Iga Swiatek, Emma Navarro headed for Australian showdown

Second-seeded Iga Swiatek cruised into the Australian Open quarterfinals Monday with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Germany's Eva Lys in Melbourne, Australia.

Swiatek needed only 59 minutes to oust lucky loser Lys. A five-time major winner, Swiatek has dropped only 11 games in her first four matches of the tournament.

"For sure I'm happy that I played in an efficient way," said Swiatek, of Poland. "I felt pretty confident. So from the beginning I just pushed. I knew that I could make an impact with that."

Swiatek hit 28 winners, with Lys recording only seven, and she lost only nine points on her serve.

In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will meet Emma Navarro, the No. 8 seed. The two haven't played each other since 2018, when they met in an ITF W80 event in South Carolina, won by Swiatek, when both were 17.

On Monday, Navarro defeated Russia's Daria Kasatkina, the No. 9 seed, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, in a match that saw 17 service breaks. Navarro converted nine of her 25 chances, with Kasatkina winning eight of her 11 break points.

Navarro will be playing in her third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. She reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open last fall, losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.

"For sure, I have to treat Emma as a player that I never played," Swiatek said. "We both made huge progress since that time that we faced each other. Her journey has been pretty nice and amazing. I saw the U.S. Open matches. She played really well, fighting for every point and everything."

Navarro agreed that a lot has changed since their meeting as teens.

"When I look back at my tennis career, I feel like there were not too many times when I was totally blown off the court," Navarro said, "and I definitely was kind of blown off the court playing her. We played at my home club in Charleston. I was, like, 'Wow, this girl is pretty good.'

"Circumstances are definitely different now. I feel like I'm pretty good, too. I'm ready for a good challenge."

Madison Keys, the No. 19 seed, became the third American -- joining Navarro and Coco Gauff -- to reach the final eight when she defeated No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in one hour, 49 minutes.

Keys will be vying to reach her third Australian Open semifinal, having done so in 2015 and 2022, when she meets No. 28 Elina Svitolina. The Ukrainian topped Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1.

--Field Level Media