Australian Open: Corentin Moutet faints, Alex de Minaur fights and America's next generation arrives

Corentin Moutet claimed to have fainted before his match, Alex de Minaur showed resilience, and a new generation of American players announced their arrival on the world stage. These are the five major talking points from Day Seven of the Australian Open, which also includes the schedule for Australian players on Day Eight.

French player Moutet fainted before his match and subsequently lost. American youngster Tien celebrated his victory over Daniil Medvedev with a pepperoni pizza. He became the youngest American player to reach the third round at Melbourne Park since Pete Sampras in 1990. He then defeated world No. 69, Frenchman Corentin Moutet, 7-6(10), 6-3, 6-3. While not as shocking as his win over Medvedev, it was still surprising considering the 19-year-old's quick recovery from a late-night match. Moutet stated, "Forty-five minutes before the match, I fainted in the shower. I don't know what happened. I was in the shower and suddenly I woke up on the floor, all black, I couldn't see anything."

Moutet continued, "It was weird because I felt good all day, no muscle pain, and I had recovered well from my previous match. It was very disturbing. I had no point of reference and was shocked by the fall. I wasn't hurt, just scared." Incredibly, the 25-year-old has not yet seen a doctor, saying he didn't have time. "I had 15 minutes of blank, I don't know what happened. I just know I woke up on the floor, all black. There was no warning or any sign of anything happening." Even so, Moutet was full of praise for his young American opponent’s victory. "He gave me a tough battle. I thought I could win... but he deserved the victory. He was impressive both mentally and physically. At his age, if I played like he did the other day, the next day I would be sore all over. He managed to handle it all. It's impressive." Perhaps it was the pizza?

Gael Monfils has always been a crowd favorite at Melbourne Park, but on Day Seven, he may have had his finest moment. The 38-year-old Frenchman rolled back the years to defeat American fourth seed Taylor Fritz. The match was a throwback to Monfils at his peak, with the crowd roaring in support of the veteran. But for him, it was just a warm-up for his wife’s next match on Margaret Court Arena. Following his huge win, Monfils had already turned his attention to his wife, 28th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. "I think I warmed up the court for her," Monfils joked. The Frenchman only had time for a shower and change of clothes before returning to the court to watch from Svitolina's coaching box. Svitolina had a poor first set, losing 2-6. But the Ukrainian bounced back strongly to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. The final set was simply stunning, marking Svitolina’s first victory over a top-five player since Wimbledon in 2023. "I would say I was inspired by my husband's victory," Svitolina said after her win. It was a great day for the couple, who were seen enjoying the moment together on the Saturday night broadcast, no doubt both looking forward to their next matches.

2024 has largely been a frustrating year for Alex de Minaur. The Australian world No. 8 has battled injury for much of the back end of the year. He was forced to withdraw from his Wimbledon quarter-final against Novak Djokovic due to injury and was also unable to represent Australia in the singles at the Paris Olympics. He finished the year well, but signs of de Minaur’s return to his best came in his victory over 31st seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, a match in which he showed incredible resilience. Down 0-15, de Minaur never gave up on the next point. Cerundolo was in complete control, forcing the desperate de Minaur from one side of the court to the other. But the Australian never stopped running, never gave up, and kept getting the ball back over the net, forcing Cerundolo to continue the rally. It was this point that turned the match, leading to a break and guiding the Australian into the fourth round. "You put in a lot of work in the off-season and these are the moments [where] you see the results," he told Jim Courier after his win. That point encapsulated Alex de Minaur at his best, and it was enough to convince his fans that something very special could happen as the Australian Open heads into week two.

It has been a while since the days of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi leading the charge in men's tennis, but the next great era of American power may be upon us. It is the first time since the 1993 US Open that three American players under the age of 23 have reached the round of 16 at a Grand Slam. Ben Shelton (22), Alex Michelsen (20), and Learner Tien (19) all secured third-round wins at Melbourne Park on Saturday. All three have been impressive throughout the tournament, with Michelsen and Tien the most unlikely to still be competing in the second week of the Australian Open. Tien proved his 3 a.m. victory over Daniil Medvedev was no fluke as the qualifier defeated Frenchman Corentin Moutet in straight sets. Meanwhile, Michelsen became the youngest American to defeat two top-20 players at the same Grand Slam since Sampras and Agassi. His stunning straight-sets victory over 19th seed Karen Khachanov was arguably even more impressive than his first-round win over 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Add to that Taylor Fritz, who was stunned by 38-year-old Gael Monfils on Saturday, and we may well be seeing the American flag well-represented at the Grand Slams for years to come.

With Alex de Minaur the last remaining Australian in the singles main draw, the chances of seeing some home hopes are not so high. Nevertheless, here are all the Australian players' match times for Day Eight at Melbourne Park (all times are Australian Eastern Daylight Time): Kim Birrell/John-Patrick Smith (WC) v Demi Schuurs/Tim Puetz (7) on 1573 Arena, fourth match; Luke Saville/Li Tu (WC) v Andre Goransson/Sem Verbeek on Rod Laver Arena, last match. There are still plenty of other big names in action though, and here are their match times (all times are Australian Eastern Daylight Time): Aryna Sabalenka (1) v Mirra Andreeva (14) on Rod Laver Arena at 10:30am; Coco Gauff (3) v Belinda Bencic on Rod Laver Arena, second match; Jack Draper (15) v Carlos Alcaraz (3) on Rod Laver Arena after 2:30pm; Ugo Humbert (14) v Alexander Zverev (2) on John Cain Arena after 5:00pm; Novak Djokovic (7) v Jiri Lehecka (24) on Rod Laver Arena after 6:00pm.