2023 Australian Open preview: Men’s Singles
MONDAY marks the start of Australia’s most prestigious tennis tournament, with the Australian Open kicking off at Melbourne Park. The first round contains 128 players – including 32 qualifiers – 64 of whom will take to the courts on the opening day. We take a look at the Australian Open men’s singles field, and how […]
Brilliant Bencic belts Kasatkina in Adelaide
SWISS star Belinda Bencic has dominated her way through the Adelaide International final en route to a WTA 500 title. Winning her first title in Australia, the number eight seed completely took Russian fifth seed Daria Kasatkina to the cleaners in the opening set before running out a 6-0 6-2 winner in just 67 minutes […]
2023 Australian Open preview: Women’s Singles
MONDAY marks the start of Australia’s most prestigious tennis tournament, with the Australian Open kicking off at Melbourne Park. The first round contains 128 players – including 32 qualifiers – 64 of whom will take to the courts on the opening day. We take a look at the Australian Open women’s singles field, and how […]
The story behind wildcard Rinky Hijikata
RISING Aussie tennis star Rinky Hijikata was in Sydney when he received a phone call from his coach Mark Draper in mid-December. Draper, the brother of 2005 Australian Open mixed doubles winner, Scott, was calling to inform the 21-year-old that he had received a wildcard into the Australian Open main draw. “(He said it’s) time […]
Popyrin gains vital match practice in Fritz loss
AUSSIE Alexei Popyrin had some additional match practice in against world number nine Taylor Fritz at the Kooyong Classic on Thursday. The 6-7 1-6 loss to the American is his seventh match of 2022, after he qualified and reached the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International last week before going down in a close bout against […]
Tiafoe confident ahead of AO as Kooyong crowd treated to entertaining spectacle
WORLD number 17 Frances Tiafoe is bullish on his chances at next week’s Australian Open. There is saying you want to win a major, and there is confidently declaring it. Tiafoe has set that as a realistic goal ahead of this year’s first Grand Slam tournament. The American enters the Australian Open off the back of […]
WTA Tour Player Focus: Priscilla Hon (Australia)
AUSTRALIAN Priscilla Hon is a 24-year-old talent from Queensland who has consistently shown signs of taking the next step in her development, but is yet to surpass the third round of a Grand Slam. Right now the 169th ranked player in the world – who still resides in her home city of Brisbane – is […]
Aussies de Minaur, Hijikata get wins ahead of Australian Open
TOP-RANKED Australian male Alex de Minaur has carried his strong form from the United Cup to Melbourne, defeating Dominic Thiem 6-4 6-4 in the Kooyong Classic opener on Tuesday. De Minaur has repeatedly spoken about his love for playing in front of his home crowd and representing his country, and, donning the green and gold, […]
Bencic breezes past Muguruza
SWISS star Belinda Bencic was able to command the court against former world number one Garbine Muguruza, running out a straight sets winner on the opening day of the Adelaide International. A WTA 500 event, Bencic was coming off some hot form at the United Cup, and made an out-of-sorts Muguruza pay. Though the Spaniard […]
USA claims inaugural United Cup
IN yet another whitewash, the United States have claimed the inaugural United Cup, downing Italy comprehensively 4-0. Though the deciding match ended up being the tightest of the lot, the American side was able to triumph and bring home the silverware. Despite Italy making the most of a second chance after losing in the City […]
Sabalenka ends Noskova’s giant-killing run
WORLD number five Aryna Sabalenka has had her best Australian Open preparation yet, winning the WTA 500 Adelaide International by defeating giant-killer Linda Noskova. Though the 24 year-old Belarusian went in as strong favourite in the clash against the 102 ranked Czech qualifier, she could not afford to take the 18 year-old lightly. Noskova enjoyed […]
Italy and United States to battle for United Cup
TWO nations remain in the United Cup, with Italy and United States to face off in the final to decide the title. After losing to Poland in the City Final, Italy gained a reprieve as the lucky fourth placed loser to secure a semi-finals spot. There, the Italians manage to take down Greece, as the […]
