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Nadal withdraws from Brisbane but hopes to be fit for Australian Open

  • Posted: Jan 02, 2019

Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Brisbane International with a left thigh strain but hopes to be fit for the Australian Open this month.

The world number two said he had wanted to play but that after an MRI scan his doctors had advised him not to.

“They say if I play here, there is a risk… to not have the chance to play Melbourne,” he said in a statement.

The Spaniard, 32, missed November’s ATP Finals to have ankle surgery, having also had an abdominal muscle problem.

Japan’s Taro Daniel will replace Nadal in round two in Brisbane against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Nadal withdrew from an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week after losing his opening match to Kevin Anderson.

“I felt a little bit the leg, the tightening in Abu Dhabi,” the 17-time Grand Slam singles champion said.

“I have to be ready to understand that this kind of stuff happens when you’re coming back from injuries. I have to accept and keep going.”

The Australian Open in Melbourne runs from 14-27 January.

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Johanna Konta beaten by Ajla Tomljanovic in Brisbane

  • Posted: Jan 02, 2019

Johanna Konta’s Brisbane International campaign ended in round two after defeat by Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.

The world number 37, who beat former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round, lost 6-2 7-6 (7-2).

Tomljanovic lost to Konta at last year’s event but this time led 4-0 in the second set before the British number one fought back.

Konta broke to lead 6-5 but her opponent broke straight back to force the tie-break, which she swept through.

Earlier, British number four Harriet Dart lost 6-2 6-0 to Latvian world number 11 Anastasija Sevastova.

Meanwhile, at the Shenzhen Open in China, Maria Sharapova consoled her Chinese opponent Wang Xinyu after she was forced to retire during their match.

Wang, the youngest player in the tournament at 17 years old, led 6-7 (4-7) 5-2 when she was forced to pull out and she sat on her chair receiving medical attention with a bandage on her left thigh.

Five-time Grand Slam winner and fifth seed Sharapova went over to comfort the wildcard, chatting at length and saying “you played unbelievable”.

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Edmund stunned by qualifier in Brisbane

  • Posted: Jan 02, 2019

British number one Kyle Edmund suffered a shock defeat by Japan’s world number 185 Yasutaka Uchiyama in the second round of the Brisbane International.

Edmund, the world number 14 and third seed, lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to the qualifier.

The Briton, who had a bye in the first round, failed to convert two set points in the opening set.

He was broken to love in the third game of the second set and Uchiyama went on to wrap it up quickly.

Britain’s former world number one Andy Murray, playing in his first tournament since September, will be in action later on Wednesday when he faces Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.

In the women’s event, British number four Harriet Dart lost 6-2 6-0 to Latvian world number 11 Anastasija Sevastova.

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Dimitrov Races Past Millman, Into Brisbane QF

  • Posted: Jan 02, 2019

Dimitrov Races Past Millman, Into Brisbane QF

Jan022019

Third seed Edmund knocked out

Twelve months ago, Grigor Dimitrov needed to save two match points to beat hometown favourite John Millman at the Brisbane International.

On Wednesday, however, Dimitrov needed only two sets. The 2017 champion held off a second-set comeback to accelerate his clean start to the 2019 season, 6-3, 6-4.

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Dimitrov led by a set and double break, 6-3, 4-1. But Millman served for a 5-4 advantage before Dimitrov broke for the fourth time and then served out the second-round match.

The Bulgarian is into the quarter-finals for the sixth time in seven Brisbane appearances. He will next meet American Denis Kudla or second seed Kei Nishikori of Japan. Nishikori leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 4-1; Dimitrov and Kudla split their two prior matchups.

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Japanese qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama earned the upset of the tournament so far. The 26-year-old, No. 185 in the ATP Rankings, dismissed third seed Kyle Edmund of Great Britain 7-6(6), 6-4.

Uchiyama hit 15 aces and saved all three break points faced to knock out the World No. 14 Edmund, who made the Australian Open semi-finals last year. Uchiyama will will meet either Aussie Nick Kyrgios or Jeremy Chardy of France for a place in the semi-finals.

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Del Potro To Miss 2019 Australian Open

  • Posted: Jan 02, 2019

Del Potro To Miss 2019 Australian Open

Jan022019

Argentine not ready to share where he’ll start his 2019 season

Juan Martin del Potro will miss the season’s first Grand Slam because he’s still recovering from a fractured patella suffered in October.

The World No. 5 is coming off one of his best seasons and was expected to contend for the Australian Open title. Last year, he matched his personal year-end best ATP Ranking, beat Roger Federer to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title (Indian Wells), made his second Grand Slam final (US Open) and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals.

You May Also Like: So Far, So Good For Murray In 2019

But the 30-year-old Argentine didn’t play again after falling on his right knee at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Del Potro retired from his third-round match against Borna Coric at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Del Potro wrote on Twitter, “Recovery is going great and I will tell you later where I will be making my comeback. Unfortunately it won’t happen in Australia, I’ll miss you Australian Open, but I’m happy with my progress.”

Del Potro reached the third round of the Australian Open last year, the first time he had played in Melbourne since 2014. Wrist injuries forced him to miss the tournament from 2015-2016, and he opted for a longer off-season before starting the 2017 season at the Delray Beach Open.

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Kyrgios Approaches Serving Record In Brisbane

  • Posted: Jan 01, 2019

Kyrgios Approaches Serving Record In Brisbane

Jan012019

Aussie hits 44 aces in first match of the 2019 season

Could Nick Kyrgios’ infamous spider bite have given him special serving powers?

Kyrgios nearly made serving history on Tuesday at the Brisbane International, hitting 44 aces in his first-round victory against Ryan Harrison. That is tied for the second most aces in a best-of-three set tour-level match since such records were first kept in 1991. The only player who has hit more aces in best-of-three action was Ivo Karlovic, who struck 45 aces against Tomas Berdych in Halle three years ago.

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Could Kyrgios have served any better in his first match of the 2019 ATP Tour season?

“I don’t think so,” Kyrgios said. “I needed every single one of them today, though.”

Kyrgios landed 80 first served in a rematch of the 2017 Brisbane final, meaning that 55 per cent of his first-serve points resulted in aces. The Aussie lost just seven service points in the final set, ultimately winning the match in a third-set tie-break after two hours and eight minutes.

Most Aces In A Best-Of-Three Match

 Player  Opponent  Year  Tournament  Aces
 Ivo Karlovic  Tomas Berdych  2015  Halle  45 
 Nick Kyrgios  Ryan Harrison  2019  Brisbane  44
 Ivo Karlovic  Daniel Brands  2014  Zagreb  44
 Mark Philippoussis  Byron Black  1995  Kuala Lumpur  44
 John Isner  Gilles Muller  2016  Queen’s Club  43
 Mardy Fish  Olivier Rochus  2007  Lyon  43

“My serve is always something that I know that I can go back on, and today it came through again,” Kyrgios said.

The defending champion wasn’t the only one serving rockets on Pat Rafter Arena on Tuesday, though. Harrison hit 27 aces himself, earning praise from Kyrgios.

“He was serving well today as well,” Kyrgios said. “I thought that his serve improved a lot since the last time I played him, which was last year at this time. His serve was a lot harder to read.”

Kyrgios will hope to serve at or near the same level in the second round against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

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