Tennis News

Djokovic & Nadal Learn Path To Record-Breaking 21st Major

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have learned their paths to a potential record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title, with both placed in the top half of the draw following Thursday’s release of the Australian Open draw.

Nine-time defending champion and World No. 1 Djokovic will open against fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and could meet American Tommy Paul or a qualifier in the second round. The 34-year-old is seeded to meet Lorenzo Sonego in the third round.

The top seed could face Chile’s Cristian Garin or 11-time tour-level titlist Gael Monfils in the fourth round, with a potential Wimbledon final re-match with Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals.

Sixth seed Nadal, who could meet Djokovic in the semi-finals, has landed in the same quarter as World No. 3 Alexander Zverev and is seeded to meet the German in the quarter-finals. But the Spaniard won’t be looking that far ahead this early in the tournament. He will be focused on a first-round meeting against American Marcos Giron, with a potential second-round clash with in-form Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis. Last year’s semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev or 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz could face the Spaniard in the fourth round.

Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Zverev will open his campaign against countryman Daniel Altmaier as he looks to win his first major and could face 30th seed Lloyd Harris in the third round. Should Zverev advance to the fourth round, he may play big-serving American Reilly Opelka or 14th seed Denis Shapovalov.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Daniil Medvedev will be aiming to win his second major, after triumphing at the US Open in September. The Russian opens against Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland, with dynamic Australian Nick Kygrios or a qualifier awaiting in the second round.

The World No. 2 is seeded to meet Ugo Humbert in the third round, Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round and either ninth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime or countryman Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will play Swede Mikael Ymer in the first round and could face last year’s quarter-finalist Grigor Dimitrov in the third round, with a clash against eighth seed Casper Ruud a potential last-eight match.

Interesting first-round matches include 12th seed Cameron Norrie against #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda. Seventh seed Berrettini will play 20-year-old Brandon Nakashima, while Lorenzo Musetti will take on home favourite Alex de Minaur, who is the 32nd seed. Former World No. 1 Andy Murray opens against 21st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili. 

Former Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champions Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are seeded 31st and 11th and both open against qualifiers.

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Andy Murray into Sydney Tennis Classic last eight with victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili

British former world number Andy Murray overcomes world number 23 Nikoloz Basilashvili in three hard-fought sets to make the last eight of the Sydney Tennis Classic.

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Murray Sinks Basilashvili In Sydney

Andy Murray showed his fighting qualities once again on Wednesday, edging second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

The former World No. 1 demonstrated a mixture of grit and quality as he recovered from squandering three set points on serve at 5-4 in the second set to overcome Basilashvili in a physical encounter that lasted three hours and 15 minutes on Ken Rosewall Arena.

“It was an unbelievably tough match,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “He is hitting the ball consistently bigger than anyone on the Tour. I was having to do a lot of defending and running but my legs stood up well and at the end I served really well in the last set.”

Murray earned his first win of the season against Norway’s Viktor Durasovic in the opening round in Sydney and backed this up against the Georgian, sitting deep behind the baseline as he soaked up Basilashvili’s powerful groundstrokes using a combination of slices and flat backhands.

The Scot, who let out a roar following his hard-fought victory, now leads the Basilashvili 2-0 in their ATPHead2Head series, after also defeating the World No. 23 in the first round at Wimbledon last year. The 34-year-old will next face David Goffin after the Belgian beat Denis Kudla 6-2, 6-3.

“I got a lot of free points on my serve,” Murray said. “When we were in the rallies, it was more on his terms, so I tried to serve a little bit bigger and thankfully they went in. When he was serving, I tried to take time away from him and rush him and I hit some better returns.”

It is the third time Murray has advanced to the quarter-finals at a tour-level event since the start of last season, having enjoyed runs to the last eight in Metz and Stockholm in 2021.

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Renata Voracova 'did nothing wrong' to prompt deportation from Australia – WTA

Renata Voracova, who was deported from Australia after her visa was cancelled, did “nothing wrong” says the Women’s Tennis Association.

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Koolhof/Skupski March On In Adelaide

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski continued their strong start to the season on Wednesday, defeating Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith 7-6(2), 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals at the Adelaide International 2.

The third seeds won the title together in Melbourne last week and will play Oscar Otte and Benoit Paire next after the German-French tandem overcame Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 10-4.

Australians Aaron Addison and Thomas Fancutt sprung a major surprise, upsetting top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-8 to advance after one hour and 45 minutes.

They will face Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar in the last eight after the sixth seeds beat Nicholas Monroe and Holger Rune 6-2, 6-4.

Second seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 1-6, 10-4 victory over Treat Huey and Frederik Nielsen. Fourth seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vligen moved past Steve Johnson and Austin Krajicek 5-7, 6-3, 10-5.

