Aus Open Night 8: Demon caps demolition after rival implodes; Djoker gifted free ride

Alex de Minaur is into the Australian Open quarter-finals for the second consecutive year after demolishing his fourth-round opponent in record time.

Follow all the news from Night 8 of the Australian Open below!

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Get live updates from Night 8 at Melbourne Park here!

‘WANTED REVENGE BADLY’: DEMON HAS HIS WAY IN BUBLIK BEATDOWN

Alex de Minaur has crushed Alexander Bublik in straight sets to book his place in the Australian Open quarter-finals for a second consecutive year.

‘Demon’ cruised to a 6-4 6-1 6-1 victory in his fourth-round clash with the man dubbed ‘Kazakh Kyrgios’.

The win, which took just an hour and 32 minutes, is the quickest win of de Minaur’s Australian Open career.

The mightily impressive Sydneysider played the match on his terms, much to the delight of the parochial crowd at Rod Laver Arena, with his return to serve a particular standout.

The emphatic triumph means De Minaur has become the first Australian to book back-to-back quarter-final berths at the Australian Open since Pat Cash achieved the feat in 1987-88.

After consecutive losses to Bublik last year — including an infamous Roland Garros choke after holding a two-sets-to-love lead — Aussie great Lleyton Hewitt told Nine’s broadcast de Minaur “wanted revenge badly”.

“You know, I think that one really stung in French Open, you know, obviously two sets to love up and complete control of that match,” Hewitt said in the third set.

“And he lost a tight match to him in Paris in the Masters there in late no sort of November last year as well. So he wanted to try and turn the tables tonight.”

And it was very evident that Bublik was never comfortable on Sunday night, at one point, the 10-seed’s frustrations looked on the verge of boiling over.

De Minaur clinically took the second set 6-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the match, and his opponent was left reeling and his frustration growing.

“But how can I hit? It’s a f–king ping pong ball. It doesn’t fly. It’s the slowest court I ever played in my f–king life,” Bublik uttered in a short rant to his coaches’ box in between games in the second set, as could be heard on the Nine broadcast.

Having capped his fastest-ever Australian Open win, it was clear de Minaur knew exactly what he had on his hands in Bublik.

“Yeah, look, I knew what I was in for today. Bublik is a hell of a player. He’s got so much firepower. I lost to him the last couple times, so I made sure I wanted to be ready to go from the first point to the last,” de Minaur said in his on-court interview post-match.

“And yeah, I was locked in. It was all about neutralising his big groundstrokes and doing my best to get him on the move. And it all kind of worked perfectly today, so super happy.”

Having beaten the Aussie the last two times they faced off, and rising to top-10-seed prominence in the process, revenge was on Demon’s mind.

“Yeah, I was definitely thinking about the last two matches I played him,” he said.

“Look, he’s super dangerous, right? He can hit winners off anything. Basically, take the rhythm out of the match and almost make it as scrappy as possible.

“So for me, I just had to be locked in from the first point to the last huge mental effort and onto the quarter. So, job done.”

Next up for de Minaur is that dreaded Carlos Alcaraz matchup.

Asked if this is the best form that he’s had at an Australian Open thus far, de Minaur said: “Yeah, look, I think the last two matches I’ve played, I’ve hit the ball extremely well.

“I’m super pleased with my level. I feel like I’m doing everything I want on the court, and yeah, I’m excited for the next one. That’s going to be a big one, right? So I’m going to have to come out here guns blazing, and I’m excited for a battle against Carlitos.”

De Minaur showed that this year might be different with the first crack of racquet on ball in his win against 10th seed Bublik on Sunday night.

The Australian was handed responsibility to serve by the man dubbed ‘the Kazakh Kyrgios’ and responded with the perfect statement of intent.

The world No.6 launched a rocket down the middle of ‘the T’ that Bublik could not get a racquet on, and he was away.

It was not easy from then on, but it was clear that this version of ‘Demon’ was a different beast.

De Minaur lost his last two outings against Bublik last year – one from two sets to love up at Roland Garros and one from a set up at the Paris Masters.

He was determined to make amends for those losses, but also show the rest of the top ten in the world that he means business.

Although de Minaur has an impressive record at his home slam, given he has never lost to a player ranked lower than him, there has been a widespread perception that the night session has not been his friend.

De Minaur’s serves and ground strokes are slowed by the cooler Melbourne evening air, and it has made it more difficult for him to penetrate the defences of top-ranked opponents.

