Aryna Sabalenka beats 19-year-old Mboko, faces 18-year-old Jovic in Australian Open quarterfinals

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — TikTok influencer and top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka is having to work her way through some rising teenager stars in her bid for a third Australian Open title in four years.

Sabalenka held off 19-year-old Vicky Mboko 6-1, 7-6 (1) at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday to advance to a quarterfinal match against 18-year-old Iva Jovic.

The 29-seeded Jovic overwhelmed Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes at John Cain Arena, the so-called People's Court, and she secured a spot in the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time.

The young American has been getting some good advice from 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic during the tournament. Djokovic said he's happy to help an up-and-coming star with Serbian heritage.

Jovic made it clear last year that she wanted a chance to play the World No. 1. Now she'll get the chance.

Sabalenka, who has joked about waiting for a formal invitation to partner Djokovic in mixed doubles at a major, breezed through the first set in 31 minutes against Mboko but had some difficulty in the second.

Mboko saved match points and played well enough to beat many players, but not the two-time Australian Open champion.

“What an incredible player for such a young age,” Sabalenka said of Mboko. “It’s incredible to see these kids coming up on Tour. I can’t believe I say that. I feel like I’m a kid!

“She pushed me so much, and I’m happy to be through,” Sabalenka added in her on-court TV interview.

Sabalenka led the second set 4-1, and then failed to convert three match points while leading 5-4. Mboko slowly took momentum and forced a tiebreaker only for Sabalenka to dominate.

It was the 20th straight tiebreak victory for Sabalenka.

“I try to — not to think this is a tiebreak and play point by point,” said Sabalenka, who won back-to-back titles in Australia in 2023 and ‘24 before losing last year’s final to Madison Keys. “I guess that’s the key to consistency.”

Sabalenka said playing the morning match at Melbourne Park came with some challenges, including shadows and bright sun.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like to play the first match, but the tricky part, at some point the sun goes right into your serve point. It’s kind of like tricky. You can break the serve,” she said. “That’s what actually happened. Two breaks that she got, it was on the side when I was facing the sun. Yeah, I didn’t deal that good with the serve. She did an incredible job serving on that side.”

In a later match Sunday on Rod Laver Arena, top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz faced No. 19 Tommy Paul for a spot in the quarterfinals. Alcaraz is in Australia trying to complete a career Grand Slam.

Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff, the third seeds on the men and women's sides, also played later for spots in the quarterfinals.

Coco Gauff of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain kicks the ball during his fourth round match against Tommy Paul of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan reacts during her fourth round match against Iva Jovic of the U.S. during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Iva Jovic of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Aryna Sabalenka, left, of Belarus is congratulated by Victoria Mboko, right, of Canada following their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Victoria Mboko of Canada in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Iva Jovic of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Victoria Mboko of Canada plays a backhand return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a forehand return to Victoria Mboko of Canada during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Victoria Mboko of Canada plays a forehand return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts after defeating Victoria Mboko of Canada in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A game between the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies was postponed Sunday because of a massive winter storm that's moving across much of the United States.

NBA officials announced less than three hours before tipoff that the game would be rescheduled because of conditions in the Memphis area, where a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain began falling early Saturday morning and continued Sunday morning.

Both teams and the officiating crew had arrived in Memphis. That wasn't the case in Milwaukee, where the Bucks were set to host the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Mavs were unable to fly in Saturday night. As of early Sunday afternoon, they were still in Dallas and planning to be in Milwaukee by mid-afternoon.

An NBA G League game scheduled for Monday between the Memphis Hustle and Stockton Kings in Southaven, Mississippi, was also postponed and rescheduled for Feb. 19.

South and east of Memphis, freezing rain has collected on power lines and trees, causing widespread outages and blocked roads. Authorities had recommended people stay off the streets as the wintry mix and frigid temperatures caused a refreeze.

The Nuggets said they planned to fly out at some point on Sunday, depending on the conditions at Memphis International Airport. They are scheduled to play at home Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons.

The Grizzlies are scheduled to play the Rockets in Houston on Monday.

At least two college women's basketball games were also postponed: No. 17 Tennessee’s visit to No. 18 Mississippi on Monday and Tulane's visit to Memphis on Tuesday. Reschedule dates weren’t immediately announced.

A men's game featuring Tennessee at No. 21 Georgia was pushed back a day from Tuesday to Wednesday.

On Saturday, the NBA postponed a game between the Warriors and Timberwolves to “prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community” after the fatal shooting of a man by a federal officer in a commercial district less than two miles from where the Timberwolves play.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Pedestrians cross the street along Broadway during a winter storm Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Memphis Grizzlies forward GG Jackson II (45) handles the ball against New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

David Bentley shovels ice and snow from his driveway during a winter storm Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)