and Townsend 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in the second round to reach the round of 16. Zhang Shuai and Mertens will face Jovic and Mboko around noon.

In the men’s singles lower half third-round match held this morning Beijing time, the second seed and defending champion Sinner struggled. After leading 4-2, he lost four consecutive games to drop the first set 4-6 against American opponent Spizzirri. In the second set, he was broken early but managed to break back and evened the match at 6-3. However, in the third set, Sinner’s form faltered again, giving up multiple break points and falling behind 1-3. The match was paused due to the extreme heat. Despite the high temperatures, many fans were puzzled, asking, “What’s wrong with Sinner? Is he overwhelmed by the heat?” “He’s playing terribly! Could he be upset?”

In another match, Italian rising star Darderi performed impressively, defeating Russian powerhouse Khachanov in four sets to advance to the round of 16. The match between Czech player Machac and Italian Musetti extended to a decisive fifth set, with Musetti leading 2-0 in games.

In the men’s singles upper half third-round matches concluded last night Beijing time, top players Alcaraz, Paul, Bublik, Deminal, Zverev, and Cerundolo all secured victories to advance to the fourth round.

On the women’s singles court this morning Beijing time, defending champion and 9th seed Kecmanovic defeated former world No.1 and Czech star Ka Pliskova 6-3, 6-3, marking her seventh time reaching the Australian Open round of 16. Next, she will compete against fellow American and 6th seed Pegula, who beat Russian Selekhemetiva 6-3, 6-2 to return to the Australian Open round of 16 after three years.

In another all-American clash, 4th seed Anisimova eliminated compatriot Stearns 6-1, 6-4, reaching the Australian Open round of 16 for the fourth time, matching her best personal result at this tournament. She will now await the winner between Wang Xinyu and Nosková.

In the women’s singles third round matches finished last night Beijing time, 7th seed Boulter, 14th seed Townsend, and 23rd seed Schneider were all defeated by Jovic, Mboko, and Svitolina respectively, leading to their exit from the tournament.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The image below shows a player during a match. She retired years ago—can you identify who she is?

In the previous guessing game, some fans provided the correct answer. Indeed, the person in the picture is Serbian tennis king Novak Djokovic.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lone Wolf)