By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday January 20, 2025
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will play the nightcap on a star-studded Day 10 that features four quarterfinal matchups.
Photo Source: Matthew Stockman/ Getty
It’s quarterfinal time down under! Day 10 of the Australian Open will feature last-eight matchups for the top half on the women’s side and the bottom half on the men’s side.

The full Day 10 order of play is here:
Here’s what we’ll be keeping close tabs on…
Gauff vs Badosa
Head-to-Head: tied 3-3
Red-hot Coco Gauff takes on rejuvenated Spaniard Paula Badosa in the first quarterfinal match on Rod Laver Arena. Gauff took their only two meetings last year, both times in three sets, in Rome and Beijing. Badosa, former World No. 2, continues to elevate her level and appears to be headed back to the Top-10.
It will be a battle of two players at or near the peak of their powers.
Gauff enters Tuesday’s tussle with an undefeated 9-0 record for the season. Meanwhile, last year‘s WTA comeback player of the year Badosa has now reached the quarterfinals of her last two majors.
Paul vs Zverev
Head-to-Head: Paul leads 2-0
Two former Australian open semifinalists will lock horns in the second match on Rod Laver Arena on Day 10 as Tommy Paul takes on Alexander Zverev for a spot in the last four. Paul has taken both previous meetings with the German, winning in straight sets in Acapulco in 2020 and then in a three set battle at Indian Wells in 2022.
It’s a high stakes affair to be sure. No.2-seeded Zverev is still hunting for the elusive major title that he seeks while Paul is closing in on a Top-10 ranking for the first time. He's already there in the live rankings and could even push for Top-5 at the end of the tournament. Zverev has been virtually untouchable thus far in Melbourne, winning 12 of the 13 sets he has played. Paul struggled in stretches in his first two rounds, but has lost just 11 games in his last two matches.
Sabalenka vs Pavlyuchenkova
Head-to-Head: Pavlyuchenkova leads 2-1
The night session kicks off with two time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who will face Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for the fourth time. The top seed will be the heavy favorite in the pair’s first meeting since 2021 and their first meeting on a hardcourt in over five years.
33-year-old Pavlyuchenkova isn’t to her first quarterfinal at the Australian Open since 2020 and her fourth overall. Meanwhile, Sabalenka rides an 18-match winning streak at the happy slam. It’s an another opportunity for the three-time major champion to prove why she is far and away the best hardcourt player in women’s tennis at the moment.
Djokovic vs Alcaraz
Head-to-Head: Djokovic leads 4-3
Last but not least it’s an absolute blockbuster nightcap on Rod Laver Arena as 10-time Aussie Open champion Novak Djokovic takes on his ascendant rival Carlos Alcaraz for the eighth time.
Last year the pair met in the finals at Wimbledon and the Olympics, splitting those two matches. Alcaraz has the 2-1 overall edge over Djokovic at the Grand Slams, but they have never met in a hardcourt match at the majors. In fact, their only two hardcourt matches to date took place in 2023 -- one was an absolute epic battle in the Cincinnati final in 2023, won by Djokovic 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.
Perhaps we’ll get another epic on Tuesday… It's a shame these two legends have to meet so early in the draw, but don’t let that dampen your enthusiasm for this must see quarterfinal.