![\"tennis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Pro-Player-Gear2.jpg\")
<\/a>tennis express pro player gear<\/p>\nSEE THE FULL DAY 11 SCHEDULE HERE<\/a><\/p>\n Swiatek and Rybakina Clash For the 12th Time<\/p>\n Get ready for installment No.12 of a classic rivalry at the site of Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina\u2019s first Grand Slam meeting, way back in 2023.<\/p>\n It was Rybakina who claimed that round of 16 battle, en route to her first and only Australian Open final, and the pair have traded haymakers ever since, including their last Grand Slam meeting on the red clay of Roland-Garros last spring, with Swiatek rallying for a dramatic victory, 7-5 in the third.<\/p>\n Swiatek says those meetings don\u2019t hold as much water as pundits might think. In the ever changing landscape of women\u2019s tennis, the here and now is what calls shots.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say head-to-head matters, because even when one of us was winning, it was always a tight match or she beat me easy,\u201d the Pole said with a smile. \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter. Doesn\u2019t make sense to overanalyze who won the last ones or how it has been looking. Every match is a different story.<\/p>\n \u201cLike on every match she\u2019s been a tough opponent, and her tennis for sure is great. I need to be 100 percent ready and go for it and use my experience and also the knowledge from previous matches, and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n Swiatek is also downplaying the media\u2019s interest in her bid for the Career Grand Slam. The six-time major is bidding to become the third youngest woman to ever achieve the feat, but she says it isn\u2019t on her mind. She\u2019s about process and preparation and nothing else.<\/p>\n (Another) All American Battle<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a tremendous tournament for the American women, and we have to say: when is that ever surprising? It\u2019s always somebody carrying the torch for the American women, and there has now been an American women in each of the last five major finals.<\/p>\n Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova each are looking ready to make an extended play for the title in Melbourne, and their fourth career meeting promises to be a tight one. Pegula has taken each of the pair\u2019s three meetings but Anisimova has pushed her to three sets in the last two.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been pretty crazy how well the women have been doing and how many top-ranked girls there are. I\u2019m just happy to be a part of that conversation,\u201d said Pegula.<\/p>\n Anisimova, who has won 16 of her last 18 Grand Slam matches, is aware of Pegula\u2019s unique set of strengths.<\/p>\n \u201cI know her game pretty well now,\u201d Anisimova said, when asked what makes Pegula a tricky opponent for her.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say it\u2019s just the fact that she gets a lot of balls back. Yeah, she can challenge any of the top players. She\u2019s obviously at the top for a reason\u2026 I feel like I always have a chance against anyone\u2026 I think the fact that I\u2019ve never beaten her before is an extra challenge for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Novak Rested and Ready<\/p>\n Not sure it would be possible to underestimate the importance of brevity in Novak Djokovic\u2019s case. In recent years he\u2019s expended too much energy getting into the later rounds, and that has left him depleted when he eventually faces his biggest challenges in the Grand Slam semifinals. It happened four times last year, and four times he fell short.<\/p>\n But this year in Australia, Djokovic has won all nine sets he has played, and he even got an extra few days off when Jakub Mensik pulled out of the pair\u2019s fourth-round encounter due to an ab injury. If there is any player that knows what to do with an extra 48 hours of preparation, it is the meticulous Djokovic. This is the freshest that Novak Djokovic may ever be ahead of a Grand Slam quarterfinal, and if he can use his clear advantage (see the 9-1 career record) against Musetti in their quarterfinal, he just may have a chance to do some damage against Sinner in the semifinals.<\/p>\n No guarantee, but the perfect set up is in place.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Musetti has looked incredibly good in reaching the quarterfinals. Not known for his hard court prowess or his fitness in years past, he has shored up those weak spots and is looking like much more of a threat on faster surfaces and deep in Slams. His eleventh encounter with Djokovic should be a good one.<\/p>\n Can Shelton Break Through the Wall?<\/p>\n Three of Ben Shelton\u2019s last four losses at the Slams have come to Jannik Sinner (2x) or Carlos Alcaraz. The other came to Adrian Mannarino at last year\u2019s US Open but that was a retirement due to a shoulder injury. The moral of the story? To be the best you have to beat the best and here comes another opportunity for the 23-year-old southpaw to prove that he belongs in the conversation as a disruptor in the men\u2019s game.<\/p>\n Players born in 2000s able to reach 5+ Grand Slam men’s singles QFs<\/p>\n \u2022 Carlos Alcaraz (14)
\u2022 Jannik Sinner (14)
\u2022 Ben Shelton (5) pic.twitter.com\/B05CoFS6Ui<\/a><\/p>\n