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Australian Open: Angelique Kerber beats Camila Giorgi in three sets

  • Posted: Jan 25, 2020
2020 Australian Open
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 20 January to 2 February
Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and online; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app.

Angelique Kerber was made to fight by Camila Giorgi but managed to get past the Italian in three sets and reach the Australian Open fourth round.

Germany’s Kerber, the 2016 champion in Melbourne, won 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-3.

It was a battle between Giorgi’s aggression and Kerber’s defence with the Italian’s 65 unforced errors key as the 17th seed went through in two hours and eight minutes.

Kerber will face Karolina Pliskova or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova next.

  • Where does Melbourne exit leave Williams’ chase for another Grand Slam?
  • Gauff shines before getting on with homework, Federer through and Williams exits on epic day five
  • Live scores, schedule and results
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Kiki Bertens column: Achilles injury stopped me playing doubles with Barty

  • Posted: Jan 25, 2020

Kiki Bertens, the Dutch world number 10, is the latest WTA Tour star to feature in a BBC Sport column. In her third piece at the Australian Open, the 2016 French Open semi-finalist talks about matching her best run in Melbourne, her sadness at hearing Dutch wheelchair legend Esther Vergeer is fighting cancer and whether there should be a punishment for ‘unnecessary’ medical time-outs.

If you didn’t see my second-round match in the Australian Open then that’s a good thing – it was not a great one from my perspective!

The most important thing was that I won and I still managed to do that in two sets against Australian wildcard Arina Rodionova, despite not being at my best.

That win puts me into the third round in Melbourne for only the second time in my career so I’m very happy about that.

Now I will play Kazakhstan’s world number 73 Zarina Diyas on Saturday for a place in the fourth round. Reaching the last 16 would be my best ever run here.

I’ve played Zarina once before when she beat me in Tokyo four years ago – that’s quite a long time ago in tennis terms.

I think I’m a different player now, as I’ve explained in my previous columns, but she is playing really flat so that makes it tricky.

Against Rodionova, I wasn’t at my best because my legs weren’t moving that great.

That had nothing to do with the Achilles injury which forced me to pull out of Adelaide last week and which I am continuing to manage.

My side-to-side movement was really good and I got a lot of balls back in the court. It was more like when I had opportunities to come forward I wasn’t really going through the ball with my legs.

So I stopped doing that and I was just trying to make as many balls as I could and let her finish it.

The injury did not bother me at all, but my team and I are still trying to find a balance so it does not become a bigger problem. That’s why I decided not to play doubles here.

Sometimes I like to play doubles to get some matches in, I know the more matches I play the better the level of my tennis is going to be.

But at the moment my recovery is helped by the day off between matches, meaning I can rest and have just a light practice to be ready again for the next match.

I played alongside Australian world number one Ash Barty in Brisbane earlier this month and I loved playing with her, especially in her home town.

It would have been an amazing experience to play with Ash here, but it was the best decision physically not to play in the doubles.

Players need to consider if they really need medical timeouts

Earlier this week the issue of tactical medical timeouts was raised again when Caroline Wozniacki questioned why Dayana Yastremska used one at a crucial point towards the end of their second-round match.

Obviously taking a medical timeout is allowed at any stage of the match and you can do what you want to do.

I don’t exactly know what happened in this situation and maybe it was a genuine injury.

I would like to see a rule change – or at least a discussion around the issue – where you can have an injury timeout but then you lose a point.

I think it needs something to make players consider if they really need the timeout.

I was sad to hear Dutch legend Vergeer’s cancer diagnosis

Earlier this week I read the terrible news that Dutch wheelchair tennis legend Esther Vergeer has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Esther won an incredible 470 successive matches between 2003 and her retirement in 2013; that is why she is one of the biggest names in sport back home.

It is always really sad when you read something like that but it was good to hear her say she is full of positive energy.

I have met her on a few occasions and we know each other to say hello.

She is a huge star in the Netherlands and what she did for the sport in our country is unbelievable.

Diede de Groot is now the women’s number one wheelchair player in the world and I think that is partly because Esther made the sport so big and inspired so many good players.

Esther is loved back home and means a lot to the people. She has done a lot for sport in the Netherlands and now she is chef de mission this year for the Paralympics in Tokyo so she is still really involved.

I wish her all the best in her fight and hope she returns to full health soon.

