Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury narrowly avoided an upset against home favourites Marc Polmans and Alexei Popyrin during Sunday’s second-round doubles action at the 2023 Australian Open. The 2022 Nitto ATP Finals champions ousted the Aussie wild card duo 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3.

Ram and Salisbury, who are No. 1 and 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, play their best tennis when the stage is the biggest. In 2022, the American-British duo earned four team titles, including the US Open crown. Ram and Salisbury are aiming for their second Australian Open title (2020).

They will next meet Polish team Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski, who rallied from a set down to take out Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7).

Two French teams were victorious Sunday, including Arthur Rinderknech and Benjamin Bonzi, who fended off all six break points faced to down Nicolas Barrientos and Ariel Behar 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(2). Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin defeated Indian duo N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-4, 6-4.

Stefanos Tsitsipas passed a real test of his title-winning credentials Sunday at the Australian Open, where the third seed held firm in the face of a Jannik Sinner onslaught to clinch a thrilling 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 fourth-round victory.

Having marched through his opening three matches in Melbourne without dropping a set, the Greek was presented with the biggest test of his campaign by 21-year-old Sinner. A remarkable mid-match rise in level from the Italian set a tense finish on Rod Laver Arena, but Tsitsipas retained his composure, dialled in behind his serve and huge forehand, and clinched a decisive break in the sixth game of the fifth set en route to a gripping four-hour win.

“It was a long match, guys, I feel like I spent an entire century in this court playing tennis,” said Tsitsipas to the crowd in his on-court interview. “It felt so long. What a great night… I’m really excited to be sharing moments like this on the court, especially in Australia. I’m trying to do my best out here, it’s not easy. I had an unbelievable opponent on the other side of the court today, playing incredible tennis in the third and fourth sets.”

Despite Tsitsipas easing to the first two sets, an increasingly confident Sinner dominated the baseline exchanges in the third and fourth sets to carry the momentum into the decider. Yet the Italian was left to rue missed chances throughout the match — he converted just four of 26 break points as Tsitsipas’ clutch serving at key moments helped keep his hopes of claiming a maiden Grand Slam title this fortnight in Melbourne alive.

The victory extended Tsitsipas’ ATP Head2Head series lead against Sinner to 5-1. The Greek, who will rise to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time should he lift the trophy in Melbourne, will next take on Jiri Lehecka as he bids for a third straight Australian Open semi-final appearance.

Early in Sunday’s clash, Sinner frequently struggled to match Tsitsipas’ consistency in the baseline exchanges as the third seed delighted his vocal supporters in the crowd with a clinical display across the first two sets. Having broken Sinner’s serve four times for a two-sets-to-love lead, however, Tsitsipas lost his way.

Sinner began to dictate with ease from the baseline and was particularly effective with his drop shot. The Italian carved out 18 break point chances across the third and fourth sets and, despite only converting two of them, levelled a match he had appeared destined to comfortably lose.

From there, the greater experience of three-time Australian Open semi-finalist Tsitsipas began to show. He steadied himself on serve with a barrage of powerful and precise first deliveries before crucially breaking Sinner in the sixth game of the deciding set. The 24-year-old remained untroubled on serve from then on to seal a spot in his sixth Grand Slam quarter-final.

“I think I just released my arm a little bit, released my wrist on the serve,” said Tsitsipas, who made 92 per cent (24/26) of first serves in the fifth set. “I think that helped me a lot to generate more power and accuracy, something that I wasn’t doing before. It completely changed the way I approached the match, since that moment when I made that minor adjustment. That helped me serve it out pretty well towards the end without being too tense.”

Tsitsipas, who now holds a 19-5 record at the Australian Open, next prepares for a second tour-level meeting against 21-year-old Lehecka. The Czech will be feeling confident after upsetting sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) earlier on Sunday, although it was Tsitsipas who prevailed in three sets in the pair’s previous tour-level meeting in Rotterdam last February.

One week ago, Jiri Lehecka had not won a match in the main draw of a Grand Slam. Now, he is an Australian Open quarter-finalist.

The Czech’s brand of heavy baseline hitting and silky net play proved too much for sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime to handle Sunday on Margaret Court Arena, where Lehecka powered to an impressive 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) fourth-round victory.

“Honestly, it feels amazing,” said Lehecka. “It’s tough for me to find some words because what we’ve been through last year and now coming back to Australia. [I lost] in the first round last year, so of course if somebody had told me before the tournament that I would play like this, then I wouldn’t believe them, but I’m super happy that I’m through and I’m excited.”

The World No. 71 Lehecka fell in the first round at all four majors last season but has upset a series of top opponents across the first week in Melbourne. The 21-year-old, who finished his 2022 season on a high by reaching the championship match at the Next Gen ATP Finals, also upset 21st seed Borna Coric in the first round and 11th seed Cameron Norrie in the third round.

“Of course, all the guys I have beaten over here, all of them are incredible players and I must have played my best tennis,” said Lehecka. “[I had] to show all the cards I have to beat them. Coric in the first round, [Christopher] Eubanks in the second round and Norrie, now Felix. It sounds crazy, but it’s true, and I’m very happy and so excited to continue the journey.”

Lehecka has pedigree when it comes to stringing together victories against higher-ranked opponents. On his ATP Tour debut as a qualifier in Rotterdam last February, he upset Denis Shapovalov, Botic van de Zandschulp and Lorenzo Musetti to reach the semi-finals, where he pushed Stefanos Tsitsipas to three sets.

That ATP 500 event in The Netherlands also saw Auger-Aliassime lift his maiden tour-level title, but the Canadian struggled to find his best level in Sunday’s encounter in Melbourne. That was largely down to a high-quality all-around display from Lehecka, who matched Auger-Aliassime’s power from the baseline and frequently made forays forward to pressure his opponent.

Despite dropping the opening set, Lehecka showed no sign of panicking in his pursuit of a maiden victory against a Top 10 opponent at the fifth attempt. He notched his only break of the match late in the second set to level proceedings before dominating a pair of tie-breaks to wrap a three-hour, 13-minute win in which he won 80 per cent (33/41) of points at the net.

“I felt good even from the baseline,” said Lehecka. “I helped myself with my serve a lot. I know that Felix has a huge serve. He knows how to finish points after a big first serve, so I was trying to focus on my first serve as well and then when we both went into rallies I felt that I was able to beat him from the baseline [too].”

The Czech may now have the chance to avenge his Rotterdam loss to Tsitsipas in his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final, where he will take on the winner of Sunday evening’s clash between the third-seeded Greek and 15th seed Jannik Sinner.