Tennis

Ben Shelton used his post-match press conference after the Australian Open quarterfinals to call out the media for what he believes has been "disrespectful" conduct toward players.

Speaking to reporters after his victory over Lorenzo Sonego, Shelton admitted to feeling "shocked" by how broadcasters have acted and cited multiple instances that stood out to him:

"I've been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcasters. I don't think that the guy who mocked Novak, I don't think that was just a single event. I've noticed it with different people, not just myself. I noticed it with Learner Tien in one of his matches. I think when he beat [Daniil] Medvedev, his postmatch interview, I thought it was kind of embarrassing and disrespectful, that interview. There are some comments that have been made to me in postmatch interviews by a couple of different guys, whether it was, 'Hey, [Gael] Monfils is old enough to be your dad. Maybe he is your dad."

The most notable example, which Shelton cited, involved Novak Djokovic and Australian broadcaster Tony Jones.

During an on-air broadcast amid a crowd of Djokovic fans who were chanting his name, Jones mocked him and the fans by chanting Djokovic is "overrated" and a "has-been."

Djokovic said after his fourth-round victory over Jiří Lehečka that he boycotted his on-court post-match interview in the wake of Jones' actions and the lack of apology from Channel 9.

Jones and the network issued apologies to Djokovic on Monday that were acknowledged.

"Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested," per a statement issued by Tennis Australia, "and is now moving on and focusing on his next match."

Shelton also referenced a situation after his win over Sonego in which the on-court interviewer said he would likely not have much support from the crowd if he were to face Alex De Minaur, who is from Australia (starts at :45 mark).

Even though Shelton seemed to laugh off the question in the moment, he said during his press conference he didn't think it was a "respectful" thing to say.

"I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments," Shelton said. "I feel like there's just been a lot of negativity. I think that's something that needs to change."

The situation posed by the interviewer with De Minaur wound up not playing out anyway since he lost in the quarterfinal to Jannik Sinner.

It's important to note the job of journalists isn't to pump up an athlete. Some of the situations Shelton mentioned do seem to cross a line, but it's not unreasonable to assume the Australian Open crowd would have been much more supportive of an Australian in the semifinal if that situation had played out.

Shelton is in the midst of one of the best runs of his career. This marks just his second time reaching the semifinal of a grand slam tournament. He previously did it at the 2023 U.S. Open when he lost to Djokovic.

The Shelton-Sinner semifinal match will be played on Thursday. Sinner is 4-1 in five previous head-to-head meetings between the two.

Seventh-seeded Novak Djokovic punched his ticket to the 2025 Australian Open semifinals on Tuesday with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, win over No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne.

With the win, Djokovic moved to the semis for a sixth consecutive Aussie Open he has played in, and he denied Alcaraz the first Australian Open semifinal appearance of his young and successful career.

Djokovic has now reached the semis Down Under on 12 occasions, and he is two wins away from his 11th career Aussie Open title, which would add to his all-time record.

Following Djokovic's victory, here is a look at the Australian Open men's quarterfinal results and upcoming schedule, as well as the bracket:

Men's Quarterfinal Results

(7) Novak Djokovic def. (3) Carlos Alcaraz; 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

(2) Alexander Zverev def. (12) Tommy Paul; 7-6(1), 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-1

(21) Ben Shelton vs. Lorenzo Sonego; Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET

(1) Jannik Sinner vs. (8) Alex De Minaur; Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. ET

Men's Semifinal Bracket

(1) Sinner/(8) De Minaur vs. (21) Shelton/Sonego

(7) Djokovic vs. (2) Zverev

The 37-year-old Djokovic fell behind early against Alcaraz, and things did not look promising when he required a medical timeout late in the first set.

Alcaraz closed out the set once Djokovic returned the court, but Djoker looked like a completely different player from that point forward.

Although Alcaraz is the much younger player at just 21 years of age, Djokovic managed to keep up with him and mounted an impressive comeback.

Nole took the next two sets and had Alcaraz on the ropes in the fourth after breaking him, but Alcaraz showed plenty of mettle in winning arguably the point of the tournament to prevent a second break:

Alcaraz ended up winning the game to get it back to 4-3 in the fourth, and he had two break points in the next game, but Djokovic staved them off.