No time for an escape room, but I have been to the casino

Melbourne is a great city and one of the favourites place on tour for many players.

I’ve been playing and practising a lot – which is a good thing, of course – so I haven’t done much yet around the city, other than a few dinners.

On Wednesday night we had a special dinner; actually, it was the birthday of my coach Elise Tamaela.

We went to Nobu – which is a favourite for the players – and that was a really nice celebration.

We got Elise a cake and it was brought to the table so we could sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her. She was really happy with that… not!

Also I went to the casino one night with my team, although I don’t play too much.

I just like to walk around and look at what is happening. It means we don’t lose too much money!

I like to play a little bit of blackjack and a little bit of roulette but I’m not a big gambler.

One thing I really love doing is an escape room. We did that before I arrived here in Melbourne and we are definitely planning to do one here when we get the time.

But hopefully not too soon because that will mean I’m still winning!

Kiki Bertens was speaking to BBC Sport’s Jonathan Jurejko at Melbourne Park.

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The Djokovic Secret Weapon Hiding In Plain Sight In Melbourne

  • Posted: Jan 25, 2020

The Djokovic Secret Weapon Hiding In Plain Sight In Melbourne

Jan242020

No. 2 seed sets personal-best mark for aces through three matches at a major

Seven-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is not known for his serve. But based on his performance so far this fortnight, perhaps the second seed should be.

The Serbian superstar has hit 47 aces in his first three matches of the tournament, the most he has struck in the first three rounds of any Grand Slam in his career. When he arrived in Melbourne, Djokovic had hit at least 14 aces in a match 33 times (not including Davis Cup), tallying a 29-4 record. He has now accomplished the feat three times (3-0), with a battle against Argentine Diego Schwartzman looming in the fourth round.

“I think in terms of service rhythm that I have at the moment, winning percentage from the first serves is really high,” Djokovic said after his third-round win against Yoshihito Nishioka. “So that’s probably as best as my serve can actually be in the moment, which I’m very pleased with. It allows me to go quicker through my games and win more dominantly my service games and put additional pressure on the service games of my opponents. That’s definitely something that’s useful going towards the second week of the Grand Slam.”

Djokovic’s Serving In Melbourne Through Three Matches – 2019 vs. 2020

 Category  2019  2020
 Aces  23  47
 Double Faults  7  10
 First-Serve Percentage  67.8% (164/242)  69.7% (152/218)
 First-Serve Points Won  77.4% (127/164)  86.8% (132/152)
 Second-Serve Points Won  64.1% (50/78)  56.1% (37/66)
 Break Points Saved  6/12  2/6

Djokovic won this tournament last year. Through three rounds, he is winning a significantly higher percentage of first-serve points in 2020 compared to 2019. Last year, the Serbian won 77.4 per cent of points behind his first delivery through three matches (127/164). This year he is up to 86.8 per cent (132/152).

The 16-time Grand Slam champion is also well ahead in the aces department. Djokovic struck only 23 aces through three matches last year. And perhaps what fans will be most impressed by is his performance in his second and third-round matches combined.

Djokovic lost only six total first-serve points against Japanese Tatsuma Ito and Nishioka (86/92) for a 93.5 winning percentage. In those two clashes, Djokovic held all of his service games, saving the only break point he faced.

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The 32-year-old had hit at least 16 aces just 12 times in his career, with all but two of those matches coming on grass. Djokovic matched that total against Ito and Nishioka, hitting 16 and 17 aces in those matches, respectively. The Australian Open is played on hard court.

“I think my serve was, again, very efficient and giving me a lot of free points, a lot of aces and service winners, which was the case in also the opening two matches of Australian Open,” Djokovic said.

The World No. 2’s serve will be put to the test against Schwartzman, who has proven himself one of the world’s best returners in recent years. The Argentine began the Australian Open ranked fourth among active players in return games won at 31.1 per cent, trailing only Rafael Nadal (33.5%), Djokovic (32%) and Andy Murray (31.7%), each of whom has reached the No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking.

Did You Know?
Both Djokovic and former World No. 3 Milos Raonic have played three matches thus far at this year’s Australian Open. Each man has hit 47 aces. Entering the tournament, Raonic averaged more than 15 aces per match for his career, while Djokovic has averaged just more than five.

– Statistical assistance provided by Joshua Rey.