But to fix that issue, the 26-year-old underwent a transformation during the brief off-season at the end of last year.

He hit the gym to beef up his upper body and add more zing to not only his serves, but his forehand and his backhand too, and it has paid dividends.

He regularly had the typically aggressive Bublik on the back foot, digging out balls from either corner of the court rather than standing up on the baseline and dictating points.

That recipe on the court, coupled with the sweltering heat tipped to engulf Melbourne on Tuesday, gives de Minaur perhaps the best chance he has ever had to defeat world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz.

De Minaur has never beaten the Spaniard, but with the mercury set to hit 44 degrees on the day of their quarter-final, who knows what can happen under what will be a closed Rod Laver Arena roof, even in the evening.

The Australian has long been regarded as one of the fittest players on tour and has spoken earlier in the tournament of his love for playing in the heat.

Alcaraz’s fitness is first-class too, but after seeing Jannik Sinner’s struggles in the scorching conditions on Saturday, the door may be slightly more ajar than it has been previously.

MENSIK WITHDRAWS FROM DJOKER BOUT

In huge news that came during Alex de Minaur’s fourth-round match against Alexander Bublik, Czech star Jakub Mensik announced via Instagram that he was withdrawing from his Monday night fourth-round clash with world No.4 Novak Djokovic.

“This is a tough one to write. After doing everything we could to keep going, I have to withdraw from the Australian Open due to an abdominal muscle injury that has progressed over the last matches,” Mensik said in a post to his Instagram story on Sunday night.

“After a long discussion with my team and doctors, we decided not to step on court tomorrow.

“Even though I’m disappointed, making the fourth round here for the first time is something I will carry with me for a long time. I felt so much energy from the fans, and the atmosphere in Melbourne was truly special.

“Thank you to my team for being with me every step, and to everyone sending messages and cheering — it means more than you know. Now its time to recover properly.”

The stunning development means Djokovic will walk to the quarter-finals and play the winner of tomorrow’s match between Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti.

It’ll also mean Djokovic will appear in a record-breaking 16th Australian Open quarter-final, eclipsing Roger Federer’s 15, which was previously the most in the Open era.

NIGHT 8 PREVIEW

Australia’s great hope Alex de Minaur is one win away from matching his career best run at Melbourne Park, but it will not come easy.

The sixth seed takes on Alexander Bublik at 7pm AEDT in a fourth round clash on Rod Laver Arena – a man who has had the wood over de Minaur in their recent meetings.

The Sydneysider boasts a 3-2 lead in their career head-to-head, but the world No.10 has taken their last two outings, leaving scars behind for the Australian.

Bublik, who has been dubbed ‘the Kazakh Kyrgios’ for his undeniable talent but unpredictable temperament, came from two sets to love down to slay the Demon at Roland Garros last year.

He also completed a comeback against de Minaur in the French capital at the Paris Masters in November, but that was a three set affair.

Their recent history is why many Australians groaned when de Minaur’s draw was released.

The fact world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz awaits in the next round did not help either.

But the 26-year-old is galvanised by a career-high ranking and an impressive straight sets victory against another dangerous opponent in Frances Tiafoe on Friday night.

Off the back of that result, de Minaur’s comments before a ball was struck in the main draw rang true.

“Some very tough opponents in front of me…I’m up for the challenge,” said De Minaur. “Hopefully I can step up to the occasion.”

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He certainly was against Tiafoe.

Combining an increased attacking arsenal with his trademark defensive fortitude to topple the American.

De Minaur hit more aces, eight to six, and more winners, 31 to 25, than his powerful opponent.

While the Australian also won the unforced error count, 28 to 40.

It is a recipe that would likely hold him in good stead against Bublik, and it has been formulated with the motivation of proving his doubters wrong.

“I know that there [are] a lot of people that don’t think I can do it — that’s completely fine, but I’m going to keep on pushing myself with my team and trying to prove those people wrong,” de Minaur said pre-tournament.

“That’s just going to add some more fire to the belly, and I have not yet achieved what I want to achieve in this sport.

“It gets stressful at times, but that’s only because I want it so bad.”

De Minaur also has the backing of Australian tennis royalty.

Tony Roche, a French Open champion who coached the likes of Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter, said in a recent interview with the ATP and AO Originals that de Minaur can become one of the nation’s greats.

“Always believed that he was destined for big, big things,” Roche said.

“We have a rich history in tennis and it’s about time that we get another winner…I think Alex is the person to do that.”