MELBOURNE, January 21, 2018

Grigor Dimitrov and Nick Kyrgios headlined Sunday’s night session on Rod Laver Arena. It was the pair’s second meeting this month, after Kyrgios claimed his first victory against the Bulgarian in the semifinals at Brisbane, before going on to win his first title on home soil.

Dimitrov was keen to hit back this evening, and his 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 victory saw him reaching the last eight in Melbourne for the third time and going top of the list for most Australian Open quarterfinal appearances by a Bulgarian player – man or woman – in the Open Era. The third seed finished the encounter after three hours and 26 minutes.

Dimitrov will next take on Kyle Edmund, who edged past Andreas Seppi from Italy 6-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3. The 23-year-old becomes the first British man, other than Andy Murray, to reach the last eight at a Grand Slam since Tim Henman at the 2004 US Open. The World No. 49 won 80 per cent of points behind his first serve and hit 63 winners in the two-hour and 57-minute contest.

“He got off to a good start,” said Edmund. “Tennis, sometimes you don’t win every point and don’t win all the games you want to. There was some problem-solving. I thought he actually came out very well and timed the ball well, dictating probably more points than I was. Was probably doing a little bit more reactive stuff. It was really good to turn it around, basically. I just stuck in there. Scoreboard pressure. Broke him at 6-5. After that, I really took control.”