Retiring showman Gael Monfils may never win an Australian Open, but his wife just might after fashioning the biggest upset of the women's event thus far.
A 6-2 6-4 rout of eighth-seeded Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva has thrust tennis super-mum Elina Svitolina into a fourth Open quarter-final as the 31-year-old continues her stunning late-career renaissance.
For so long maligned as the best women's player without a major title to her credit, the one-time world No.3 still harbours dreams of a grand slam breakthrough and hopes it comes this week in Melbourne.
"Of course it will mean a lot to me, but I don't want to think too much about it. It's another opportunity for me to go far in the tournament," Svitolina said of her last-eight showdown on Tuesday with world No.3 Coco Gauff.
Despite their decade in age difference, Svitolina has stretched Gauff to three sets in their past two meetings, both on hard courts in 2024, and beat the American at the 2021 Australian Open.
"Yeah, we both know each other's game and, for me, it's important tomorrow to just to work on few things, speak with my coach and be ready for the extreme heat as well," Svitolina said of the forecast 44-degrees-plus conditions.
"So we'll not only be playing against each other but also against the conditions, I think.
"I want to focus on my recovery. I want to focus on my game plan that I have to execute well. Right now this is the priorities for me.
"Of course, if I play well, if I can do things right, I can have a chance to win next match."
Chasing the third leg of the career grand slam, 21-year-old Gauff advanced to the quarter-finals with a rollercoaster 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory over Czech 19th seed Karolina Muchova, a one-time Ash Barty AO slayer.
The reigning French Open and former US Open champion is relishing the chance to go deep once again at a major.
"I feel like with each match you start to relax a little bit more but also, as you keep going, usually the ranking of the opponent gets higher, so the matches should be a bit tougher, which they have been," the 21-year-old Gauff said.
"But I definitely think it's more fun just because you're in great battles and also just being here in Australia. It's the real opportunity to show where your game is.
"Yes, we play warm-up tournaments, but grand slams is where everyone tries to peak at. So you expect to play the peak version of every player. I think it's just a fun challenge."
Gauff or Svitolina will play either Belarusian world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka or American teenager Iva Jovic in Thursday's semi-finals.
