No escape from Alcaraz as Carlos curbs Serb
IT WAS a timely reminder of what he is capable of, with Spanish world number two Carlos Alcaraz taking no prisoners against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open yesterday. The second favourite for the Grand Slam title, Alcaraz took care of his opponent 6-4 6-4 6-0 to set up a […]
Djokovic hits stride in history-making run
WORLD number one Novak Djokovic is hitting his straps at Melbourne Park, after breezing through to his 58th Grand Slam quarter final yesterday. The Serb needed less than two hours to dismantle French 20th seed Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3, as he continues to chase records. Having won the first two sets to nil, Djokovic […]
Men’s seeds start to depart Australian Open
THINGS started to heat up in the men’s singles draw of the Australian Open yesterday as a couple of the seeds were bundled out of the tournament. One of those was American Tommy Paul, who lost to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic. In five set, almost four hour tussle, the Serbian ultimately prevailed over the 14th seed […]
Demon raises hell on Cobolli, follows big seeds forward
UNLIKE in the women’s draw of the 2024 Australian Open, the surprises have not been as frequent in the men’s bracket. Plenty of the big names continued their marches deeper into this year’s tournament with wins yesterday, and Australia’s hopes are not over yet after Alex de Minaur defeated Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli last night […]
Aus Open: Medvedev scrapes through in early hours
DANIIL Medvedev made tough work of his second round matchup at the Australian open, but clawed back from two sets down to defeat Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-0 overnight. The match was completed at 3:40am local time, after four hours and 23 minutes of play. A two-time runner up at Melbourne Park, […]
Aus Open: Top seeds waste no time on day four
WHILE rain affected the outside courts, all four of the men’s top eight seeds in action on day four progressed to round three of the Australian Open. In particular, fourth and fifth seeds Jannik Sinner and Andre Rublev wasted no time, running through their opponents in under two hours. Sinner upped his level to beat […]
Kokkinakis fights to opening round win
THANASI Kokkinakis became the sixth Australian to advance to round two of the 2024 Australian Open men’s draw, after a four-hour slog at John Cain Arena yesterday. The local favourite came from behind to beat world number 37 Sebastian Ofner in a five set thriller, 7-6, 2-6, 6-7, 6-1, 7-6. Having overcome career threatening injuries […]
Demon time: Top Aussie advances
TOP-RANKED Australian Alex de Minaur has advanced to the second round of his home Grand Slam, after big-hitting Canadian Milos Raonic was forced into a third set retirement (hip). The match was level at one set apiece, with de Minaur up 2-0 in the third before a hobbling Raonic called time. Local fans came out […]
No Djoke: Qualifier forces Novak near miss
WORLD number one Novak Djokovic survived a scare on day one of the 2024 Australian Open, beginning his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam on shaky ground. The 11-time champion was pushed to four sets by 18-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic, who was making his Grand Slam debut. In what felt like the birth […]
Lehecka, Tabilo take out first tour titles
JIRI Lehecka and Alejandro Tabilo claimed their maiden ATP Tour titles yesterday, taking out the Adelaide International and ASB Classic respectively. The latter, a qualifier in Auckland, jumped 33 spots up the rankings to earn a top 50 berth. Tabilo downed Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-2, 7-5, blasting 37 winners and sending down 10 aces en […]