Australian Open 2022: Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas both through to third round
World number two Daniil Medvedev and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas both made it into the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
World number two Daniil Medvedev and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas both made it into the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Andy Murray will not let his Australian Open disappointment impact the rest of his season.
The Brit never got going against Japan’s Taro Daniel on Thursday evening, converting just two of 11 break points as he went down 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to the No. 120-ranked qualifier.
“This is a really important year for me for a number of reasons,” said Murray after his second-round exit, “and I want to perform well in the big events. For me, tonight is not good enough in that respect. Making the second round of Slams is not something I find motivating. I want to be doing better than that.”
Murray acknowledged that Daniel, who won his sole ATP Tour title in Istanbul in 2018, deserved the win on John Cain Arena. “He was solid the whole match, which was what I was expecting from him. He moves well, and he’s very consistent. He doesn’t give matches to you.”
The Brit was still able to take some positives from the defeat, particularly how his body held up after an intense 10 days in which he reached the final of the Sydney Tennis Classic (l. to Karatsev) and battled through a three-hour, 52 minute five-set epic with Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round in Melbourne.
“I felt all right today, physically,” said Murray. “I pulled up pretty well from the [Basilashvili] match the day afterwards. From that respect I was actually quite happy considering the situation.”
The physical strides he has made in recent months made the loss to Daniel hurt more for the former World No. 1. “I’m really disappointed,” he said. “A tough loss for me. That’s for sure.”
One development that Murray hopes will drive his success in 2022 is a change of racquet, and he is willing to give himself time to get up to speed with his new equipment. “It’s not an excuse for losing today,” said Murray, “but I have to factor that into my performances for a couple of months. Everyone I have spoken to around changing racquets [says] that it does take a bit of time to gain confidence in it, so I have to bear that in mind.
“The reason for changing racquets is to improve your performance and to obviously do better in the bigger events, and that didn’t happen this week. That’s frustrating for me.”
Murray will now return home to the U.K. to prepare for his next scheduled tournaments in Doha and Dubai. He spoke emotionally about his family on court following his Sydney loss to Karatsev but was positive about the work-life balance he has been able to strike. “It’s harder leaving home when you know you’ve got four children than it was when I was in my mid-20s,” said Murray, “but I still like when I’m here. I’m able to focus well on the tennis and that process.
“I get to go home now and spend some time with them. My family has been a bit sick the last week. Obviously when that’s the case, you also want to be there to help and feel like you’re contributing.”
Britain’s former world number one Andy Murray produces a subdued display as he loses to Japan’s Taro Daniel in the Australian Open second round.
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Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was pushed hard Thursday by Sebastian Baez, but he found the winning formula, overcoming the Argentine 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round at the Australian Open for the fourth year in a row.
The Greek never found top form on Margaret Court Arena as he was tested in a physical clash against the resilient 21-year-old. However, he demonstrated an abundance of grit and character, raising his level in the third and fourth sets to advance after three hours and 22 minutes.
“It wasn’t easy. But I am glad I overcame that obstacle today,” Tsitsipas said in his-court interview. “Lots of fighting, a little bit of swearing, but I am glad to be in the third round. It was a pretty hot day today, but I tried to play with my heart and it paid off in the end.”
The World No. 4 spent the off-season recovering from an elbow injury, which forced him to withdraw from the Nitto ATP Finals in November. He showed no signs of discomfort against Baez though in their first ATPHead2Head meeting and will next face 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov or Frenchman Benoit Paire.
“He is a great player,” Tsitsipas said when asked about Baez. “I know he had a good run at the Next Gen Finals, which is an event I played a few years ago, so in order for him to playing at these tournaments it is an indication he has been doing well. He has one of the biggest forehands I have faced.”
Tsitsipas has fond memories in Melbourne, having upset Roger Federer en route to the semi-finals in 2019, before he advanced to the last four again last year. The seven-time tour-level titlist is aiming to win his first major at the Australian Open, with his best result at a Grand Slam a run to the final at Roland Garros in 2021.
Serving up a big win ?
??@steftsitsipas holds off a determined Sebastian Baez to advance 7-6(1) 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4.#AusOpen • #AO2022
?: @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/cLB9s8MdxJ— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2022
In an enthralling first set, Baez was put under pressure on serve by the Greek but found the answers, saving seven break points before he broke Tsitsipas at 4-4 with aggressive ball striking. However, he was unable to serve out the set as Tsitsipas responded with deep returns, before prevailing in the tie-break.
The diminutive Argentine refused to go away though, matching Tsitsipas from the baseline as he fired 13 winners in the second set. In a tense tie-break, Baez won four points in a row from 3/5 to level, but all this did was fire the Greek up, with Tsitsipas driving his groundstrokes through the court with extra pace in the third set to move back in front.
Tsitsipas found the early break in the fourth set and pinned Baez behind the baseline with his heavy forehand as he demonstrated great footwork to dictate with the stroke to advance.
Baez, who reached the semi-finals at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in November, was making his Grand Slam debut in Melbourne. The World No. 88 edged Albert Ramos-Vinolas in five sets in the first round.
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Australian wild card Christopher O’Connell scored the biggest win of his career on Thursday at his home Slam, upsetting 13th seed Diego Schwartzman in a 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 stunner.
Making his fourth appearance at the Australian Open, the World No. 175 is through to the third round at a major for the first time in six main-draw attempts.