Krawietz/Mies Secure Win In Sydney
At the Sydney Tennis Classic, sixth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies overcame Matwe Middelkoop and Philipp Oswald 6-7(2), 6-4, 10-5 to advance to the quarter-finals.

Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi also moved through, defeating Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6(5), 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes.

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Djokovic Covid timeline: Did he break rules after testing positive?

Here’s what we know about what the tennis star did following his positive test.

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Albot Reaches Final Qualifying Round In Melbourne

Radu Albot reached the third round at the Australian Open last year and maintained his strong record in Melbourne on Wednesday, downing Yosuke Watanuki 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 to advance to the third qualifying round at the first major of the season.

The former World No. 39 broke five times to secure victory in one hour and 41 minutes as he moved to within one win of the Australian Open main draw.

The fifth seed will next face Portugal’s Joao Sousa after the World No. 140 edged Australian Marc Polmans 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 in one hour and 59 minutes. The 32-year-old, who has reached the third round in Melbourne three times (2015, 2016, 2019), fired seven aces to advance.

Mikhail Kukushkin secured his spot in the final qualifying round, defeating Dutchman Robin Haase 7-5, 7-6(2) after one hour and 47 minutes. The former World No. 39 is aiming to make his 12th main draw appearance at the Australian Open.

The 34-year-old next plays Ernesto Escobedo following the American’s 7-6(3), 6-4 win against Andrea Vavassori.

Alejandro Tabilo, who played for Chile at ATP Cup last week, hit eight aces en route to his 77-minute 6-1, 7-5 victory against World No. 227 Constant Lestienne. The 24-year-old will meet Elias Ymer next after the Swede clawed past Mario Vilella Martinez 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(0) in two hours and 26 minutes.

In other action, Dimitry Popko saw off Philip Sekulic 6-4, 6-2, Thomas Fabbiano beat Frederico Ferreira Silva 6-2, 7-5 and Tomas Barrios Vera moved past Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-4, 7-6(1).

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Khachanov Moves Through In Adelaide

Russia’s Karen Khachanov reached the final in Adelaide last week and set the wheels in motion for another deep run on Wednesday, defeating Gianluca Mager 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals at the Adelaide International 2.

The third seed, who lost to Gael Monfils in the championship match at the Adelaide International 1, fired 13 aces and did not face a break point to triumph after 70 minutes.

The World No. 30 will next play Arthur Rinderknech after the Frenchman edged Nur-Sultan titlist Soonwoo Kwon 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours.

Fourth-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic recorded his third win in four matches in 2022 as he secured his spot in the last eight with a 7-6(6), 6-2 one-hour 40-minute victory against Spaniard Jaume Munar.

The former World No. 3 won 88 per cent (36/41) of his first-serve points in the pairs first ATPHead2Head meeting to set up a clash against Tommy Paul following the American’s 6-4, 7-6(6) victory over 25-year-old Benjamin Bonzi.

Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis also advanced, moving past second seed John Isner 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in two hours and 45 minutes. It is the biggest win by ATP Ranking that the wild card has secured since 2018, when he defeated then-World No. 1 Roger Federer in the second round in Miami.

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Evans Soars Into Sydney QFs

Third seed Daniel Evans continued his perfect start to the season Wednesday, overcoming Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

The 31-year-old, who won three singles matches and two doubles rubbers at ATP Cup last week for Great Britain, did not face a break point en route to his 85-minute victory against the Spaniard.

Evans advanced to the final in Sydney in 2017 and will next face either American Maxime Cressy or sixth seed Dusan Lajovic.

Top seed Aslan Karatsev earned his first win of 2022, downing Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes.

The Russian has fond memories in Australia, after enjoying a dream run to the semi-finals at the Australian Open last year. In a strong performance against Kecmanovic, Karatsev won 88 per cent (28/32) of his first-serve points and rallied from a break down in the first set to improve to 2-0 in their ATPHead2Head series.

The 28-year-old, who was named 2021 ATP Most Improved Player of the Year, will next play fifth seed Lorenzo Sonego after the Italian swept aside #NextGenATP Argentine Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-3 in 81 minutes.

#NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima also advanced as he maintained his impressive tie-break record at the ATP 250 event to reach the last eight.

The 20-year-old defeated Fabio Fognini 7-6(7), 7-6(6) in one hour and 59 minutes to earn his second tour-level victory over the Italian. The World No. 68 also won two tie-break sets against Jiri Vesely in his first-round match on Tuesday.

Nakashima will meet countryman Reilly Opelka in the quarter-finals following the fourth seeds 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Australian wild card Jordan Thompson. The big-serving World No. 25 fired 10 aces to advance in 79 minutes.

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Novak Djokovic admits breaking isolation while Covid positive

In a lengthy statement, the tennis star also says his agent made a mistake on his Australian entry form.

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