No escape from Alcaraz in Paris for Felix
THERE was nowhere to hide for Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime who felt the full brunt of an impressive Carlos Alcaraz overnight, going down 6-1 6-1 in the Paris Olympics semi-finals. Alcaraz stormed to the win in just an hour and 15 minutes to guarantee himself a medal, making light work of the North American who had […]
Musetti denies Zverev back-to-back golds
ITALIAN Lorenzo Musetti is through to the Paris Olympics semi-finals, all while denying reigning men’s singles gold medallist Alexander Zverev a shot at back-to-back golds. Zverev won the top gong in Tokyo, but has fallen in the last stage before the medal rounds with Musetti getting up in a tight 7-5 7-5 contest on Court […]
Mixed doubles means more mixed up expectations
IF there is one thing to learn from the mixed doubles draw at the 2024 Olympics, it is that rankings are often nothing more than just a number. American third seeds Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz learnt this the hard way, losing to their northern neighbours Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets. The […]
Alcaraz storms past Safiullin into Olympic quarter finals
WORLD number three and reigning Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz is just three wins away from a maiden Olympic gold medal after skipping past Roman Safiullin in a comfortable straight sets victory, 6-4 6-2. Alcaraz needed an hour and 29 minutes to dispatch of the neutral athlete and advance through to the Paris quarter finals. […]
Popyrin powers past Wawrinka to set up Zverev tie
ALEXEI Popyrin continues to carry the hopes of Australian singles gold at the Olympics, defeating Stan Wawrinka in straight sets to progress to the third round of the men’s singles. After winning the first set 6-4 in 35 minutes, Popyrin had a harder time winning the second set but still won it 7-5 to wrap […]
Rankings don’t mean much with surprises aplenty in mixed doubles
THE Mixed Doubles competition of the 2024 Olympics got underway at Roland Garros overnight, and right out of the gate the surprises came. German pair Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev found out the hard way that their number one ranking was merely a number after they succumbed to Czech pair Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac […]
French fancy fails as Argentine advances
ALTHOUGH things went to plan for most of the seeds overnight at the Olympics, everything did not go to plan for all as Ugo Humbert found out the hard way after the 10th seed went down to Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-5. 6-7, 7-5. In a match that lasted two hours and 44 minutes, the Argentine […]
Berrettini’s back, alright
AFTER having to take the tough road, Italian Matteo Berrettini is back alright. The former world number six claimed his third title of 2024 – and second consecutive trophy – at the Generali Open over the weekend when he knocked off Frenchman Hugo Gaston 7-5 6-3 in the final. The 28-year-old proved too powerful for […]
Popyrin pushes past Jarry to set up Stan showdown
AUSSIE Alexei Popyrin spiced up the men’s singles draw at the 2024 Olympics after he upset Chilean 16th seed Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 7-6(5) . Popyrin blitzed his more fancied opponent in the first set in 36 minutes, before being made to work for the set win in the second term, taking just under an hour. […]
No Djoke – Novak cruises through to Paris second round
THERE was no mucking about for top seed and world number two Novak Djokovic as his quest for an elusive Olympic gold medal kicked off with a 53-minute rout of doubles specialist Matthew Ebden. It was always tipped to be a heavily one-sided contest given Ebden is not even ranked in singles anymore, and Djokovic […]