A native of Sydney, the 27-year-old O’Connell worked cleaning boats for six months during an injury layoff in 2018. But he returned in 2019 with success on the ATP Challenger Tour before picking up his first major win at the 2020 US Open, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
With a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 111 in 2020, O’Connell will again be the underdog in Round 3. But victory over World No. 70 Maxime Cressy would hardly qualify as a shock, with the American also competing in the third round of a Slam for the first time. He was a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6(5) winner over Czech qualifier Tomas Machac in the second round.
After a slow start, O’Connell grew into the match with the help of a spirited Aussie crowd on Court 3. Over three hours and seven minutes, he kept the Argentine on the back foot in most rallies. Despite his superiority, the 27-year-old had to survive a tense finale as Schwartzman erased a break deficit in the third set.
Rather than slumping in the face of that disappointment, O’Connell rose to the occasion by winning the match’s last two games, sealing his progress with three clutch winners (of 44 for the match) and an unreturned ‘T’ serve on match point.
Unlikely at the start, the upset looked even more of a long-shot as Schwartzman served for the opening set. But O’Connell erased two set points and then recovered a mini-break in the tie-break to steal the opening stanza with a winner.
That got the Aussie crowd going, and their man raised his game as he found more success on offense in set two. Forcing the steady Schwartzman back behind the baseline, O’Connell dominated on serve and won the last 10 points of the set from deuce at 3-4.
Schwartzman was hanging on to start set three, saving three break points in the opening game. Full of confidence, O’Connell did not let his opponent off the hook in the third game of the set. Another winner secured his second break in three return games, his third of the match.
That set up a tense, eventful stretch run. The Australian saved a break point to hold for 4-2, but could not stop the dogged Schwartzman from closing to 4-all. Just when it seemed Schwartzman could turn things around, O’Connell found one final burst to get over the line.
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There is no doubt that Carlos Alcaraz is making lightning progress in his fledgling career. Evidence of this lies not only in his ATP Ranking, currently No. 31, but also in the way he is coming through his matches at this year’s Australian Open. The maturity with which he is competing in his first tournament of 2022 is not that of an 18-year-old with barely a year’s experience on the ATP Tour.
His shots on court are turning more and more heads off it. His name is starting to appear among the favourites to go deep on the biggest stages on Tour. So much so, that nobody is willing to write him off from the list of hopefuls for the crown in Melbourne Park, including Rafael Nadal.
“Does he have a chance of winning here? Yes, what can I say? Why not?” Nadal said. “He’s a young player that is clearly on the up and we’ll see what happens. At the moment, everything is unpredictable and he’s a player with huge potential.”
A lot has changed since the two Spaniards clashed in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open on 5 May 2021, the day of Alcaraz’s eighteenth birthday. Although he had already celebrated his first win at an ATP Masters 1000 event, Alcaraz was still yet to break into the Top 100 and had no titles under his belt. Seven months later, it is a very different story.
“Last year he made big strides up the Rankings and in his level. I’m sure he will do so again this year. From there, we’ll see from day to day where his potential takes him,” Nadal said of Alcaraz’s future. “At the end of the day, when you have all that potential and you’re a hard worker too, it’s unlikely things will go badly for you. You would expect him to have more chances to fight for big things as each tournament goes by.”
Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, agrees with Nadal. “Of course, Rafa’s words are wonderful and we’re grateful for them. I really agree with what he said. He has potential. Now we just need to see when he fulfils it at an important tournament like this one.”
Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
This January marks the start of their fourth season together. During those years, in which Alcaraz has sculpted his game under the orders of the former World No. 1, he has been able to monitor his progress. Even at this early point in his career, the Murcia-native has what it takes to square up to any opponent.
“Right now, his youth is a positive and a negative,” Ferrero explained. “Positive because of the desire and motivation, as well as being physically fit. Negative because he still lacks experience in many situations.”
Another player who knows him very well is Pablo Carreño Busta, who has also reached the third round of this Australian Open. They share a team at the Academia Equelite-Juan Carlos Ferrero in Villena (Alicante, Spain).
“Carlos has been working well at the academy for many years. With all that work, quality and potential he has, he will continue to deliver,” Carreno Busta said. “He’s getting very good results, but they will get better.”
Having shared a training court with him so many times, Carreno Busta knows Alcaraz better, perhaps, than any other player.
“He still has room for improvement. Apart from having winning shots from anywhere, there are situations on court that perhaps he isn’t managing as well as he could,” Carreno Busta said. “But through training and desire — which he has no lack of — I’m sure he will grow and get increasingly better.”
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
While everyone else is putting his first steps under the microscope, the man himself is enjoying a meteoric learning curve which, so far, is yet to level off.
“I’m playing very well,” Alcaraz said. “I know where to be at difficult moments and I feel good about how I feel on court. I’m ready to give any player a match right now.”
His performance in competition continues to feed his confidence, but where does Alcaraz himself feel he has progressed the most?
“I think I’ve improved most in my attitude, in knowing what is happening on court. I think I’ve matured a lot in reading the match, what I’m doing well and what I’m doing badly,” Alcaraz said. “Changing things that aren’t going well for me. That area is where I’ve improved a lot, which is making me mature and progress more rapidly.”
And, finally, amid all the praise showered on his pupil, Ferrero has one more thing to say: “Of course he’s thinking about winning here some time; this year, next year, or whenever. Let’s hope it’s as soon as possible. He’s working very well, he’s had a very good preseason and he’s playing very well. But to win here you have to beat very good and experienced players that are just as well-prepared as he is so, as Rafa said, anything can happen, but let’s not build it up any more.”
Nobody has had a better view of Alcaraz’s journey from a boy with potential to a man to watch in Australia.
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