Australian Open R3–R4: The Kids Are Coming, Learner Tien Needs Respect, and Quarterfinals Are Here

We said we would drop in every other round, so here we are with a Round 3 and Round 4 check-in, plus a look ahead to the quarterfinals. And I have to be honest. This stretch of the tournament has not fully lit on fire for me in the way Grand Slam weekends sometimes do. It has had moments. It has had storylines. But it has also felt, at times, like the draw is moving “as expected.”

Lucy, on the other hand, is having the complete opposite experience. She is locked in. She is enjoying it. She is also exhausted, which is the most Australian Open thing you can be when you are watching from the other side of the world. The time difference is always a little rude. You either stay up and get the quiet matches, or you sleep and wake up to the scores you wish you watched live. That reality shapes how the tournament feels. It also makes the moments that do pop feel even louder.

For me, the loudest moments of R3 and R4 on the women’s side have been delivered by the future. The WTA Next Gen is not tip-toeing into the conversation. They are walking straight into the biggest stadiums, against the biggest names, and playing like they belong. Victoria Mboko’s fight against Aryna Sabalenka was a perfect example. Sabalenka is not a subtle presence. She is power, volume, pace, and pressure. A lot of players would shrink in that environment. Mboko did the opposite. She competed. She pushed back. She made it uncomfortable. That is the kind of performance that makes you sit up and go, oh, we are going to be hearing this name for a while.

Iva Jovic has brought that same energy, and not just in the tennis. I loved the confidence. I loved the clarity. I loved that she is 18 and allowed to feel herself in a sport that too often tries to humble young players the second they show any belief. We talked about how familiar that pattern is, and how it mirrors what we saw with Coco Gauff when she was even younger. Tennis is mental. Confidence is not a personality flaw. It is a competitive tool. If the next generation is fearless, good. The tour is better when the kids are not waiting for permission.

That’s why it was so satisfying to see the quarterfinal lineup on the women’s side look as strong as it does. There is power at the top. There is consistency from the established contenders. And there is real pressure coming from below. That is what a healthy era looks like. The sport needs that tension. The sport needs that conflict. The sport needs the “who is next” question to have multiple real answers.

On the men’s side, the biggest undercurrent for me is Learner Tien. I am not letting this go. I need the respect to match the results. The conversation around the “next” men’s stars has been loud for a while, and it often gets attached to the most visually explosive weapons. The biggest forehand. The biggest serve. The most obvious highlight. But Tien’s game is about finesse, patterns, and problem-solving. He wins differently, and that is exactly why it matters. Tennis is not only about who hits the hardest. It is also about who thinks the fastest. If we are talking about players who can disrupt the top of the game, he belongs in that sentence.

We also got into one of the messier conversations that always shows up at a Slam: luck. Jannik Sinner’s heat and roof situation sparked a lot of noise. Novak Djokovic catching a break when his next opponent withdraws sparked more. Fans love a luck narrative, especially when it involves the biggest names. But the truth usually lives in the middle. Yes, luck exists. No, it does not replace the tennis. If you get a break, you still have to be ready to take it. You still have to win the points. You still have to survive the next match.

And because we are us, we finally did a quick doubles check-in. The seeds have been falling in a way that feels almost opposite to singles, and it has made the draw spicy in its own way. We talked Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova still being alive in both women’s doubles and mixed. We talked men’s doubles shakeups. We talked partnerships and the detective work I am absolutely doing this year because I need the story behind who is playing with who, and why.

Before we wrapped, we shouted out something that genuinely made me happy to see: the Philippines Open, a WTA 125, happening right now. The crowd looks packed. The energy feels real. And it is a reminder that tennis cannot only live in the same familiar places forever. When fans show up and the event is run well, it is good for everyone. It grows the sport in a way that feels tangible, not theoretical.

Quarterfinals are here. The heat is here. The storylines are tightening. We will be back after the quarters to talk about what actually happened, not just what we think could happen. And yes, consider this your last call on the Ground Pass sweatsuit pre-order before the end of January.