Key events
Sabalenka* (1) 4-1 Mboko A good return from Mboko puts Sabalenka into a position where her shot can’t and the teenager builds on that with a great forehand sent well away from her foe and threaded down the line.
Mboko just can’t thread the needle on a forehand return and Sabalenka grabs the foothold and builds on it with two serves that the Canadian can’t return. The top seed tries to end a baseline exchange with a drop shot but can’t clear the net, bringing up deuce, but rebounds with a deftly placed backhand that Mboko can only watch bounce just inbounds. A big forehand from Sabalenka then secures the hold.
Sabalenka (1) 3-1 Mboko* (17) The early break goes to Sabalenka.
Mboko fires into the net to fall behind early and then Sabalenka storms to the net and sends down a forehand winner to move further ahead. The teenager then sends a backhand wide to bring up three break points but Sabalenka only needs the one.
Sabalenka* (1) 2-1 Mboko (17) Sabalenka quickly moves ahead but opens the door for Mboko when she double faults to make it 30-15. That door, however, is promptly slammed shit: the top seed firing down an ace and then a gorgeous drop shot to hold.
Sabalenka (1) 1-1 Mboko* (17) A long return gets Mboko ahead and then puts a forehand winner deep and wide to go up 30-0. Sabalenka gets on the board when Mboko misfires with a backhand and is then back level when her teenage opponent double faults.
A rocket of a backhand from Mboko is placed well away from Sabalenka to get her back ahead, followed by a serve the top seed can’t return to bring up the hold.
Sabalenka* (1) 1-0 Mboko (17) Sabalenka faces down two break points but takes the opening service.
A solid return from Mboko sees Sabalenka send a backhand long, but a really well hit forehand on the next exchange gets her back level. A few feathers start to descend from the roof as Sabalenka gets ahead with another forehand but a good return from Moboko on second serve sets up a rally ended when the world number one fires into the net.
Targeting Mboko’s forehand, Sabalenka whips down a second-serve the Canadian can’t return to move it to 40-30 but is pegged back to deuce when a sweetly hit backhand from the teenager leaves her almost rooted to the spot. A forehand return down the line then brings up a break point for Mboko but Sabalenka responds by drawing her opponent in with a drop shot and then blasting a forehand beyond her.
Mboko pounces on yet another second serve to bring up a second break point only for her foe to once again see off the threat. A long return brings up the advantage for Sabalenka and she sees things out with an ace.
Aryna Sabalenka v Victoria Mboko begins
We are under way on Rod Laver Arena. The world No 1 and top seed will serve first.
Mboko has won the toss and elected to receive first-up. She and Sabalenka are exchanging their final warm-up shots and the start of this one is just three minutes away.
This is the first-ever meeting between Sabalenka and 19-year-old rising star Mboko.
“I think it’s super cool,” Mboko said in the build-up. “I’ve never played a current number one in the world. That’s going to be a very different experience. I assume we’d be playing on Rod Laver, as well. I’ve never played on a Grand Slam centre court either. A lot of firsts. I’m just really excited. It’s something not many people get to experience. To be doing that on Sunday is, I think, really cool. Just to show what I got.”
We’re nearing the start of the match we’ll first be following along with this morning, with both Aryna Sabalenka (1) and Victoria Mboko’s (17) going through their final warm-ups before they emerge out onto Rod Laver Arena.
Novak Djokovic (4) moved past Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets yesterday evening, claiming a historic 400th Grand Slam win as he did. But the Serb flirted with controversy as he did, lucky to dodge a code violation after narrowly missing the head of a ball girl at the net in the second set.
Now, if you’re like me, you prefer to see Djokovic working as a heel rather than a face — Yulia Putintseva’s dance moves as she was booed after beating Zeynep Sönmez another one of my tournament highlights. The legend, however, was a bit more sanguine after his win, remarking that the advice he’d give his younger self was: “Calm down, you jerk.”
Dissipating heat, however, doesn’t mean that the environmental challenges are completely absent today. A smoke haze has blanketed Melbourne since yesterday, as winds blew down the smoke from a fire in the Otway ranges which has grown to about 8,000 hectares overnight.
Air quality alerts have been issued across Melbourne, Geelong and the surrounding regions, while a total fire ban remains in place for the Northern Country, North Central, North East, and Gippsland fire districts.
Tennis fans not fortunate enough to be in Melbourne are no doubt feeling the FOMO of missing out on the Australian Open. But having had to swelter through it, I can tell you day seven probably wasn’t too bad a day to miss.
Play on the outside courts was paused and arena roofs were closed as the Heat Stress Scale moved above 5.0, as players, officials, and fans alike scrambled for shade, fluids and any kind of relief they could find.
Jack Snape recounted a sweltering day Down Under.
Tumaini Carayol, meanwhile, has dived into how those tasked with playing in these conditions tried to beat the heat.
The other contender for yesterday’s biggest story came later in the evening, when Naomi Osaka (16) withdrew from the Australian Open just hours before she was set to face Aussie qualifier Maddison Inglis, citing an abdominal injury linked to body changes from her pregnancy.
We had a big few stories yesterday but a contender for the biggest fortune, and a enforced heat break, coming to the aid of Jannik Sinner (2) as he struggled with full-body cramps in the stifling conditions against 85th-ranked American Eliot Spizzirri.
Tumaini Carayol was there for that one and recapped what became a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win for the Italian.
Preamble
Howdy, y’all. It’s ya boi Joey Lynch here, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of a mercifully cooler day eight of the Australian Open. After yesterday’s stifling conditions the mercury has dipped significantly ahead of today’s action: highs of more than 40C yesterday giving way to forecast a top of 25C today, with it currently sitting at 19.7C as we prepare for the morning’s action.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) and Victoria Mboko’s (17) meeting on Rod Laver Arena is the pick of the early matches, and we’ll follow along with that one when it gets under way at 11.30.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) and Tommy Paul (19) are then scheduled to follow on Rod Laver, that one starting no earlier than 1.30pm, and we’ll be following along with that one, too. Alex de Minaur (6) and Alexander Bublik’s (10) meeting and Elina Svitolina (12) and Mirra Andreeva’s (8) clash will then follow in the evening session.
Coco Gauff (3) is set to face off with Karolina Muchova (19) out on Margaret Court Arena no earlier than 2.30pm, and the prospect of another marathon between Daniil Medvedev (11) and Learner Tien (25) awaits when they take the court following that contest.
Yulia Putintseva and Iva Jovic (29), as well as Alexander Zverev (3) and Francisco Cerundolo (18) will also be in action on John Cain.
So, let’s do it, to it. It being tennis, that is.
