Category: Tennis Players

The Latest: Pliskova into 4th round with win over Ostapenko

U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova rallied from 5-1 down in the third set to beat Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-0, 10-8 and reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time. She saved a match point before holding in the 12th game, prolonging the match for another six games until fifth-seeded Pliskova finally broke serve again.

Rafael Nadal takes heart from Alexander Zverev victory

Rafael Nadal says his five-set win against Alexander Zverev has given him a huge boost of confidence for the rest of the Australian Open. Nadal defied doubts about both his fitness and form during a pulsating four-hour contest on Rod Laver Arena, at the end of which he had beaten the talented Zverev 4-6 6-3 6-7 6-3 6-2.

Rafael Nadal surpasses a fierce five-set battle against rising star Alexander Zverev1 hour ago

Rafael Nadal surpassed a fierce challenge against one of the rising stars in the game German teenager Alexander Zverev in 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 , 6-3, 6-2 battle to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open on Saturday. The Champions of 2009 had to be at his best to come out on top after more than four hours of fierce rallies and shot-making which earned both players a huge ovation from the spectators at the Rod Laver Arena.

The Latest: Hingis, Vandeweghe out of doubles in 2nd round

United States’ Jennifer Brady, right, is congratulated by Russia’s Elena Vesnina after winning their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni celebrates after defeating Maria Sakkari of Greece in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

Andy Murray is the favourite to win in Melbourne

Andy Murray believes the decline of Novak Djokovic has been exaggerated and insists the Serb is just a victim of his own success. Murray beat Sam Querrey to move into the Australian Open fourth round on Friday, less than 24 hours after Djokovic had crashed out to wildcard Denis Istomin.

The Latest: American qualifier Brady advances to 4th round

United States’ Jennifer Brady, right, is congratulated by Russia’s Elena Vesnina after winning their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. U.S. qualifier Jennifer Brady has advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 7-6 , 6-2 win over 14th-seeded Elena Vesnina.

The Latest: Consistent Nishikori into 4th round in Melbourne

Kei Nishikori advanced to the fourth round at the Australian Open for the sixth straight year with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Lukas Lacko, a qualifier ranked 121st. The 2014 U.S. Open finalist has not lost to a player ranked outside the top 100 since he was beaten by 179th-ranked qualifier Daniel Evans in the first round at the 2013 U.S. Open.

Time for a career change, Novak? The time Djokovic showed off his secret football skills

The tennis ace may be licking his wounds after suffering an embarrassing loss, but there is another sport he might be able to fall back on Dumped out of the Australian Open, tennis’ first major tournament of the season, it might be time for Novak Djokovic to consider a career change. The Serb lost his world number one ranking to Andy Murray at the end of 2016 and is destined to fall further behind the Scot after being dumped out of the competition in Melbourne by Denis Istomin, who is not considered one of the best 100 players in the game.

Djokovic: I played with intensity

Novak Djokovic had to defend himself against accusations of lacking motivation after the 12-time grand slam champion crashed out of the Australian Open. Djokovic fell victim to one of the greatest shocks in grand slam history as he lost 7-6 5-7 2-6 7-6 6-4 to Uzbek wildcard Denis Istomin.

Aus Open PIX: Raonic, Ferrer race into third round, Pliskova cruises

IMAGE: Canada’s Milos Raonic hits a shot during his men’s singles second round match against Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday. Photograph: Issei Kato hird seed Milos Raonic continued his machine-like advance through the Australian Open on Thursday, easing past Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to reach the third round.

Aus Open PIX: Raonic, Ferrer race into third round, Pliskova cruises

IMAGE: Canada’s Milos Raonic hits a shot during his men’s singles second round match against Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday. Photograph: Issei Kato hird seed Milos Raonic continued his machine-like advance through the Australian Open on Thursday, easing past Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to reach the third round.

