On January 18th, Beijing time, the seventh day of the 2025 Australian Open saw the third round matches in the men's top half and women's bottom half fully underway. Amazingly, Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina, a husband-and-wife duo, pulled off upsets against two singles world No. 4 players, Taylor Fritz and Paula Badosa, respectively, on the same day and court, leading to the elimination of two top-four seeds in the Australian Open singles draw! Additionally, veterans and rising stars made history together, with the 38-year-old French veteran Monfils becoming the second player over 38 to reach the men's singles last 16 at a Grand Slam since Roger Federer, while the 19-year-old American prodigy, Rinky Hijikata, became the youngest player to reach the men's singles last 16 at the Australian Open since Rafael Nadal. At Margaret Court Arena, the Australian Open's second court, Monfils and Svitolina took to the court for the second and third matches of the day. In the third round of the men's singles, Monfils lost the first set but fought back to win three consecutive sets, ultimately defeating American star Fritz with a scoreline of 3-1 (3-6/7-5/7-6(1)/6-4), causing the No. 4 seed in the men's singles to exit the tournament! Since 1991, Monfils has become the second player after Federer to reach the men's singles last 16 at a Grand Slam at the age of 38 or older. In the subsequent match, Monfils' wife, Svitolina, also caused an upset, mirroring her husband's feat by losing the first set before winning two sets in a row to complete…

On January 18th, Beijing time, a major upset occurred in the third round of the new season's Australian Open women's singles event. The No. 4 seed, Paulini, suffered a stunning reversal with scores of 6-2, 4-6, and 0-6, losing to the 28th seed Svitolina with a total score of 1-2. This made her the third top-eight seeded player to be eliminated after Zheng Qinwen and Pegula. Last year, Paulini achieved two consecutive runner-up finishes at the French Open and Wimbledon, which allowed her to enter the world's top five for the first time and maintain the fourth position for an extended period. In the new season, Paulini participated in the United Cup but was eliminated in the quarterfinals, indicating an average overall performance. Now at the Australian Open, she advanced to the top 32 relatively easily but faced a real challenge in her pursuit of a spot in the top 16. In this match, Paulini faced Svitolina, who broke her serve in the third game of the first set. Paulini immediately broke back, followed by further breaks in the sixth and eighth games, winning the set 6-2 in a comfortable reversal. However, in the second set, Paulini's state suddenly declined. Svitolina made a crucial break in the third game and held serve in the fourth, establishing a 3-1 lead. Both players then held their serves, and Svitolina leveled the total score at 6-4 after holding serve in the tenth game. In the decisive final set, Svitolina continued to improve, breaking serve right from the start and continuing to do so…

Zheng Qinwen's debut in the new season went wild as she played with ease and showed significant improvement, winning both sets 6-2 against Svitolina in an Australian Open charity exhibition match. This impressive performance demonstrated her excellent form, indicating that she is not intimidated by top contenders like Sabalenka and Gauff, giving her a real chance at the Australian Open title. Last year, Zheng Qinwen had a busy season, starting from the Australian Open to the year-end finals, with a reduced winter training period. To prepare well for the 2025 season, she chose to temporarily withdraw from the United Cup and directly made the Australian Open her first event. As the main draw of the Australian Open is set to open on January 12, this charity exhibition match became Zheng Qinwen's debut. In this match, Zheng Qinwen faced Svitolina from Ukraine, who is currently ranked 29th in the world and has reached as high as third, having won the year-end finals championship. The two had no previous encounters. In the first set, Svitolina served first but posed little threat, allowing Zheng Qinwen to easily return serves. After a 40-40 tie, Zheng Qinwen scored two consecutive points to break serve. In the second game, she hit an ace, earning applause from the audience and marking the start of her dominant play, leaving Svitolina with little resistance. In the third and fourth games, Zheng Qinwen continued to break and hold serve, taking a 4-0 lead and gradually turning the match into a one-sided affair. Since it was just an exhibition match, Zheng…