Melbourne, Australia, 18 February 2021 | Leigh Rogers

It is women’s singles semifinals day at Australian Open 2021 – and most excitingly, Melbourne Park is set to be abuzz again.

Fans have been restricted from attending the tournament for the past five days, a Victorian Government directive amidst a state-wide lockdown due to a COVID-19 hotel quarantine outbreak.

But with Victorians free to leave their homes again, thousands are expected to return – in a COVIDSafe manner, of course – to Melbourne Park today.

“We look forward to welcoming fans back to the Australian Open for the next four days and to finishing the event safely and on a high,” said Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley.

“The crowd will be capped at 7,477 for each session, which is approximately 50 per cent capacity.”

Returning fans will enjoy a blockbuster line-up too, which includes seven-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams meeting 2019 champion Naomi Osaka this afternoon.

For Australian tennis fans, all eyes will be on Rod Laver Arena this morning when Sam Stosur and Matt Ebden play their mixed doubles quarterfinal.

The 36-year-old Stosur is a seven-time major champion and looking to win her second Australian Open mixed doubles title. This is Stosur’s fifth career Australian Open mixed doubles quarterfinal and she’s aiming to advance to a fourth semifinal.

The 33-year-old Ebden is also a former Australian Open mixed doubles champion, winning the 2013 title. This is the third time Ebden has advanced to an Australian Open mixed doubles quarterfinal and his best run since 2014.

Marc Polmans and Storm Sanders are hoping to continue their winning run in mixed doubles too, playing their semifinal at Margaret Court Arena this afternoon.

“Hopefully we can get some Aussie fans out there helping us and hopefully we can get the win,” Sanders said.

READ: Aussie mates Polmans and Sanders enjoying time on court

How will our Aussie doubles teams fare? We’ll find out on what promises to be an exciting day 11 at Australian Open 2021.

Aussies in action today:

[WC] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Sam Stosur (AUS) v Sander Gille (BEL)/Hayley Carter (USA)
Mixed doubles, quarterfinals, Rod Laver Arena, first match (11am AEDT start)
Yet to drop a set this tournament, the Australian combination of Ebden and Stosur are building impressive momentum. Today they face Gille, a 30-year-old Belgian ranked No.39, and Carter, a 25-year-old American ranked No.34, who are both contesting a first Grand Slam mixed doubles quarterfinal.

[WC] Marc Polmans (AUS)/Storm Sanders (AUS) v [6] Rajeev Ram (USA)/Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)
Mixed doubles, semifinals, Margaret Court Arena, second match (not before 1.30pm)
Australian wildcards Polmans, 23, and Sanders, 26, are enjoying a career-best Grand Slam run. Looking to advance to their first major final, today they face the Australian Open 2019 champions in the semifinals. The 36-year-old Ram is ranked No.15 and 25-year-old Krejcikova is the world No.7.

> VIEW: Full Australian Open 2021 day 11 schedule

Australian Open 2021 tickets are now on sale via Ticketmaster.