EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Celtic missed its chance to close the gap on Heart of Midlothian on Sunday after conceding late to draw 2-2 with the Scottish Premiership leader.
Claudio Braga's 87th-minute goal at Tynecastle Park leveled the game and kept first-place Hearts six points clear of the defending champion.
But the draw saw Rangers move up to second and within four points of Hearts with a 3-0 win against Dundee.
Hearts is the surprise leader in Scotland in a league that has long been dominated by Celtic and Rangers.
Celtic has lost two managers already this term — following the departure of Brendan Rodgers and the dismissal of Wilfried Nancy — and is being led by club icon Martin O'Neill on an interim basis for the second time this season.
Yet it remains in contention at the top and looked to pick up a vital win at Hearts when Yang Hyun-jun opened up a 2-1 lead in the 62nd.
But the visitors went down to 10 men when Auston Trusty was sent off 15 minutes later.
Hearts eventually made the numerical advantage count with Braga's equalizer.
Celtic had taken an early lead through Benjamin Nygren, but Stuart Findlay made it 1-1 just after halftime.
James Tavernier, Danilo and Djeidi Gassama struck in Rangers' win against Dundee at Ibrox, with two of those goals coming in time added on.
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Celtic's Benjamin Nygren battles for the ball with Heart of Midlothian's Claudio Braga, left, and Marc Leonard during the William Hill Premiership match in Edinburgh, Scotland, Sunday Jan. 25, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
Heart of Midlothian's Claudio Braga celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the William Hill Premiership match in Edinburgh, Scotland, Sunday Jan. 25, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
Heart of Midlothian's Claudio Braga, second right, scores their side's second goal of the game during the William Hill Premiership match in Edinburgh, Scotland, Sunday Jan. 25, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Madison Keys was knocked out of the Australian Open by fellow American, and podcast pal, Jessica Pegula on Monday in the fourth round.
The sixth-seeded Pegula will next face another American after fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova made it to the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time.
Pegula's 6-3, 6-4 win at Rod Laver Arena ended Keys' first Grand Slam title defense in a tough section of the draw.
Anisimova, runner-up at the last two majors in Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, advanced 7-6 (4), 6-4 over Wang Xinyu as the temperature started rising at Melbourne Park, and organizers triggered the heat stress policy which allowed for extra cooling breaks.
Pegula is into the quarterfinals for the fourth time in Australia but has never previously gone beyond that round at the season-opening major.
She took a 4-1 lead early and needed only 32 minutes to clinch the first set. She broke to open the second set and again surged to a 4-1 lead as Keys struggled on serve.
“I’ve been playing really well, seeing the ball, hitting the ball really well this whole tournament, and I wanted to stay true to that,” Pegula said. “Then just lean into a couple things that I felt like she would do, and I felt like I came out doing it pretty well
“Even when she got a little rhythm back, I just really tried to focus on what I needed to do and patterns to look out for.”
Pegula and Keys had played three times previously, and Keys had won the last two. But on Monday it was Pegula that had the upper hand almost throughout on the back of her serve accuracy and few unforced errors.
Keys said Pegula dictated from the start.
“I felt like if I didn’t hit a really good ball immediately, she was in charge of the points," she said. “I was kind of struggling to kind of get that dominance back.”
Pegula's best performance in a major was making the U.S. Open final in 2024, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. The top-ranked Sabalenka is aiming for a third title in four years.
Anisimova was getting frustrated toward the end of the second set, hitting herself with her racket when she missed a service return. She also damaged a shoe.
Just as the No. 4 seed was about to serve for the match, the tournament's heat stress index scale hit 4, which means extra cooling breaks are allowed after the second set in women's singles and third set in men's singles matches.
It didn't become a factor, with Anisimova closing with an ace.
“What a battle out there. Tough conditions against a really good opponent,” she said. "There were a lot of fans from China today, but honestly, it made the atmosphere great.
It wasn’t for me but I was pretending it was just getting rowdy out there."
As for her next assignment, Anisimova said it would be fun.
“Sucks that one American has to go out in the quarterfinals,” she said. “Jess is such a great player, so I’m sure it’s going to be a great battle.”
Lorenzo Musetti reached the quarterfinals for the first time in Australia with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 win over No. 9 Taylor Fritz.
The fifth-seeded Musetti has had a disrupted run, with one of his coaches and a physio having to return to Italy for personal reasons. He also had to leave his family behind after the birth in November of his second son.
“I feel more mature on the court. I’m playing better for that, and for them,” he said. “I didn’t get much sleep in the offseason. But we found a way to work and to practice really well on and off the court.
"Now it’s more than 20 days that I’m alone and it’s not easy, but I feel their presence also here.”
His next mission is against a rested Novak Djokovic. The 24-time major winner had been scheduled to be the feature night match at Rod Laver Arena on Monday but had a walkover into the quarterfinals after his opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew from their scheduled fourth-round match with an abdominal injury.
In night matches, second-ranked Iga Świątek was up against Australian Maddison Inglis, and the eighth-seeded man Ben Shelton faced Casper Ruud.
Lorenzo Musetti of Italy celebrates after defeating Taylor Fritz of the U.S. in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Wang Xinyu of China plays a backhand return to Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. plays a backhand return to Wang Xinyu of China during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Jessica Pegula, left, of the U.S., is congratulated by her compatriot Madison Keys after winning their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Madison Keys of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Jessica Pegula during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Jessica Pegula of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Madison Keys during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Madison Keys of the U.S. reacts during her fourth round match against her compatriot Jessica Pegula at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Jessica Pegula of the U.S. plays a backhand return to her compatriot Madison Keys during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
