Novak Djokovic had an easy day of work as he advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Australian Open.An abdominal muscle injury forced Jakub Menšík to withdraw, giving Djokovic a walkover in their fourth-round matchup. The 10-time Australian Open champion will take on fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti, who brushed aside No. 9 Taylor Fritz in straight sets Monday.Two-time reigning champion Jannik Sinner likewise didn't have much trouble with fellow Italian Luciano Darderi. Darderi forced a tiebreaker in the third set but couldn't extend the match further than that.Ben Shelton is in the quarterfinals for the third time in four years. The 23-year-old American dropped the opening set to Casper Ruud before storming back. He racked up 14 aces and won 83 percent of his first-service points in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win.The quarterfinals for the men's singles draw are nearly all chalk. Seven of the top eight seeds are still alive.2026 Australian Open Quarterfinals — Men's SinglesNo. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 6 Alex de MinaurNo. 3 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 25 Learner TienNo. 5 Lorenzo Musetti vs. No. 4 Novak DjokovicNo. 8 Ben Shelton vs. No. 2 Jannik SinnerLearner Tien is the outlier among the highest-ranked players in the tournament. The 20-year-old upset No. 11 Daniil Medvedev to earn his first trip to a Grand Slam quarterfinal.Now, a meeting with Alexander Zverev awaits.The two have played twice before and split their head-to-head meetings. Tien prevailed last year in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel before Zverev gained a measure of revenge at Roland-Garros.Despite being seeded much lower than Shelton, Tien might be the United States' best hope of having a representative in the men's semifinals. Shelton is 1-8 all time against Sinner.
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