On January 20th, Beijing time, the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open women's singles witnessed an incredible match. No. 9 seed Kasatkina saved three match points in the second set, tenaciously dragging the game into a decisive set. However, in the last game of the decisive set, which was also the last game of the entire match, Kasatkina suffered a fatal break, just as it seemed the match would enter a tie-break in the final set, it abruptly ended with No. 8 seed Navarro securing victory in the last game!
In the women's singles 4/4 zone, No. 2 seed Swiatek is the top player, while the top 8 seeds in the same zone include American player Navarro. In the previous round, Navarro fought hard for three sets, winning 2-1 against three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur. In this round's 16 to 8 competition, Navarro faced Russian star Kasatkina, a strong matchup between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds. It's worth noting that both players had previously eliminated Chinese players on their way to the quarterfinals, with Navarro defeating Wang Xiyu 2-1 in the second round, and Kasatkina also eliminating Wang Yafan 2-0 in the second round.
In the first set, both players engaged in a battle of breaks, with Navarro taking the lead by breaking serve one more time, winning the set 6-4. In the second set, Kasatkina demonstrated her tenacity, saving a total of three match points and winning the set 7-5 to level the score at 1-1. In the decisive set, in the last service game of the match, Kasatkina faltered, losing the twelfth game to a fatal break, allowing Navarro to win the set 7-5 and secure victory in a dramatic fashion! It's also worth mentioning that this is Navarro's fourth consecutive three-set victory at this year's Australian Open, showcasing her big heart!
In the next round, Navarro will compete with Swiatek for a spot in the semifinals. In this round, No. 2 seed Swiatek only took 59 minutes to sweep past lucky loser Riske 6-0, 6-1, advancing to the quarterfinals with three consecutive bagel victories, quite brutal! On this match day, four fourth-round matches were held in the lower half of the women's singles draw. Besides the 4/4 zone, the two fourth-round matches in the 3/4 zone have also concluded, with Svitolina winning both sets 6-4, 6-1 against Kudermetova. Another upset occurred in another match, with No. 6 seed Rybakina losing 3-6, 6-1, 3-6 to American star Keys!
Thus, the quarterfinalists for this year's Australian Open women's singles are all determined, with the specific quarterfinal matchups as follows:
Upper half: Sabalenka vs. Pavlyuchenkova, Gauff vs. Badosa
Lower half: Svitolina vs. Keys, Navarro vs. Swiatek.
On the doubles court, which receives less attention, Chinese star Zhang Shuai has been performing exceptionally well in both singles and doubles, reaching the quarterfinals in mixed doubles and women's doubles at this year's Australian Open!
In the second round of mixed doubles, Zhang Shuai's team advanced to the quarterfinals due to their opponents' withdrawal. In the third round of women's doubles, Zhang Shuai/Mladenovic overcame a 0-4 deficit in the first set, winning 7-6(3), 6-2 against Chan Hao-ching/Kichenok to advance to the quarterfinals.