Australian Open: Best shots as Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Jannik Sinner in straight sets
Watch some of the best shots as Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Watch some of the best shots as Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open as a team for the third consecutive year on Wednesday, when they downed Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-2 in Melbourne.
The second seeds triumphed at this tournament two years ago, and they continued their bid to add to their trophy haul with a dominant performance against the Italians, breaking serve four times to advance after 76 minutes.
The American-British tandem captured their second Grand Slam title together at the US Open in September and also won their maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto last season.
Ram and Salisbury will next face Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell after the Australians clawed past Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) to snap the 11-match winning streak the 10th seeds were on.
“We’ve got to hand it to them, too. They were a classy pair,” Ebden said. Won [the] past two tournaments, in the quarters here. They came back at us hard and made it really tough. It’s a quality doubles [team].
“The key was helping each other out. I think we both lifted a little bit when the other one might have missed one or two. That was key. A couple returns, a couple extra serves, then the crowd really played a part.”
Ebden and Purcell fired 16 aces and won 80 per cent (51/64) of their first-serve points to triumph in two hours and 16 minutes. It is the second time Ebden and Purcell have joined forces, after reaching the quarter-finals at the US Open last year, where they lost to Ram and Salisbury.
Koolhof and Skupski have enjoyed a strong start to the season, capturing tour-level crowns at the Melbourne Summer Set and Adelaide International 2.
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Britain’s Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid win a ninth consecutive Grand Slam title with victory in the Australian Open wheelchair doubles.
Jannik Sinner revealed he will take the positives out of his run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open after his tournament was ended by Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old, who was making his third appearance in Melbourne, dropped just one set en route to his second major quarter-final and believes the experience can help him develop further.
“Of course, it’s a positive tournament,” Sinner said in his post-match press conference. “I think that what I have to improve is the tennis in general. I have to serve better, I have to do everything more, especially when you play against the top guys.
“My goal is to play many matches like this, important matches against the best guys in the world, and then we see and then I grow. I think it was good. I played matches, and I had [a good] experience. Let’s see next year what I do here.”
The Italian won four tour-level titles in a standout 2021 season and was aiming for his second win against the fourth-seeded Greek. However, he was unable to match the intensity of Tsitsipas, praising his level.
“I think he played better than me today,” Sinner added. “He served better. He moved the ball better than me. He was moving better than me. It’s tough to play against him when he plays like that.
“I couldn’t generate the power that I would have wanted. I was trying to move him, but I was maybe a little bit too far back because he played incredible today.”
Sinner will next compete in Rotterdam, an ATP 500 indoor-hard event, at the start of February.
Stefanos Tsitsipas reaches the Australian Open semi-finals for a third time with a dominant victory over Jannik Sinner.
American Danielle Collins says it feels “incredible” to reach the Australian Open semi-finals less than a year after taking an indefinite break from tennis.
Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram reach a third consecutive Australian Open doubles semi-final with victory over Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
A small act of kindness from Nick Kyrgios on Tuesday at the Australian Open quickly became one of the feel-good moments of the Australian Open.
Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were playing in the doubles quarter-finals against Tim Puetz and Michael Venus when Kokkinakis hit a first serve that was a let. Although the point was “dead”, Kyrgios reacted to Venus’ return by instinctively swatting a volley away.
The ball bounced into the crowd and struck a young fan. Kyrgios immediately noticed and quickly grabbed a racquet from his bag and handed it to the fan. After the match, during which the home crowd was fully behind the Aussies, the 26-year-old signed the racquet as well.
Turning this young man’s frown upside down ?? @NickKyrgios • @tkokkinakis • #AusOpen • #AO2022
? : @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/rbYR2Z4riu— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2022
In their post-match press conference, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis spoke about the importance of the home fans.
“This Australian Open I think with everything the people have gone through, they just are just so happy to see Aussies have success. Demon in the fourth round, us kind of carrying the flag in doubles a little bit,” Kyrgios said. “This Oz Open, honestly, I think for us it’s more about the people. Playing for them is more important than our doubles success.
“We haven’t drawn up any goals of what we want to achieve this year in doubles. I just want to play and give the people of Australia and the Australian Open a show and genuinely try and grow the sport of tennis. That’s why I’m playing. I know Thanasi is just enjoying it. This is the most fun we’ve ever had on the court.”
Kokkinakis, who captured his first ATP Tour title at the Adelaide International 2 with the full support of the Australian fans, agreed.
“The thrill for us is honestly walking out there. This sounds stupid, but we worry about what happens in the match after,” Kokkinakis added. “But it’s just seeing the support we’ve gotten and the crowd go nuts every time we get out there and how much they’re enjoying it, that kind of gets us going and gets us motivated to do better for them, honestly.”
Kokkinakis and Kyrgios will play third seeds Granollers and Zeballos in the semi-finals.