Red-hot Rinky tames Thanasi
NO MATTER the result, an Australian was going to be the winner as wildcard Rinky Hijikata took on Thanasi Kokkinakis on Show Court 1 at the Brisbane International. In a match that lasted an hour and 37 minutes, it was Hijikata who emerged victorious, shaking off an early Kokkinakis challenge to win 7-6 6-2. Hijikata […]
Teen wildcard causes Hong Kong upset
IT WAS a dream start to 2024 for Chinese teenager Juncheng Shang, who upset seventh seed Laslo Djere in the opening round of Hong Kong Tennis Open yesterday. Shang, ranked 183rd in the world was able to mastermind the victory over the world number 33, some 10 years his senior, 6-7 6-3 7-6. That included […]
Popyrin ends year with three-hour epic against mate
IT was quite the tiring finish for Alexei Popyrin in Brisbane, as the talented 24-year-old overcame compatriot Christopher O’Connell in an epic three set match that lasted more than three hours at Brisbane International. Having only played one match against each other previously – where Popyrin won in straight sets at the Rome Masters last […]
Aussie duo charge into men’s doubles final
AUSTRALIA has a knack of producing the most exciting and oddly successful one-off doubles partnerships at Melbourne Park, and the latest pairing is just one win away from keeping the men’s doubles title in Australia. After the success of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis last year, the home nation has produced another incredible doubles partnership, […]
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 […]
2023 Australian Open ICYMI: Day 1
IT was a massive opening day at Melbourne Park, with plenty of storylines coming from the 2023 Australian Open. We take a look at the good, bad and ugly, as well as some of the matches that stood out for fans as the first Grand Slam of the year got underway. THE GOOD: Chinese teenager […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Norrie produces Paire of Benoit bagels
SEVENTH seed Brit, Cameron Norrie has advanced through to the second round at the US Open courtesy of an unusual straight sets win over Frenchman Benoit Paire. Taking on the former top 20 player – who now resides at 189th in the men’s singles – Norrie might not have the weapons that his opponent has, […]
