Australian Open 2023 Results: Instant Reactions to Winners and Losers from Wednesday | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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Tommy Paul earned the opportunity of a lifetime with his Australian Open quarterfinal win on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old American set up a semifinal clash with Novak Djokovic by beating fellow unseeded American Ben Shelton in four sets inside Rod Laver Arena.

Paul is the lone United States representative left in either singles draw. Paul, Shelton and Sebastian Korda all made it to the final eight on the men’s side. Jessica Pegula was a quarterfinalist on the women’s side.

Djokovic will be a brutal opponent to play against for Paul. The nine-time Australian Open champion has not lost in the final two rounds of the season’s first major.

The No. 4 seed is a perfect 9-0 in semifinals and finals in Melbourne, and it would be no surprise, if he extended that mark to 10-0 in each round given his incredible form over the last week-and-a-half.

A somewhat similar situation played out in the women’s singles quarterfinals on Wednesday.

No. 5 seed Aryna Sabalenka is set up in a mismatch with unseeded first-time semifinalist Magda Linette.

Linette earned her third straight two-set win over a seeded player by beating No. 30 seed Karolina Pliskova.

Sabalenka also won in two sets over unseeded Donna Vekic. Sabalenka, Linette and the other two women’s semifinalists all won their quarterfinal matches in two sets.

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Men’s Singles

No. 4 Novak Djokovic def. No. 5 Andrey Rublev, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4

Tommy Paul def. Ben Shelton, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

Women’s Singles

No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka def. Donna Vekic, 6-3, 6-2

Magda Linette def. No. 30 Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 7-5

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The unexpected success of American men is one of the stories of the Australian Open.

Tommy Paul is the last member of that group standing after he defeated Ben Shelton inside Rod Laver Arena.

The 25-year-old knocked out Shelton and Jenson Brooksby in two of the last three rounds in a portion of the bracket that had five Americans reach the third round.

Paul’s win set up an opportunity of a lifetime against Novak Djokovic in the semifinal round.

The American will be a significant underdog to advance to the men’s singles final. Djokovic is a nine-time champion down under and he has not lost a semifinal match at the season’s first major.

Djokovic looked dominant against some of the toughest opposition possible over the last three rounds.

The fourth-seeded Serbian continued his rout of top players by taking care of Andrey Rublev in just over two hours in straight sets.

Rublev, Alex De Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov all struggled against Djokovic in the last three rounds. Dimitrov was the only player to push Djokovic to a tiebreak. That happened in the first set of their third-round clash.

Djokovic will be projected to win the semifinal match in three sets. A set victory would be viewed as a huge accomplishment for Paul.

If Paul somehow pulls off the upset, it would be one of the most shocking results ever at a Grand Slam.

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The top-five player-versus-unseeded surprise storyline is also playing out in the bottom half of the women’s singles draw.

However, the Aryna Sabalenka-Magda Linette showdown is different than the Djokovic-Paul matchup because Sabalenka is not a proven major champion yet.

Sabalenka advanced to her fourth Grand Slam semifinal with a straight-set win over Donna Vekic. She has never reached a major championship match.

The No. 5 seed can draw from her experience at the 2021 U.S. Open for the clash with Linette. Sabalenka lost to an unseeded Leylah Fernandez in the final four in New York two years ago.

She sits in a similar situation on Thursday against Linette, who like Fernandez in 2021, is appearing in her first Grand Slam semifinal.

Linette is in the form of her life right now. She earned three consecutive straight-set wins over seeded players. She eliminated No. 30 seed Karolina Pliskova in two sets to reach the final four.

The unseeded Pole will still be the underdog, despite her terrific form, against Sabalenka, but she has proven that she can compete with the best players in the draw over the last week-and-a-half.

The Sabalenka-Linette winner will take on a previous Grand Slam champion in the final. Elena Rybakina and Victoria Azarenka won on Tuesday to set up the other semifinal.