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Diego Schwartzman: Why Height Doesn't Define Me

  • Posted: Jan 24, 2020

Diego Schwartzman: Why Height Doesn’t Define Me

Jan242020

In the newest installation of ATPTour.com’s My Point series, Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who next plays seven-time champion Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, explains why being 5’7″ was the least difficult hurdle for him to overcome to get where he is now as a professional tennis player

A lot of people ask me about my height.

How does being 5’7” affect you as a tennis pro? What do you think you could have done if you were taller?

My answer is always the same: I have worse problems than being 10 centimetres shorter than everybody else.

When I walk onto a tennis court, I don’t think about how tall I am or how much bigger my opponent is. I know there is a difference, but so what?

Maybe if I was 10 or 15 centimetres taller, I’d have a better serve or be able to hit with more power. But my height isn’t going to change. I’m not going to wake up the size of John Isner or Ivo Karlovic.

There are reasons that I might not have made it here, but they have nothing to do with my size.

Before I was born, my family earned an amazing living in South America. They owned a clothing and jewelry company that made them a lot of money. They had a house in Uruguay where they went every December and January to enjoy the summer. They had a house in the capital and another one outside the capital. They owned many cars. Life was amazing.

But things changed when I was born. My family lost everything. In the 1990s in Argentina, the government cut imports. My father kept spending money to try to get things from outside the country, but there was no chance and he started doing worse and worse and worse. It was terrible. My mom tried to get the material for clothes from China, but there was no way to get it in Argentina.

My family had no more business, no more extra houses and cars. Just me, my two older brothers, my older sister and my parents trying to make a living for us.

Because we didn’t have a lot of money, it was really tough to start playing tennis or any sport for that matter. We really couldn’t afford it. But I played as much as I could.

I was actually named after football legend Diego Maradona, so of course one of the sports I played was football. When I was little, my grandmother bought me uniforms from European teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona. The first team I played for, I scored a lot. I would go to the club to try tennis, too, wearing those same jerseys my grandmother got me. If the courts were full, I would play in a hallway with my father. We always used adult racquets even if I was little, because I never liked the kids racquets.

Schwartzman

As the years went by, I realised that in tennis, most things depended on me, and not others around me. It would be about the effort I put in, and there was a charm about knowing I would be rewarded for the work I put in. I also was better at tennis than football, so I wanted to take it more seriously.

I started travelling to many tournaments with my mother. My dad would promise me that he booked us a nice hotel with TV, computer, Internet and everything that we needed.

Why are you lying?

I used to call him all the time to ask that. There was never a TV, and at almost every tournament we went to we had to share one bed. We stayed once at a hotel because a room cost only two pesos.

It was the same thing over and over, but we had no choice. This is what we could afford.

At one point, we were even selling rubber bracelets that were left over from the business my family had. We did anything we could do to get money to pay for trips to tournaments and the travel costs.

Looking back, it was a tough situation. But at the time, it was funny. I helped my mom selling the bracelets, and so did some of the other players. Between matches we would all run around with a bag of bracelets to see who could sell the most, and my mom would give them 20 per cent of the money. It was like two competitions in one — tennis and selling bracelets!

I sort of understood at the time why we did all this, but I didn’t feel it, because my parents were trying to work hard to let me focus on playing and travelling while they worried about the money.

When I was 13, I began to go on flights by myself to places like Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, and I would cry on the plane. I wanted to be with my family. But playing those events was part of my journey. And I know that even if those times were difficult, they helped me become a better competitor.

Also, when I was 13, a doctor told me I would never be taller than 5’7”. I know I told you that height doesn’t mean much. But back then, I was devastated. I didn’t know what I was going to be able to do well with my life if the doctor was right. I didn’t know if I still wanted to play tennis.

My parents didn’t let me get down, though. They told me my height shouldn’t influence my dreams. And luckily, when I was 15 or 16, I started to have many people around who tried to help me with money, travel, a coach, a trainer, with everything. At that point, it became easier for my family and me.

I was never a top junior — the only junior Grand Slam I played was the 2010 US Open qualifying, where I lost in the first round. I messaged my family that day that I didn’t know what I was doing there. But I don’t think about all of those tough times much anymore. And once I became a professional, I never doubted myself, no matter the odds.

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I always had confidence in my game and my career. I always thought I could do it. Here I am now, competing with the best players in the world.

Knowing what my family went through taught me valuable lessons about the importance of family, and gave me a better understanding of how to look at the bigger picture when it comes to sports. Whatever happens in my career doesn’t compare to what my parents endured.

