Pegula dumps Keys, Anisimova tames Wang

MELBOURNE — Jessica Pegula sent reigning champion and podcast co-host Madison Keys spinning out of the Australian Open on Monday while Jannik Sinner aims to avoid the same fate and reach the quarterfinals in 33C heat.

Fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti battled the stifling conditions to set up a last-eight showdown with Novak Djokovic in Melbourne.

Keys and Pegula launched day nine in a clash at Rod Laver Arena between two Americans who know each other well.

They are good friends and also host a tennis podcast together, “The Player’s Box,” and had even been planning to record an episode on the eve of their match.

All that was put aside as a clinical Pegula dominated 6-3, 6-4 to set up a last-eight encounter with another American in fourth seed Amanda Anisimova.

Anisimova, beaten finalist at last year’s US Open and Wimbledon, cooled herself off with bags of ice before taming China’s Wang Xinyu 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

Pegula, the sixth seed, is chasing an elusive Grand Slam title aged 31, her best performance to date reaching the US Open final in 2024.

An erratic Keys made 27 unforced errors to Pegula’s 17 and fired down six double faults as her title defense ended in the last 16.

The forfeit, as a part of a jokey bet with Pegula, will be a slice of apple pie with melted cheddar cheese on top.

“A bet is a bet, so I’ll do it. I hope it’s less gross than I think it’s going to be, but we will find out,” said Keys.