Zhang Shuai rallies to reach the semifinals and earns praise, Leylah Fernandez secures sixth win and faces an American, Djokovic to face Musetti

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Wednesday, January 28, 2026. Welcome to the Tennis Home news midday report.

Early this morning Beijing time, the 2026 Australian Open entered its eleventh day of competition. For Chinese players: In a women's doubles quarterfinal finished this morning, veteran Zhang Shuai paired with Belgium’s Mertens made a strong comeback to defeat the Japanese and Taiwanese duo Horiuchi Eri and Wu Fang-hsien 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, reaching the semifinals. Many Chinese fans were delighted by this result, praising the 37-year-old Zhang Shuai and wishing her continued success as she aims for the final and the championship trophy!

In the first women's singles quarterfinal of the bottom half held this morning Beijing time, Kazakhstan star Leylah Fernandez played excellently, beating world number two and Polish star Swiatek 7-5, 6-1. This victory marked her second win over Swiatek since last year’s year-end finals, leveling their head-to-head record at 6-6. This is Leylah Fernandez’s fourth time reaching a Grand Slam semifinal, having previously reached two finals with one title and one runner-up finish.

The second match features American Pegula facing compatriot Anisimova. At the time of this report, the match is in the 9th game of the second set, with Pegula leading 6-2, 3-5, holding a set advantage. The winner will face Leylah Fernandez for a spot in the final.

Men’s singles: Around 12:15 PM Beijing time today, ten-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will take the court against Italy’s Musetti to compete for a place in the semifinals. The two have met ten times before, with the Serbian star leading 9-1 and currently holding six consecutive wins, including three encounters at Grand Slam events. At the time of this report, the match has just begun. Who do you think will ultimately win?

In yesterday’s men’s singles upper half quarterfinal, third seed German Zverev defeated 25th seed American young talent Lenny Chan 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-6(3), reaching the tournament semifinals for the third consecutive year and marking his 10th career Grand Slam semifinal appearance.

In another match, top seed and world number one Alcaraz defeated local favorite De Minaur 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 to extend his winning streak to six matches. This victory handed De Minaur his seventh loss in a row against Alcaraz and marked Alcaraz’s first time reaching the Australian Open semifinals, completing the feat of making the semifinals at all four Grand Slams. Of course, Alcaraz’s goal at this Australian Open is not just the semifinals but the Grand Slam title itself. In the semifinals, Alcaraz will face Zverev in a highly anticipated clash. Their previous 12 encounters are tied 6-6. Will Alcaraz reach his first final, or will Zverev advance to contest the title again?

In yesterday’s women’s singles quarterfinal, 12th seed Ukrainian rising star Svitolina was in outstanding form, sweeping third seed and American top player Gauff 6-1, 6-2 in just 59 minutes. She has now won ten consecutive matches this year and reached her first Australian Open semifinal. Next, she will compete against world number one Sabalenka for a place in the final.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The photo below shows a player during a match who has retired years ago. Can you recognize who she is?

In the previous guessing game, tennis fans gave the correct answer. Yes, the person in the picture is British star Raducanu.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: The Independent)