Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Jan 19: It’s time for the eighth installment of the riveting, intergenerational rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. This one, though, will be the first at the Australian Open – and the first in the quarterfinals of a tournament; each of the others came in either a semifinal or final.
“Well, this is not the right player to play in a quarterfinal, I guess,” a grinning Alcaraz said, looking ahead to Tuesday’s encounter.
“But facing Novak, for me, it’s not going to change anything if I’m playing him (in a) quarterfinal or semifinal. Probably change a little bit if it is a final, obviously. Being in a quarterfinal, I’m going to approach the match the same as I did in the previous matches against him, and let’s see.” Alcaraz reached his 10th career Grand Slam quarterfinal, tied for the most by a man before his 22nd birthday, by advancing when 15th-seeded Jack Draper stopped playing because of a hip injury after dropping the first two sets Sunday afternoon.
Djokovic, who is being coached in Melbourne by old rival Andy Murray, did his part at night in Rod Laver Arena, needing to work a little longer but getting through just the same with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over No. 24 Jiri Lehecka.
Djokovic smacked a ball off a wall in the third set, drawing boos and whistles from some spectators. When they made more noise moments later, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani admonished the folks in the stands to be more polite toward the players.
Afterward, Djokovic dispensed with the customary on-court interview, instead holding the microphone himself and telling the crowd: “Thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate your presence and the support. I’ll see you next round. Thank you very much.” Then he walked off.
Novak Djokovic declined to do a customary post-match TV interview at the Australian Open after his win Sunday night to protest comments made on air by someone who works for the official broadcaster of the tournament in the host country.
Djokovic said he wants an apology from Channel 9 and Tony Jones, who called the 24-time Grand Slam champion overrated and a has-been during an on-air appearance at Melbourne Park where a crowd of the player’s supporters were chanting.
There is plenty at stake at this tournament for both No. 3 seed Alcaraz, who is 21, and No. 7 Djokovic, who is 37.
Alcaraz seeks to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with at least one trophy from all four of the most prestigious events in tennis.
SABALENKA THROUGH
Aryna Sabalenka has advanced to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, where she’s three wins from achieving something no woman has done since the 1990s.The two-time defending champion extended her winning streak at Melbourne Park to 18 matches with a 6-1 6-2 win over 14th-seeded Mirra Andreeva to open play Sunday on Rod Laver Arena.
Martina Hingis, from 1997 to 1999, was the last woman to win three straight Australian Open singles titles. Sabalenka hugged Andreeva after the match, waved to the crowd, took a photo with her Polaroid camera and gave a thumbs up to mark the occasion.
‘RIP TIK TOK’
Coco Gauff’s consecutive-set streak ended at the Australian Open. Her bid for a second Grand Slam title continued on Sunday with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 comeback victory over Belinda Bencic in the fourth round.
Afterward, Gauff drew a broken heart on the lens of a courtside TV camera with the message, “ RIP TikTok USA,” a reference to the ban of the popular app back home.
ZVEREV IN QUARTERS
No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the fourth time by beating No. 14 Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 with the help of 19 aces and a 43-23 advantage in total winners on Sunday night.
Next up for two-time major runner-up Zverev will be a matchup Tuesday against 12th-seeded American Tommy Paul, who ended Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s run of comebacks and reached his third Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory earlier.
Zverev did not have much of a chance to get ready before heading to Australia: He sat out the United Cup team competition because of an arm injury.
MEDVEDEV FINED
Daniil Medvedev has been fined a total of USD 76,000 for his camera and racket smashing outbursts during the first two rounds of the Australian Open.
The fines were published on Sunday by Australian Open organisers, two days after Medvedev’s unexpected second-round exit.
The 2021 US Open champion destroyed a tiny camera hanging in the net by repeatedly smacking it with his racket during a surprisingly difficult, five-set, first-round win over Kasidit Samrej, who was ranked 418th. He was fined USD 10,000 for the first-round infringement.
Medvedev was penalised a point during his second-round loss to 19-year-old American qualifier Learner Tien for showing similar signs of frustration. He was fined USD 66,000 for his second-round code violations.
After getting broken to trail 4-3 in the second set when Tien delivered a lob that landed at the baseline, Medvedev chucked his equipment toward the sideline, skidding it across the court until it reached an advertising panel near his bench.
At other moments of anger, Medvedev hit a ball against the back wall, toppled a camera behind a baseline and punched his racket bag. He also voiced displeasure about being called for two consecutive foot-faults, resulting in a double-fault, during the second-set tiebreaker. (PTI)
Coco Gauff’s consecutive-set streak ended at the Australian Open. Her bid for a second Grand Slam title continued on Sunday with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 comeback victory over Belinda Bencic in the fourth round.
Afterward, Gauff drew a broken heart on the lens of a courtside TV camera with the message, “ RIP TikTok USA,” a reference to the ban of the popular app back home.
Until Sunday, Gauff – a 20-year-old from Florida who won the 2023 U.S. Open as a teenager – had collected all 16 sets she’d played this year and 24 of her past 25 dating to the end of last season, which included a title at the WTA Finals.