Osaka clay campaign ramps up
FORMER world number one Naomi Osaka is through to the second round at Rome after accounting for Frenchwoman Clara Burel in straight sets. The Japanese star, who is currently ranked 173rd in the world, overcame a tough first set to win 7-6 6-1 and pick up her first Top 50 victory on clay in almost […]
Wildcard Eala upsets former top 30 player in Madrid
SHE might be her nation’s only ranked player, but Phillipines’ Alexandra Eala showed she can punch above her weight with the world number 170 getting the job done against former top 30 player, Lesia Tsurenko, at the Madrid Open. The 18-year-old talent came back from a set down on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium to post a […]
Tour scoreboard: Shnaider takes out top seed in Thailand
RUSSIAN teenager Diana Shnaider bounced back from a forgettable second set to knock off top-seeded Pole, Magna Linette in the WTA 250 Thailand Open. The first round matchup was always a danger for Linette – the world number 56 – with the 108th ranked Russian having caused some big upsets in the past. In what […]
Vekic breaks Aus Open final eight drought
AFTER a couple of lean years, Croatian Donna Vekic booked her spot in the 2023 Australian Open quarterfinals after defeating Linda Fruhvirtova in their fourth round clash yesterday. Vekic needed three sets and more than two hours to shake off the 17-year-old, eventually winning 6-2 1-6 6-3. In an entertaining contest, both players served seven […]
2023 Australian Open ICYMI: Day 5
AFTER a day of upsets and epics on Thursday, and though a bit more normality returned to Melbourne Park in the day session, there were still plenty of surprises at night. THE GOOD: Unpredictable wins. China’s Lin Zhu stunned sixth seed Maria Sakkari in three sets, while Sebastian Korda took down 2022 finalist, Daniil Medvedev […]
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 […]
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, […]
Top 5 WTA potential breakout players in 2023
EACH year tennis sees a number of breakout players who have a season that catapults them from the middle or lower world ranking spots, into the top echelon of players. In the women’s game, that was the likes of Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, while Iga Swiatek went from a one-time Grand Slam winner to […]
Sabalenka steals near-impossible victory
BELARUSIAN sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka produced one of the most incredible come-from-behind victories in history to stay alive in the US Open. Trailing 2-6 1-5 in the second set, Sabalenka was all but done and dusted during her match against unseeded Estonian, Kaia Kanepi. Then, in the blink of an eye, Sabalenka only conceded three […]
Crafty Cornet rolls reigning champ Raducanu
LAST year’s US Open winner, Emma Raducanu is out of the 2022 edition after falling to Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in straight sets on day two of action. Cornet won with a few extra breaks to serve to advance through to the second round 6-3 6-3 in an hour and 42 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium. […]
