Milos Raonic remained positive, but admitted his surprise at the cooler conditions on Tuesday night, when he lost to seven-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(1) in two hours and 49 minutes.

“Overall, there has been a lot of positive things for me this week,” said Raonic, who reached his fourth quarter-final (or better) at the first Grand Slam championship of the season. “I think that’s where my focus is at.

“Today was a tough match. I knew it was going to be tough. I knew I was going to have to do things well. The conditions were tough. It was one of the first times, I think really, that I’ve played here, definitely at this tournament, when it’s this cold in the evening. So it made it a little bit slower. I knew that was going to be a challenge. But I just tried to make the best of it. He was just too good.”

Former World No. 3 Raonic, who began the tournament at No. 35 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after a series of injuries in 2019, admitted, “I think I came in with sort of the wrong game plan. I think I needed to mix up speeds a little bit more. I think I was trying to play through him a little bit too much at the beginning.

“[With Novak and] all the other top guys, once they can get into a groove, get their balance behind them, things get more difficult. He was in a lot of my service games. I was sort of holding on. But eventually at one point he found an opening. I think I needed to execute a little bit better, maybe go in with a different approach.”

Raonic, the No. 32 seed, beat Lorenzo Giustino, Cristian Garin, No. 6 seed and last year’s semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2018 finalist Marin Cilic en route to this year’s quarter-finals at Melbourne Park. He hit 48 winners, including 18 aces on Tuesday against Djokovic, but dropped to 0-10 lifetime against the Serbian star.

Having overcome back, right knee and hip injuries in 2019, the Canadian has started to train differently in the new season.

“You try to do different things [and] try to find solutions,” said Raonic. “You try to find a way to stay healthy, to be able to consistently play. Sometimes things work. Sometimes they don’t… You can’t really know until you go through it. I’ve been training a different way. Hopefully that gives me the freedom to play and I can be playing week after week, finishing tournaments healthy. Then not think about much more than getting to the next one and preparing as best as I can for it.”

The 29-year-old is next expected to compete at the New York Open, which begins on 10 February.

Roger Federer holds a perfect (14-0) record in Australian Open quarter-finals and is now one set away from maintaining his unbeaten streak. The third seed fought back from the brink of defeat, erasing seven match points to even the score with Tennys Sandgren at 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6(8) in their epic clash on Tuesday.

The winner of this match will meet second-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic or No. 32 seed Milos Raonic of Canada. Sandgren has never played Raonic and lost both of his previous ATP Head2Head meetings with Djokovic in Grand Slams (2018 Wimbledon & US Open).

Federer trails Djokovic 23-26 in their ATP Head2Head rivalry and has lost their past three matches in Melbourne, all of which took place in the semi-finals (2008, 2011, 2016). The Swiss leads Raonic 11-3 in their ATP Head2Head series and won their lone clash at this event in 2013. 

Federer applied pressure from the first ball in the opening set. Sandgren erased a pair of break points in his first service game, then fought back from 0/40 two games later. But Federer kept knocking on the door and it opened at 3-2, with the six-time champion securing a break after Sandgren sent a backhand long. He maintained his slight advantage and cracked a first serve on set point to take the early lead.

The Swiss has been prone to streaks of unforced errors this fortnight and endured another spell of them early in the second set. With Sandgren using his outstanding speed to make Federer play one more ball, the 28-year-old tracked down a deep forehand on break point at 1-0 and floated up a high lob, drawing a smash error from the Federer to grab his first break of the day.

Federer struggled to find the range on his shots, hitting 15 unforced errors throughout the second set. Serving at 2-5, the third seed’s backhand hit the top of the tape on set point and allowed Sandgren to level the match.

The unseeded American scored another break against the Swiss to lead 2-0 in the third set, causing the crowd inside Rod Laver Arena to gasp in unison. With the prospect of a maiden Grand Slam semi-final becoming more realistic, Sandgren blocked out any signs of nerves and remained calm.

Facing triple break point at 2/0, he unleashed a series of booming serves and eventually held. Sandgren continued to increase his first-serve percentage, beefing it up from 46 per cent in the first set to 70 per cent in the third set.

Federer left the court for a medical timeout at 3-0, but it didn’t change Sandgren’s dominance on serve. Most of his aces came in the Ad court, but he also consistently pushed the Swiss out wide to his forehand in the Deuce court, setting up one-two punches to keep the points short.

Although Federer’s movement appeared to be hampered, he continued to fight for every point. He bravely erased five set points on his serve at 5-2, but Sandgren converted his sixth chance after a Federer backhand found the net. Sandgren pumped his fist at his team as he moved closer to a career-defining win.

Read More: Why Sandgren Won’t Take His Shot At Federer For Granted

Both players traded comfortable service holds in the fourth set until Sandgren reached match point with Federer serving at 4-5. But the prospect of defeating the six-time champion suddenly showed in the American’s groundstrokes, with three match point opportunities vanishing due to nervy errors. Federer eventually held with a forehand winner and brought the crowd to their feet.

Sandgren remained calm and erased a break point at 5-5 to keep himself out in front. The set eventually moved to a tie-break and it was Federer who blinked first, hitting a loose forehand to give the American a 4/3 mini-break advantage. Another three match points came Sandgren’s way at 6/3, but the Swiss shockingly erased all of them and leveled the score at 6/5 with a swinging forehand volley winner.