But even all of that pales into comparison to what my ancestors went through. I have Jewish roots, and my great grandfather on my mom’s side, who lived in Poland, was put on a train to a concentration camp during the Holocaust.

The coupling that connected two of the train’s cars somehow broke. Part of the train kept going, and the other stayed behind. That allowed everyone trapped inside, including my great grandfather, to run for their lives. Luckily, he made it without being caught. Just thinking about it makes me realise how lives can change in a heartbeat.

My great grandfather brought his family by boat to Argentina. When they arrived, they spoke Yiddish and no Spanish. My father’s family was from Russia, and they also went to Argentina by boat. It wasn’t easy for all of them to totally change their lives after the war, but they did.

So from my ancestor escaping a train on its way to a concentration camp to staying in tiny hotel rooms and selling bracelets, I consider myself lucky. But everyone has a story. I’m not the only one who has faced adversity. It’s about not letting the tough moments drag you down, and using them as motivation to help you turn a bad situation into something good.

I never imagined my career being where it is now. But no matter what I’ve dealt with, I’ve always worked hard, and I think pushing through those hurdles has made me a better competitor and an even better person. If I can get this far, so can you. Believe in yourself no matter what, give everything you have and one day — even if you’re 5’7” — you can accomplish your dreams too.

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Read More ‘My Point’ First-Person Essays

– As told to Andrew Eichenholz, with reporting from Juan Diego Ramirez Carvajal and Marcos Zugasti.

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Gauff shines before getting on with homework, Federer through and Williams exits on epic day

  • Posted: Jan 24, 2020
2020 Australian Open
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 20 January to 2 February
Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and online; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app.

Thrillers in sport are like buses: you wait ages for one and then three come along at once.

The fifth day of the Australian Open saw 15-year-old Coco Gauff re-emerge and stun defending champion Naomi Osaka in a brutal display in Melbourne.

That came just after pre-tournament favourite Serena Williams, chasing a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, was knocked out by Wang Qiang.

And then Roger Federer capped the day by somehow coming through a five-set thriller against John Millman.

That’s all without mentioning Caroline Wozniacki bringing an end to her sterling 15-year career.

Oh, and defending Novak Djokovic breezed into the fourth round too…

  • Relive thrilling fifth day in Melbourne

‘What is my life?’

When Gauff was born in 2004, Venus Williams had won four of her seven Grand Slams.

Two years ago, Gauff lost in the first round in the Australian Open juniors. Even last year, when Osaka was lifting her second Slam trophy in Melbourne, Gauff was just 14 and ranked 684th in the world.

At 11pm on the night before her final qualifying match for Wimbledon 2019, Gauff stayed up to take a science test. The next morning, she took just under an hour to reach the main draw.

Wimbledon was her breakthrough; she stunned Venus in the first round and marched through to the last 16, where she lost to eventual champion Simona Halep.

Not every Slam performance has gone the teenager’s way – she was thrashed by Osaka at the US Open last year, with both players crying after Osaka’s 6-3 6-0 win.

October saw Gauff win her maiden WTA title. She spent the off-season practising with Serena Williams, whose posters she had on her wall. Former First Lady Michelle Obama asked for her autograph.

And then, on the fifth day in Melbourne, Gauff produced a mature, hard-hitting performance to end Osaka’s title defence in straight sets on the Rod Laver Arena.

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She admitted afterwards that while she had passed him in a corridor, she had yet to meet the Arena’s legendary namesake – and she wants a selfie for her Instagram.

“Oh my gosh. This is crazy,” Gauff said after her win over Osaka. “I don’t know where that came from. Honestly, like, what is my life?”

And Gauff’s reward for reaching the last 16 of a Slam?

“I’ll probably do homework tomorrow,” she said.

“My teachers are giving me some time because of the circumstances… they’re letting me submit some assignments late, so that’s nice.”

  • Gauff stuns Osaka – report & analysis

‘What she’s doing is nuts’ – reaction to Gauff win

Former world number five Daniela Hantuchova on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Coco just makes it look so natural. It’s why she’s going to be one of the greatest – if not the greatest – of all time.”

Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg: “What Coco Gauff is doing is nuts. It’s pretty hard to overstate that.”

TV presenter Richard Osman: “If Coco Gauff wins two Grand Slams a year until she’s Serena’s age – which you wouldn’t bet against – she’ll win 46.”

Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner: “I was nowhere near Coco’s level either on the court or off the court, not even close. I was nowhere near as smart and eloquent as she is. It’s nice to see.”

Federer fights demons in marathon win

When he was 8-4 down in the final set tie-break, Federer admitted he was getting ready to “explain myself in the press”.

He had lost his past three five-set Slam matches – including that epic Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic last year – and it was Millman who stunned him at the US Open in 2018.

But, after losing the first set, after serving five double faults and hitting 82 unforced errors, Federer somehow rallied to win the final six points of the match and claim victory in four hours three minutes.

“The demons – they’re always there, they’re lurking,” Federer said after his win.

“I can’t even speak any more. It came down to the wire.”

However the victory came, Federer is still in with a chance of claiming a seventh Australian Open trophy and a record-extending 21st Grand Slam title.

  • Federer battles into fourth round – report

‘Unprofessional’ Serena bows out

It was a different story for Serena Williams, who suffered her earliest exist in at the Australian Open since 2006 at the hands of Chinese 27th seed Wang.

Wang won just 15 points when the two last met at the US Open, but she dialled in to beat Williams 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 and reach the fourth round.

Williams has reached four Grand Slam finals since returning from maternity leave and has lost all four in straight sets.

She may be in her 23rd year as a professional but she says she still has the drive to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record.

“I don’t play just to have fun. To lose is really not fun,” she said.

“I just made far too many errors to be a professional athlete today.”

  • Williams out – report

Wozniacki says goodbye & Tsitsipas is knocked out

Williams was comforted in the locker room afterwards by her long-time friend Wozniacki, who retired after her third-round defeat by Ons Jabeur.

The crowd serenaded the Dane – a champion in Melbourne in 2018 – with ‘Sweet Caroline’ as she did a lap of honour.

Wozniacki announced in November that the Australian Open would be her last tournament.

Meanwhile, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas added to the shocks when he fell in straight sets to former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic of Canada.

Tsitsipas, who won the year-end ATP Tour finals in 2019 and beat Federer last year in Melbourne, said some of Raonic’s shots were like “getting punched in the face”.

“I felt a bit stupid returning his serves. It’s a strange game of tennis in general,” he added.

“It’s one shot that you can get knocked down all the time, and you’re just there, getting punched in the face with one shot.

  • Players pay tribute to emotional Wozniacki

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Six-time champion Federer survives scare to win in final-set tie-break

  • Posted: Jan 24, 2020
2020 Australian Open
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 20 January to 2 February
Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and online; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app.

Six-time champion Roger Federer survived a huge scare to beat unseeded Australian John Millman 10-8 in a final-set tie-break and reach the Australian Open fourth round.

The Swiss world number three won 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 4-6 7-6 (10-8) in an epic that lasted four hours three minutes.

Federer, 38, trailed 8-4 in the deciding tie-break – but won six points in a row to progress.

He will face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the fourth round.

  • Follow reaction to Federer’s thrilling victory
  • Live scores, schedule and results

Millman pushes Federer to the limit… again

Federer and Millman produced a match which will live long in the memory of those who saw it when the Australian earned the best win of his career against the flustered Swiss in the 2018 US Open fourth round.

This epic surpassed even that in terms of intensity and drama.

Millman pushed Federer to the limit on that humid night in New York and, in much cooler temperatures which did not sap the veteran of his physical strength this time, managed to do the same in Melbourne.

Rarely is the crowd on Rod Laver Arena not fully behind the 20-time Grand Slam champion, this occasion one of them with the 15,000 fans virtually split down the middle in their support.

The charismatic Millman always seems to enjoy his moments in the spotlight, unsurprising given he has had a long route to the big time after serious shoulder and groin injuries left him close to quitting.

Millman particularly thrives against Federer, who was powerless to stop some unnerving winners – typified by two crackerjacks in the match tie-break – and could not cope with his second serve.

But only a second victory against a top-10 player in 16 attempts – Federer, of course, also falling in the other – was snatched from his grasp as the Swiss won six straight points to seal victory at 00:50 local time in Melbourne.

“What a match. John deserves way more than half of this. He made it so difficult for me,” said Federer afterwards.

“He was doing all that stuff and kept on coming up with the goods. He deserves all the support – he is a great story and a great fighter.”

More to follow.

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