Australian Open: Gordon Reid & Alfie Hewett in opposite halves of draw
Britain’s Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett are in separate halves of the Australian Open wheelchair singles draw so could meet in the final.
Britain’s Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett are in separate halves of the Australian Open wheelchair singles draw so could meet in the final.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic survives an injury scare and battles past American Taylor Fritz to move into the last 16 of the Australian Open.
After losing to Novak Djokovic, who was battling with an abdominal injury, 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 at the Australian Open on Friday, Taylor Fritz stated that the World No. 1 and his Big Three rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are “built differently” and born to be great tennis players.
“I think a lot of it is just the desire and the passion and wanting it, and I don’t think it’s something that these guys develop,” said Fritz. “I think it’s something that you’re born with. They’re just kind of built differently.”
After losing to Djokovic, Fritz is now 0-6 in third round matches at Grand Slam championships.
“I think that I want it just as bad, and I have the passion and desire just as much, but I still need to develop my game so I can show it. It doesn’t matter how bad you want it, if you’re not better than the other person.
“I think these guys, they just want it… It’s something that people have or they don’t have, and that’s what makes someone a champion.”
Fritz, the No. 27 seed, beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Australian Open first round and overcame his fellow American Reilly Opelka in five sets in the second round.
Nick Kyrgios wins the second set with an underarm serve ace, but ends up losing to Dominic Thiem in five sets.
Nick Kyrgios was left to rue missed opportunities against Dominic Thiem on Friday, but he remained upbeat about his performances at the Australian Open.
Kyrgios led two-sets-to-love and held two break points on Thiem’s serve in the opening game of the third set, but did not convert those opportunities and went on to lose 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 21 minutes.
“If I take one of those break points early in the third set, I think the match is over in an hour and 45 minutes,” said Kyrgios. “I could definitely feel he was going away towards the end of the second [set].”
The 25-year-old Kyrgios was playing just his sixth tour-level match since returning to competition after an 11-month absence. He reached the third round at last week’s Murray River Open (l. to Coric).
“Tonight, I was a massive underdog,” said Kyrgios. “I left it all out there. I put myself in a position to win. That wasn’t the case against [Ugo] Humbert [in the second round]. My back was against the wall the entire time. I was up two-sets-to-love tonight, and he came back and he won.
“I’m not taking any shame in losing in five sets to the Australian Open finalist and the US Open champion… I’m not probably in the best physical shape I have been in. But I tried to bring what I had and it wasn’t enough. I fell short. I’m all right with that.
“I’m not upset at all. I’m actually not disappointed that I lost. I’m going [to] come with my head held high tomorrow, play some doubles [with Thanasi Kokkinakis and] see what tennis I’ll play this year. If I can continue to perform like that, I’m sure that the results will follow.”
Playing in front of a big crowd, Kyrgios praised Thiem on how he used the support of the John Cain Arena to his advantage for a place in the Australian Open fourth round.
“I think Thiem actually drew some energy from everyone kind of against him almost,” said Kyrgios. “He’s played on the biggest stages in the world, so I don’t think he was rattled at all. One thing I noticed about him, maybe [at] two-sets-to-love down, he was always positive. He didn’t show any negative emotion. He knew there was a long way to go in that match.
“It was an amazing atmosphere. The energy out there was special. But I’m still proud of myself. I was 11 months away from the game, and to produce that level and go toe-to-toe with one of the best players in the world, I’m pretty proud. I actually physically felt pretty good. I’m sore now.”
Dominic Thiem fights off Nick Kyrgios and a rowdy crowd to overturn a two-set deficit and reach the Australian Open fourth round.
Milos Raonic made it through to the Australian Open Round of 16 for the eighth time on Friday, as he overcame Marton Fucsovics 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
The 14th seed landed 47 winners and won 71 per cent of his net points (25/35) to advance in three hours and 13 minutes. With his third win in as many ATP Head2Head encounters against Fucsovics, Raonic improved to 34-10 at Melbourne Park.
Raonic found his best level when it mattered most in the first set. The Canadian landed multiple aces, ripped a forehand winner from outside the tramline and forced Fucsovics into backhand errors to dominate the tie-break and take a one-set lead.
Fucsovics responded well in the second set with an early break. Despite failing to consolidate his advantage, the Hungarian levelled the match by breaking serve at 6-5 with multiple forehand winners.
Fucsovics began to struggle with his movement in the third set and Raonic took full advantage. The 2016 semi-finalist earned back-to-back service breaks in both the third and fourth sets to claim his spot in the Round of 16.
The 30-year-old will attempt to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the sixth time on Sunday. Raonic will face the winner of eight-time champion Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz’s third-round clash on Rod Laver Arena.
Australian Open players savour the crowds before a five-day lockdown begins that will mean no fans at Melbourne Park.
Sixth seed Alexander Zverev kicked his Australian Open title bid into high gear on Friday with a commanding 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Adrian Mannarino to reach the fourth round.
Zverev, who reached the semi-finals here last year, was facing Mannarino for the fourth time in less than six months when they met inside Rod Laver Arena. Each meeting has been a victorious but hard-fought affair for Zverev, who needed two tie-breaks in their most recent meeting at the Rolex Paris Masters to win 7-6(11), 6-7(7), 6-4.
It was much more straightforward for Zverev against Mannarino, with the German saving all three break points he faced and firing 19 aces and 35 winners en route to victory.
Zverev dictated play with clean and patient hitting from the baseline, firing flat and aggressive shots to take time away from Mannarino and control the court. Mannarino struggled to read the German’s powerful serves, especially his second serve – which Zverev regularly hits with as much power and pace as most other players’ first serves.
Mannarino’s return position forced him to either hit the ball high out of his strike zone or cede ground from the baseline. The Frenchman chose the former as he tried to stay aggressive, but as a result he wasn’t able to keep Zverev under pressure for more than a few stretches throughout the match.
Zverev needed an hour and 43 minutes to move into the fourth round, where he awaits the winner of No. 23 seed Dusan Lajovic and Pedro Martinez of Spain.
The Australian state shuts down over a dozen cases but the Grand Slam will continue in Melbourne.