'WHY NOT ME?': AROUND THE PRESSERS, AO DAY 11

A huge day at Melbourne Park yesterday, with the remainder of the quarter-finals played.

There was plenty of great action on-court, and some interesting comments off-court at the press conferences.

Madison Keys is into her third Australian Open semi-final, admitting she’s at peace with her career so far.

"I think I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to appreciate my career for what it has been, and it doesn't have to have a Grand Slam in order for me to look at it and say, I've done a really good job, and I've really left everything out there."

Click here to watch live tennis on Stan Sport.

Keys then spoke a bit about why her semi-final opponent, Iga Świątek, will be a massive challenge.

"I think Iga is tough to beat because she has a lot of spin kind of naturally on both sides. She's a good server. She's a good returner. She moves incredibly well," the American said.

"I think the biggest thing that makes her so difficult to beat is because since she moves so well, if you miss your spot just slightly, she has enough time to recover, and then the point goes back to neutral."

For her part, Świątek reciprocated, discussing Keys after breezing through her quarter-final.

"Obviously she likes to also play intense and pretty fast, and she's using her powers, especially on a faster hard court. I need to be ready for that and be proactive and also good in defence," said the Polish star.

The five-time major winner also addressed comments that she’s 'ruthless' on court.

"Well, on tennis court you kind of need to be ruthless. Because 'ruthless' usually means that something negative also as well. But I think for me just focusing on myself and having the same kind of attitude no matter what the score is, is important," she explained.

"Maybe looks ruthless, but it's not my goal to do that. I just want to win more and more games, and this is the effect I got for the past matches."

Ben Shelton is into his second Grand Slam semi-final and discussed what has improved in his game.

"I think that you got to be able to -- your base game has to be good enough that you can win at 70 per cent or 80 per cent. You don't have to use everything in your arsenal and play perfect tennis to be winning out here," he said.

"I think that that's really, really important for me. That's what I was saying: winning in different ways when I'm having an off day.

"A year ago, if I had a bad serving day, it was an L. Or year and a half ago I had a day where I came out and couldn't hit my spots, it was automatic L."

He also had plenty to say about the broadcasters and on-court interviewers.

"I've been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcasters," he began without being asked the question.

"I don't think that the guy who mocked Novak, I don't think that was just a single event. I've noticed it with different people, not just myself.

"I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments. I feel like there's just been a lot of negativity. I think that's something that needs to change."

Jannik Sinner stormed into the semi-finals, with a dominant victory over Alex De Minaur.

He said he now feels a lot better than he did in his previous match, and that translated into his best performance of the tournament.

"I feel like the illness has gone away now. I was feeling much, much better this morning. Playing in the evening helped a little bit. I had good rest throughout the last two nights. Yeah, now I'm feeling much better," the world No.1 confirmed.

"I felt like today was a very great match from my side. I served very well. Breaking quite early in each set was very important for me and for my game. So for sure was the best match of the tournament so far."

De Minaur may have lost, but he refuses to accept he won’t get more chances at a major.

"I genuinely think I'm going to give myself opportunities, and I don't think my peak is making quarter-finals in a Slam," he said.

"I see other players that have made it further have made semis, have made finals, and I do believe that I can be amongst them, right? If they have been able to accomplish that, then why not me?"

Brighton Sports is the one-stop shop for all things tennis and squash in Melbourne's Bayside region. Leading brands supported by expert knowledge and a business that puts back into the tennis community. Visit: www.brightonsports.com.au