A seventh match point came and went at 7/6 after Sandgren hit a slice backhand into the net. Federer, at long last, earned a set point of his own at 8/7, but the American quickly removed it with an ace. Federer secured a 9/8 mini-break lead after the American pulled a forehand wide and brought the match to a decider after Sandgren sent a smash from the baseline well long.

More to come…

Rafael Nadal defeated Nick Kyrgios in four sets on Monday evening in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Afterwards, the top seed paid the home favourite the highest of compliments on his efforts in Melbourne.

“I saw him playing during the whole tournament almost every match, and he has been great, with a very positive attitude. Personally, I like to watch him play when he’s doing that way,” Nadal said. “I think everybody likes to watch Nick play when he’s able to play like this. His talent is to be one of the best [players] of the world, without a doubt, with good chances to fight for every tournament.’’

The World No. 1 expected a tough match against the Aussie, whom he now leads 5-3 in their ATP Head2Head series. Kyrgios has beaten Nadal at a Grand Slam before (2014 Wimbledon), so the legendary lefty knew that if the 24-year-old was on his game inside Rod Laver Arena, he would be in for a battle.

“When he wants to play tennis, when he’s focussed on what he’s doing, I think he’s a very important player for our sport because he has a big talent,” Nadal said. “He’s one of these players that can be very, very interesting for the crowd.”

What was Nadal’s secret to success? According to the 19-time Grand Slam champion, he wasn’t zoned in on a specific tactic or pattern against Kyrgios.

“What I had to do is play my best tennis. When I go on court, you can try to think about a couple of things, but at the end what really matters is to play well,” Nadal said. “I know if I am playing my tennis and I am able to do it well, I am probably going to have my chances. If not, it will be much more difficult.”

Kyrgios has one of the biggest serves on the ATP Tour, an electric forehand and a two-handed backhand that, with its brief backswing, could neutralise offence aimed in its direction. But for Nadal, it was about exerting his game style in the rallies.

“I try to do my game. Of course, there are a couple of things that you always try to [do to] make that happen. I think I have been playing well. It’s always the same thing: when we have been playing rallies, I feel more or less in control of the point,” Nadal said. “I think I played well from the baseline, changing directions, changing rhythms, playing aggressive with my forehand and backhand.

“The problem is when he’s serving, you don’t have many chances. He has a big serve, so you are under pressure the whole match. That’s the story about playing against the big servers, especially Nick, who is a big server [and] is a very good player from the baseline, too. So you’re under pressure during the whole match.”

Nadal will next face fifth seed Dominic Thiem for a spot in the semi-finals.

After falling to Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, Nick Kyrgios reflected on an emotional start to the season and the recent progress he has made on and off the court.

The 24-year-old pushed World No. 1 Nadal to a fourth-set tie-break in front of a vocal crowd at Rod Laver Arena, but was disappointed not to be able to level his ATP Head2Head series against the 2009 champion at 4-4.

“I’m shattered to have lost tonight… These are the matches that I want to win the most,” said Kyrgios.

Having started the 2020 ATP Tour season with a run to the semi-finals at the inaugural ATP Cup with Team Australia, Kyrgios entered the Australian Open with a 3-1 record and a growing level of support from the home crowd.

The six-time ATP Tour titlist impressed fans throughout his campaign at Melbourne Park, securing wins against Lorenzo Sonego and Gilles Simon in his opening two rounds.

But the Canberra native showcased the best of his abilities and an impressive fighting spirit in one of the matches of the tournament, shrugging off the disappointment of failing to convert match points in sets three and four to outlast Karen Khachanov in a final-set tie-break on Saturday.

“I feel like I’ve made progress as a human. A tennis player… I want to keep going in this direction, for sure,” said Kyrgios.

It was clear to see as Kyrgios entered the court on Monday evening that the news of NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s passing was at the forefront of his mind.

Kyrgios entered the Rod Laver Arena wearing Bryant’s LA Lakers jersey and had tears in his eyes in the moments before the first point of the match.

“I never met Kobe. But basketball is practically my life,” said Kyrgios. “I watch it every day. I’ve been following it for as long as I can remember.

“When I woke up to the news, it was pretty emotional. It was pretty heavy, like, all day. Obviously, I was having basketball on at my house, watching the games. I was heavy. Yeah, it’s just tough. It’s horrible news.”

Kyrgios took inspiration from Bryant during his four-set loss to Nadal, thinking about the five-time NBA champion as he battled from a break down in the fourth set to force a tie-break.

“If anything, it motivated me. If you look at the things he stood for, what he wanted to be remembered by, I felt like, if anything, it helped me tonight,” said Kyrgios. “When I was down a break in the fourth, I was definitely thinking about it. I fought back.

Bryant’s tragic death comes during a devastating period for Kyrgios’ home country, as communities across Australia continue to suffer the effects of widespread bushfires.

Kyrgios inspired many of his fellow players and the wider tennis community to come together and support bushfire relief efforts, pledging to donate AUD $200 for every ace he hit during the Australian summer. The 23rd seed landed 25 aces during his match against Nadal, raising AUD $5,000.

Kyrgios also joined forces fellow players, including Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer, for Rally For Relief. The fundraising event hosted at Rod Laver Arena five days before the tournament raised almost AUD $5 million for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

“If anything, [the bushfires] did fuel me and made me play harder,” said Kyrgios. “They’re still going, everything is still going.

“The last month for me has been pretty hectic, pretty emotional. I’m pretty tired. I want to try to continue to help where I can.”