Jannik Sinner has breezed into yet another Australian Open quarterfinal after knocking out fellow Italian Luciano Darderi.
Sinner defeated Darderi 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(7-2) at Margaret Court Arena, winning his 18th successive match at the Australian Open.
He has lifted the Australian Open trophy in each of the last two seasons, representing two of his four career Grand Slam titles.
In the other half of the draw, ATP number one Carlos Alcaraz will take on home favorite Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals.
Who will win the 2026 Australian Open?
Pat Cash says Jannik Sinner will win the Australian Open if he serves well
Legendary Australian Pat Cash has now discussed the leading duo as the tournament enters week two, saying on Tennis Channel: “For me, without simplifying it too much, if Sinner serves well, I think he can win the title.
“If he doesn’t serve well, he won’t win the title. I mean, can we boil it down to that? Because he needs free points.
“Carlos… they’re so even at the back of the court, whoever serves better is going to get that extra 10, handful of points in a match.
“And so far, Jannik hasn’t shown that. Obviously, he dodged a bullet the other day with the heat. He dodged a bullet in Wimbledon with [Grigor] Dimitrov getting injured.
“I mean, is he that lucky to get two Grand Slams by manoeuvring his way through? I mean, he’s that good.”
Jannik Sinner may have a bigger issue than serving at the Australian Open
Sinner admitted his serve needed to improve after winning his first match at the Australian Open, and it’s fair to say he’s accomplished that.
He fired down a huge 19 aces in his victory over Darderi, which represents a career record for Sinner at Grand Slam level.
There were also no double faults in the two-hour, nine-minute win, while his first serve points won tally finished at 81%.
What has been the biggest upset at the Australian Open so far?
Perhaps now it is a matter of fitness that is stopping Sinner from a third successive title, as opposed to any serving woes.
Sinner suffered from cramp in his third round meeting with Eliot Spizzirri, which was disrupted in order to close the roof due to the extreme heat in Melbourne.
The Italian recovered from a set down to win the match, having endured a similar break when Dimitrov retired hurt during their 2025 Wimbledon tie when he was two sets up.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
