Australian Open 2025 Day 7 Recap

The last sixteen lineups in Melbourne are set as the top half of the draw completed their round of thirty-two matches on Saturday.

In the day session, Jannik Sinner continued his title defence quest with a straightforward 6-3 6-3 6-2 win over Marcos Giron.

The only upset of the day saw Gael Monfils take out Taylor Fritz in four sets to make the fourth round in Melbourne for the fifth time.

One “big” story is that no one-handed backhands will feature in the last sixteen at the Australian Open for the first time in the tournament’s history. Musetti was the last man standing, and he couldn’t take the mantle any further, losing to Ben Shelton in four sets.

Full results and select highlights below.

Day Seven 2025 Australian Open Round of 32 Results

Monfils Masters Fritz in Melbourne

Gael Monfils wasn’t the pick on many people’s draw brackets to make round four in Melbourne, but he upset the apple cart on Saturday, producing a stunning 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(1), 6-4 upset of fourth seed Taylor Fritz.

The 38-year-old Frenchman, who became the oldest man in nearly 50 years to win an ATP Tour title in Auckland last week, extended his winning streak to eight matches with a dominant performance, including 24 aces against the American.

Fritz’s three previous matches were all demolition jobs, so he looked like a good bet to make the last sixteen. Yet Monfils caused him way too many problems.

We all know Gael can be a bag of tricks, which often is a weakness, but it was an asset today as he mixed up the pace on his groundstrokes, which Fritz could not handle and couldn’t find a way to disrupt him from the baseline.

La Monf has been on tour since the 2000s, so he’s faced plenty of players who have transition games and can mix it, whereas Taylor wouldn’t know what a transition game was even if he saw one.

That meant he had no way to get on the front foot and could not handle some dipping shots that lured him to the net, and after struggling to pick up them up, Monfils just picked him off.

Monfils was also dominant on serve, winning 82% of first-serve points and 68% of second-serve points. It was one of the best tactical displays I’ve seen from him, and it was a far cry from the Clownfils nickname he earned earlier in his career.

As I always say, I keep playing for these matches. A big player, big stadium, good crowd, good energy. When you’re 38 years old, [that’s] what I want. I had it. I was very fortunate to win it. It’s exactly why I’m playing. The game plan was to hold the baseline and change the tempo, hit some big shots down the line and also use some shape. I did the job. We work hard and I try to be very disciplined with the recovery. I’m a strong believer that I can still do some damage and I have big trust in my team. Monfils on his win over Fritz.

Sinner Slides Into Second Week

Jannik Sinner advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 straight-sets win over Marcos Giron.

There’s not much to report here, as Giron has no real way to beat Sinner, who is too solid from the baseline.

While Giron plays and moves excellently, he has no tools to unsettle Sinner. Tactically, I am not sure how you approach that match other than playing solid and hoping he has a bad day. 

An early break in each set proved the difference, and although Sinner did drop serve in the third set, he was never troubled. 

I am very happy to be in the next round. Every match has its own difficulties. Today I felt like he was very solid from the back of the court when he served well. I still have room to improve, but every win is great, especially in these conditions. As always, thank you so much for your support, it’s amazing to play night sessions here. Today the percentage of my net game was not really good, but I try to improve, it’s part of the game. Sometimes I feel things a little bit better, sometimes worse, that’s normal. Trying to stay there mentally is the most important aspect. Hopefully in the next round I am able to raise my level, but I’m still very happy. Sinner on his win.

Other Matches of Note

Alex de Minaur is the last Aussie standing in Melbourne. For the fourth year in a row, he made the last sixteen by beating 31st seed Francisco Cerundolo 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3.

The 8th seed had a poor end to a great 2024 season, but his legs are back in Melbourne, and he shook off struggling in the first set and squandering a break advantage in the second to level the match in a crucial tie-break.

Cerundolo couldn’t keep up physically in the third set as De Minaur road ran his way to the win. He will next face American Alex Michelsen, who defeated Karen Khachanov in straight sets. 

Ben Shelton created history in Melbourne by ensuring there won’t be a single one-handed backhand player in the last sixteen. This is the first time this has happened in the tournament’s history.

He achieved that by dispatching 15th seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the second time.  Shelton, who reached the quarter-finals on his Melbourne debut in 2023, will next face Gael Monfils.

Holger Rune came from a set down to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7(5), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, setting up a clash with Jannik Sinner in the next round.

Kecmanovic was on the verge of victory, leading 4-2, 30/0 in the fourth set, but Rune turned the match around, winning four straight games to level the match.

The Dane had cramps in the final set, so he shortened the points, and with Kecmanovic not being one of the best “closers”, he got himself through after 3 hours and 27 minutes.

Rune’s H2H with Sinner is tied as 2-2, but Rune’s was slightly in front regarding level. However, Sinner has improved dramatically since then, whereas Rune hasn’t, so I pick the Italian in straight sets.

Australian Open Day 8 Round of 16 Matches