Alexander Bublik completed the AO 2026 fourth-round line-up in the top half of the men's draw on Friday night, continuing his dream unbeaten start to the season.
The newly-minted top-10 player scored a 7-6(4) 7-6(5) 6-4 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry to set up a blockbuster with sixth seed Alex de Minaur, after the Aussie star dismissed Frances Tiafoe in straight sets.
Also advancing on Friday evening was Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, who posted the best AO result of his career with an upset win over Andrey Rublev.
In his first fourth-round appearance in Melbourne, Cerundolo will face Alexander Zverev, the third seed and last year's finalist who overcame Cameron Norrie at John Cain Arena.
Cerundolo entered his match against Rublev with a 3-1 head-to-head record over the former top-five star, and having not dropped a set at Australian Open 2026. He continued that form when the pair clashed at KIA Arena on Friday evening.
It was an earlier-than expected exit for the three-time AO quarterfinalist Rublev, who'd reached the second week at his past three majors.
Cerundolo celebrated with fans after completing a straight-sets win over Rublev, propelling him into the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the first time. It's a stage he's reached two times previously at Roland Garros.
Later on Friday night, Zverev (right) completed a four-set win over Norrie, and will be Cerundolo's next opponent. Cerundolo leads the head-to-head 3-2, but has lost their two most recent meetings.
Bublik, meanwhile, came out swinging against Etcheverry, carrying the confidence of a six-match winning streak into their third-round meeting at Margaret Court Arena.
Etcheverry competed well, and finished with an impressive ratio of 27 winners to 17 unforced errors, but simply couldn't contend with the world No.10's firepower.
Bublik finished with an incredible 58 winners, including 21 aces, to complete the victory. Having never previously been beyond the AO second round, he has now reached the second week at all four majors.
At the same time on Rod Laver Arena, De Minaur withstood the Tiafoe challenge to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the fifth consecutive year.
De Minaur, who at AO 2026 is aiming for back-to-back quarterfinals, met Bublik at Roland Garros in 2025, where the Kazakhstani recovered from two sets to love down to complete a famous victory en route to the quarterfinals. He beat De Minaur again, in their most recent meeting, at the Paris Masters in November.