Tennis News

Fritz: 'The Big Three Are Built Differently'

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.

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Australian Open: Nick Kyrgios wins set with underarm serve ace but loses to Dominic Thiem

Nick Kyrgios wins the second set with an underarm serve ace, but ends up losing to Dominic Thiem in five sets.

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Kyrgios: 'I Left It All Out There'

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.”

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Australian Open: Thiem beats Kyrgios, Zverev through but Schwartzman stunned

Dominic Thiem fights off Nick Kyrgios and a rowdy crowd to overturn a two-set deficit and reach the Australian Open fourth round.

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Raonic Makes It Eight In Melbourne

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.

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Australian Open: Players savour last day of crowds before five-day Victoria lockdown

Australian Open players savour the crowds before a five-day lockdown begins that will mean no fans at Melbourne Park.

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Zverev Maintains Mannarino Mastery To Reach Fourth Round

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.

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Victoria to enter lockdown but Australian Open unaffected

The Australian state shuts down over a dozen cases but the Grand Slam will continue in Melbourne.

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Feliciano Reaps The Rewards For His Sacrifice In Melbourne

Feliciano Lopez made a last-minute decision to travel to Melbourne to play in the Australian Open. The arrival of his first son, Darío, presented the Spaniard with a dilemma: stay at home with his family or pack his bags to play in his 75th consecutive Grand Slam, an astonishing testament to his longevity.

Having chosen the latter, the Spaniard boarded a plane a few days after becoming a father for the first time, preparing to separate himself from his loved ones for some time. (Players were obliged to self-isolate on arrival in Melbourne as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.) On Thursday, Lopez knew that his sacrifice was worth it when, at 39 years old, he came back to beat Lorenzo Sonego 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the third round of the season’s first Grand Slam.

“It was very hard for me to leave my family at home,” admitted the No. 65 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after his win, which he celebrated by covering his face with his towel to hide his tears. “I was kind of emotional about the whole situation in general. Because of the gift life has given me of being able to be in the third round of a Grand Slam at my age. You have to try and make the most of it,” he explained. “I wasn’t expecting to come back in a match like today’s, playing at this level and staying alive. Even though it may not seem important being in the third round of a Grand Slam, in my specific case it’s something I value greatly.

“Until the last minute I wasn’t sure if I’d come or not,” recognised Lopez, who became a father on 4 January. “On the one hand, I felt like it was an effort I should make,” he continued. “At almost 40 years of age, I wouldn’t consider coming here in the current situation, if it weren’t for tournaments like this that give me the desire to train every day. That’s what keeps me excited. These tournaments are much more important than they were.” 

After losing the first two sets of his clash with Sonego, the Spaniard, who has been the director of the Mutua Madrid Open since 2019, lifted his game to produce a spectacular comeback. The result means, for the sixth time in his long career, Lopez overhauled a 0-2 deficit to win a match. Possibly, this was the most special of them all.

“These tournaments give me the extra motivation and desire I need to keep training every day,” said the Spaniard. “Coming back from 0-2 in a Grand Slam is something very special for me at this time,” continued Lopez, who has a clear plan for his future on the ATP Tour. “My idea is to live in the moment. If I continue to play at this level, and finish the year with a good ranking, I’ll play in 2022. I have to make the most of this gift that tennis is giving me.”

Lopez now faces a tough challenge: In his first third-round match at a Grand Slam since the 2019 US Open and his first at the Australian Open since 2016, he will meet Andrey Rublev, currently one of the most in-form players in the world.

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Djokovic’s ‘Season Of Giving’ Helps Build 2 Preschools

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic recently celebrated an early-season win off the tennis court as the Novak Djokovic Foundation raised nearly a quarter of a million euros to promote early childhood education in Serbia.

The Novak Djokovic Foundation’s third Season of Giving campaign rallied fans and supporters from around the world to raise €108,000 with the goal of opening a preschool in both Vajska and Ljubis, two villages in Serbia. Novak and his wife, Jelena Djokovic, then matched the donations, ensuring that over 100 children will have access to crucial early education.

“Thank you so much for supporting our Season of Giving campaign. In the past two months, we’ve managed to raise €108.000!” Jelena, co-founder and Global CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation said. “We’ve reached our goal and exceeded our goal. Novak and I will match your donations, so we will have a quarter of a million to invest in opening two new kindergartens in Serbia in two villages. This means a lot to us.”

 

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With the donations, the foundation will be building the first preschool in the village of Ljubis, where children previously travelled around five kilometers every day to learn with their peers. For Vajska, a place where as many as 25 different national minorities live in harmony, the new preschool will aim to reach as many children from marginalised groups as possible.

“Thanks to social media, thanks to your word and support and help, we’ve had more than a thousand individuals who donated their money, and multiplied our message,” Jelena said. “This is something that means a lot to us. Thank you so much for believing in our mission, in our team, and for believing in their dreams.”

Since 2007, the Novak Djokovic Foundation has been an advocate for childhood education and inclusive early education that supports children from disadvantaged communities – especially in Novak’s and Jelena’s native Serbia. The Djokovic family also supported Serbia’s battle against COVID-19 last year, donating €1 million for the purchase of ventilators and medical equipment to support hospitals and medical institutions.

Did You Know?
The Novak Djokovic Foundation received an ATP ACES For Charity grant in 2013, 2017 and 2020. In 2012, Djokovic was named the ATP Tour’s Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year in the ATP Awards.

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