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 […]
Around the Tours – Jan 5: Qualifiers surprise in Adelaide
QUARTER finalists have been determined in Auckland, Adelaide and Pune, with one semi-final also already set to take place in the latter’s ATP250 event. While we have provided daily coverage on the United Cup the past week, the other four majors events – including the Adelaide ATP and WTA events – have been running concurrently […]
Greek stars reach final four
GREECE might only have a combined two players inside the Top 100 from both the ATP and WTA Rankings, but that pair was able to help book the Mediterranean nation’s spot in the United Cup semi-finals. Both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari were able to win their respective singles against Croatian opponents, then team up […]
Italy clean sweeps Norway into Brisbane final
ITALY has made light work of lowly ranked Norway in the United Cup, with Matteo Berrettini downing world number three Casper Ruud to ensure a clean slate heading into the finals. Given the importance placed on the fourth semi-finalist to have the best overall record, Italy’s 5-0 effort against Norway will go a long way […]
Demon delight, rules over Rafa
FOR the first time in his ATP Tour career, Australian Alex de Minaur got the better of 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal to help the green and gold remain in contention to win a United Cup match. Though both Australia and Spain lost to Great Britain – and therefore could not advance to the […]