Djokovic ended up holding serve to go up 5-3, and after Alcaraz made it 5-4 with a hold of his own, the Serbian superstar closed it out on serve.

Despite losing in four sets, Alcaraz got the better Djokovic in several statistical categories, including aces (10-5) and winners (50-31), but Djoker made far fewer mistakes.

Djokovic had just 27 unforced errors to Alcaraz's 40, and he was excellent on his second serve, winning 58 percent of those points, compared to Alcaraz winning just 33 percent of his second-serve points.

With Tuesday's win, Djokovic now holds a 5-3 career record against Alcaraz, including winning four of their past five meetings.

Alcaraz did beat Djokovic in the 2024 Wimbledon final during that stretch, but Djokovic prevailed in final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and followed that up with Tuesday's triumph in Melbourne.

Djokovic now moves on to the semis to face second-seeded Alexander Zverev, who is arguably the best active men's player who has yet to win a Grand Slam singles title.

The German is through to his third career Aussie Open semifinal, but he has yet to make it to a final.

While Djokovic has a career record of 8-4 against Zverev, they have split their past four meetings, which suggests Thursday's clash could be one of the best of the tournament.

Coco Gauff was defeated by Paula Badosa in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday, suffering a straight-sets loss that left fans stunned.

With several self-inflicted errors, Gauff fell 7-5, 6-4 to the No. 11 seed Badosa as social media reacted:

Entering the match with a 9-0 record this season and a Grand Slam title to her name, Gauff arrived at Rod Laver Arena riding a 13-match win streak before the upset.

Despite Gauff's accolades, Badosa remained composed and prepared to face the 20-year-old phenomenon.

"She's full of confidence. But I'm playing well, too," Badosa said, per AP News' Howard Fendrich. "I'm ready to face her."

With the victory, Badosa advances to her first Grand Slam semifinal at 27 years old, showcasing the best tennis of her career.

"I'm a bit emotional," Badosa said. "I wanted to play my best tennis. I think I did. … I'm super proud of the level I gave today."

Gauff, finishing with a staggering 41 unforced errors, including six double faults and 28 missed forehands, failed to earn a single break point until she was already trailing by a set and a break in the second.

With the victory, Badosa will face No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals on Tuesday night.

The hypothetical quarterfinals match tennis fans everywhere were dreaming about when the 2025 Australian Open men's singles draw was released came to fruition.

Seventh-seeded Novak Djokovic and third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz will square off in the quarterfinals. The match is slated for Tuesday, although the exact time is yet to be released as the rest of the draw plays its way into the same round.

A dream matchup ahead of the semifinals underscores how strong the men's single field is this year.

After all, the winner could be in line for a semifinal clash against Alexander Zverev for the right to play reigning champion and top seed Jannik Sinner in the final if all the seeds hold. Sinner actually defeated Djokovic in the semifinals of last year's Australian Open.

Yet Djokovic and Alcaraz are the headliners at this point.

The former reached the quarterfinals by defeating Nishesh Basavareddy, Jaime Faria, Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka in the first four rounds, while Alcaraz handled Alexander Shevchenko, Yoshihito Nishioka, Nuno Borges and Jack Draper.

The result of those paths will be the latest chapter in the Djokovic and Alcaraz rivalry that took center stage in the tennis world last year.

Djokovic captured gold in the Paris Olympics final over Alcaraz, although the latter won their head-to-head showdown in the Wimbledon final.

Djokovic is still the gold standard of the sport with 24 Grand Slam titles and 10 Australian Open championships, and he enjoys a 4-3 advantage in head-to-head meetings with Alcaraz. He also won the Australian Open in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023 and isn't far removed from dominating at this major.

He also won each of their two meetings on hard courts, although Alcaraz pointed out those did not occur at Grand Slams.

"I change my game a little bit," Alcaraz told reporters. It's not going to be the same game style when I'm playing on grass or clay court obviously.

"I think everybody has their weakness. It doesn't matter if we're playing one surface or another, we are going to still have the same weakness. What weakness does Novak has? Just few or none. I know what I have to do on clay, on hard court, on grass. This is going to be the first time that I am playing against him in a Grand Slam on hard court, so let's see."

Unlike in their last two meetings, the winner will still have some work to do to win the tournament. But he will also have plenty of momentum after a marquee victory.