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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Brits back from brink against Spaniards
GREAT Britain is just one win away from qualifying for the knockout stage of the United Cup, after both Cameron Norrie and Katie Swan staged comebacks to help the nation lead Spain 2-0. In a remarkable day of action in Sydney, Norrie and Swan both lost their respective first sets against Rafael Nadal and Nuria […]
Top 5 ATP 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 men’s game, year-end number one Carlos Alcaraz lived up to expectations far sooner than expected, while Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz both became […]
2022 United Cup preview: Group D
GROUP D continues our 2022 United Cup preview series leading up the brand new event taking place across three Australian cities. Group A and Group F are in Perth, with Group B and Group E in Brisbane, and Group C and Group D are in Sydney. There are 18 teams battling it out for ultimate […]
Fritzing Felix – Taylor targets title
AS the lowest ranked player in this year’s ATP Finals, not too many would have predicted Taylor Fritz to reach the semi-finals. The first alternative in the singles race, replaced the injured world number one Carlos Alcaraz, but has more than proven he is up for the fight, qualifying for the knockout stage of the […]
Just Ruud – Norwegian first to book ATP Finals semis spot
NORWEGIAN third seed Casper Ruud became the first player through to the ATP Finals last four after overcoming American Taylor Fritz on day three of the event in Torino, Italy. Ruud backed up his victory over the in-form Felix Auger-Aliassime courtesy of a nail-biting three-setter, eventually closing out the contest in two hours and 12 […]
On the Fritz: Taylor downs Rafa in ATP Finals upset
IT did not take long for an ATP Finals boilover with bottom seed Taylor Fritz defeating top seed Rafael Nadal on the opening day of the tournament in Torino. Fritz booked his ticket to the event in Italy after being the first alternative and replacing the injured Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal has to take out the […]