The Latest: 2016 semifinalist Konta through to 3rd round

Johanna Konta is through to the third round of the Australian Open after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Naomi Osaka to open play at Rod Laver Arena. Konta, who advanced to the semifinals on debut here last year before losing to eventual champion Angelique Kerber, will next play either 17th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki or Donna Vekic.

I’ve never seen Venus play – China’s Duan trusts coach to guide her past American great

Duan Yingying says she has never seen Venus Williams play and will be relying heavily on her coach’s guidance ahead of their third-round clash at the Australian Open.Despite the seven-time Grand Slam winner being one of the most prominent tennis players over the past two decades, China’s Duan insisted she knew next to nothing about the American great.” I don’t know anything about Venus’ play.

Go West, young man, Nishikori tells Asian talent

Kei Nishikori urged Asia’s young tennis players to head to Europe or the United States to realize their potential after he reached the third round in Melbourne.The Japanese fifth seed, who toiled for more than 3 1/2 hours in a first-round five-setter with Andrey Kuznetsov, won 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours against 72nd-ranked Jeremy Chardy.Nishikori’s fourth successive victory over the Fren… Kei Nishikori urged Asia’s young tennis players to head to Europe or the United States to realize their potential after he reached the third round in Melbourne.

The Latest: Roger Federer advances to 3rd round in Melbourne

After winning the first two sets of his second-round match, Roger Federer had to really go to work in the third, recovering from 5-2 down and fending off two set points to defeat American qualifier Noah Rubin 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 . He held serve at love to force the tiebreaker and, after it got to 3-3, reeled off the last four points to clinch the match in 2 hours, 4 minutes.

Federer reaches 3rd round in return at Australian Open

Roger Federer relied on his Grand Slam experience during the most important points to beat Noah Rubin 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 on Wednesday, maintaining his record of never failing to reach the third round at the 18 Australian Opens he’s contested. After back-to-back wins over qualifiers, the degree of difficulty in his comeback from a six-month injury layoff will increase exponentially.

Birthday greetings, Kerber into 3rd round at Australian Open

Angelique Kerber smiled and waved her arms like an orchestra conductor as the Rod Laver Arena crowd sang “Happy Birthday” after her 6-2, 6-7 , 6-2 second-round win on Wednesday at the Australian Open. The defending champion wasn’t completely on song on her 29th birthday, angrily swiping her racket in the second set in a burst of frustration that momentarily threw her off her game – and allowed Carina Witthoeft back into the match.

(Australian Open) Peng Shuai stumbles

Eugenie Bouchard is back in the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time in two years, defeating China’s Peng Shuai 7-6 , 6-2. Bouchard, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2014, finally closed it out after Peng saved three match points on the Canadian’s serve at 5-1 in the second set.

Rafael Nadal eases past Florian Mayer at Australian Open

Rafael Nadal had to apologise for his Mallorcan time-keeping but there was nothing sloppy about the Spaniard’s tennis as he swept aside Florian Mayer to reach the Australian Open second round. After defeating Mayer 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena, Nadal came into his press conference staring at his watch.

What wedding? First things first for Serena Williams

It wasn’t until after another routine opening-round beatdown that Serena Williams offered a startling glimpse into the ruthlessly compartmentalized mindset that accompanies her to the Grand Slams. She was engaged recently to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, but said she wasn’t going to fully process the life-changing, milestone event — until February.

Johanna Konta battles her way to victory in Australian Open first round

Johanna Konta could not deliver the same brilliance that won her the title in Sydney last week but still proved too strong for Kirsten Flipkens in the Australian Open first round. The British number one produced a scratchy performance in her opening match on Margaret Court Arena but it is a sign of her rising class that she could still convincingly overcome Flipkens, under-ranked at 70th in the world, 7-5 6-2.

Murray, Kerber win their 1st major matches as top seeds

Shelby Rogers of the United States celebrates her win over Romania’s Simona Halep in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. Romania’s Simona Halep raise her arms after missing a shot while playing Shelby Rogers of the United States during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.