It has been predicted on a number of occasions but now more than ever the reality of an 18th grand slam title for Roger Federer…
Britain’s Johanna Konta beats Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-4 to set up an Australian Open quarter-final against Serena Williams.
With Andy Murray now also out, Stan Wawrinka will feel he is in with a great chance of topping the World No.1’s three…
Spanish superstar dominates early on, but is then forced to work
Rafael Nadal recorded his fifth straight victory – and 13th win overall in 15 meetings – against Gael Monfils at the Australian Open in just under three hours on Monday night for a place in his 30th Grand Slam championship quarter-final.
Ninth seed Nadal, who beat Roger Federer for the 2009 title, improved to 49-10 at Melbourne Park with a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over fellow 30-year-old Monfils, the No. 6 seed from France. The 30 year old’s win denied Monfils his 250th tour-level match win on hard courts and gave the Spanish superstar his first Grand Slam victory over a player in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings since beating then No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic in the 2014 Roland Garros final.
“I had chances to break in the third set,” said Nadal, during an on-court interview. “I didn’t play my best game at 4-4. You are [then] under pressure against a player like him. [In the fourth set] I think against Gael, I made a few mistakes in a row and played a good backhand on the break point.
“I’m very happy being in the quarter-finals in a Grand Slam after a couple of years without being there. It is very special for me and especially here in Australia, where it feels a little like home. The crowd is always supporting me.”
Nadal has a 6-2 advantage over his next opponent, World No. 3 Milos Raonic, in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but Raonic won their most recent clash, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp 16 days ago.
“I have to play very, very well, that’s the only way,” said Nadal. “He beat me a couple of weeks ago in Brisbane. It was a tough game. He’s a top player with an amazing serve, so I need to be focused with my serve and wait for opportunities on my return.”
More to follow…
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 January |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
Britain’s world number one Gordon Reid begins his Australian Open wheelchair singles title defence against Belgium’s Joachim Gerard on Wednesday.
It is a repeat of the 2016 final, which Scotland’s Reid, 25, won 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.
Three other Britons are in action, including Alfie Hewett, who makes his Australian Open debut against Stephane Houdet of France, the world number two.
Lucy Shuker faces Marjolein Buis of the Netherlands, while Andy Lapthorne plays against David Wagner.
Reid has reached the semi-finals and final, respectively, of his first two singles events of 2017 – the Sydney Open Super Series and the ITF 2 Melbourne Open.
“I arrive at Melbourne Park in a good place ready to defend my title,” said Reid.
| Australian Open 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Dates: 16-29 Jan |
| Coverage: Daily live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website; TV highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January. |
World number three Milos Raonic reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with victory over Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.
Canadian Raonic, the highest seed left in the men’s singles, had been struggling with flu but came through 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-4 6-1.
He will play either Gael Monfils or Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.
Grigor Dimitrov beat injury-hit Denis Istomin to progress, while David Goffin overcame eighth seed Dominic Thiem.
Bulgarian 15th seed Dimitrov, 25, came from behind to win 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 6-1 as Novak Djokovic’s conqueror struggled with a leg problem.
Goffin had earlier become the first Belgian man to reach the Melbourne last eight by beating Austrian Thiem.
The 26-year-old 11th seed won 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-2 in soaring temperatures.
Istomin, the world number 117, showed the effects of a demanding tournament.
“Denis deserves all the credit for an unbelievable tournament, he has been on fire and he was striking the ball so well early in the match,” said Dimitrov.
Wimbledon finalist Raonic, 26, has reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the third consecutive year.
Playing with a high fever, he rallied from 5-1 down in the first-set tie-breaker to win the opening set, but was then broken twice in the second.
The 13th seed Bautista Agut. then began to falter in the third set, when the roof at Hisense Arena was closed because of rain, and he later had to call for a trainer for a leg problem.
Raonic took the third and needed only 26 minutes to see out fourth set to win the match.
“I was very fortunate to get through,” said Raonic, who hit 75 winners but also 55 unforced errors, including nine double faults.
“There were moments where it wasn’t looking so good.”
Watch highlights of day eight on BBC Two from 16:45 GMT on Monday
No. 11 seed David Goffin moved into his first Australian Open quarter-final on Monday, scoring a hard-fought 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2 win in Melbourne over eighth seed Dominic Thiem.
The win marked a repeat victory for the Belgian, who also defeated Thiem in the third-round of the 2016 Australian Open. Goffin improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Thiem to 5-3.
Next up for Goffin is the winner between No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov and Denis Istomin. Goffin leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry over Istomin 1-0, with the lone win coming last year at Wimbledon. Dimitrov lead his FedEx ATP Head2Head over Goffin 1-0, but they haven’t played since the 2014 US Open.
The first set was punctuated by difficulty holding serve, with Goffin and Thiem’s strong returns producing five breaks in 12 games. But it was the Austrian who grabbed the critical break of serve at 5-5 and then comfortably held to love in the next game to grab the early lead.
Both players traded service holds throughout the second set, but Thiem fought off four set points on his serve at 4-5. Goffin remained mentally tough and raced to a 3/0 lead in the tie-break, holding his slight advantage to level the match at one set each.
Goffin appeared energized at capturing the second set and continued to relentlessly retrieve difficult shots from Thiem in the baseline exchanges. Meanwhile, the eighth seed struggled to find his range, hitting 16 winners to 30 unforced errors in the final two sets.
The Belgian broke Thiem twice in both the third and fourth sets, but saved his best tennis for the final stages of the match. Goffin ripped 12 winners to just three unforced errors in the fourth set, convincingly serving out the match on his first attempt to wrap up the win in two hours and 43 minutes.
British number one Johanna Konta says her Australian Open quarter-final match with Serena Williams is a “great opportunity”.