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Ram/Salisbury Continue Australian Open Title Pursuit

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2022

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open as a team for the third consecutive year on Wednesday, when they downed Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-2 in Melbourne.

The second seeds triumphed at this tournament two years ago, and they continued their bid to add to their trophy haul with a dominant performance against the Italians, breaking serve four times to advance after 76 minutes.

The American-British tandem captured their second Grand Slam title together at the US Open in September and also won their maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto last season.

Ram and Salisbury will next face Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell after the Australians clawed past Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) to snap the 11-match winning streak the 10th seeds were on.

“We’ve got to hand it to them, too. They were a classy pair,” Ebden said. Won [the] past two tournaments, in the quarters here. They came back at us hard and made it really tough. It’s a quality doubles [team].

“The key was helping each other out. I think we both lifted a little bit when the other one might have missed one or two. That was key. A couple returns, a couple extra serves, then the crowd really played a part.”

Ebden and Purcell fired 16 aces and won 80 per cent (51/64) of their first-serve points to triumph in two hours and 16 minutes. It is the second time Ebden and Purcell have joined forces, after reaching the quarter-finals at the US Open last year, where they lost to Ram and Salisbury.

Koolhof and Skupski have enjoyed a strong start to the season, capturing tour-level crowns at the Melbourne Summer Set and Adelaide International 2.

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Sinner: 'My Goal Is To Play Many Matches Likes This'

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2022

Jannik Sinner revealed he will take the positives out of his run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open after his tournament was ended by Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old, who was making his third appearance in Melbourne, dropped just one set en route to his second major quarter-final and believes the experience can help him develop further.

“Of course, it’s a positive tournament,” Sinner said in his post-match press conference. “I think that what I have to improve is the tennis in general. I have to serve better, I have to do everything more, especially when you play against the top guys.

“My goal is to play many matches like this, important matches against the best guys in the world, and then we see and then I grow. I think it was good. I played matches, and I had [a good] experience. Let’s see next year what I do here.”

The Italian won four tour-level titles in a standout 2021 season and was aiming for his second win against the fourth-seeded Greek. However, he was unable to match the intensity of Tsitsipas, praising his level.

“I think he played better than me today,” Sinner added. “He served better. He moved the ball better than me. He was moving better than me. It’s tough to play against him when he plays like that.

“I couldn’t generate the power that I would have wanted. I was trying to move him, but I was maybe a little bit too far back because he played incredible today.”

Sinner will next compete in Rotterdam, an ATP 500 indoor-hard event, at the start of February.

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Kyrgios Saves The Day After Australian Open Mishap

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2022

A small act of kindness from Nick Kyrgios on Tuesday at the Australian Open quickly became one of the feel-good moments of the Australian Open.

Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were playing in the doubles quarter-finals against Tim Puetz and Michael Venus when Kokkinakis hit a first serve that was a let. Although the point was “dead”, Kyrgios reacted to Venus’ return by instinctively swatting a volley away.

The ball bounced into the crowd and struck a young fan. Kyrgios immediately noticed and quickly grabbed a racquet from his bag and handed it to the fan. After the match, during which the home crowd was fully behind the Aussies, the 26-year-old signed the racquet as well.

In their post-match press conference, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis spoke about the importance of the home fans.

“This Australian Open I think with everything the people have gone through, they just are just so happy to see Aussies have success. Demon in the fourth round, us kind of carrying the flag in doubles a little bit,” Kyrgios said. “This Oz Open, honestly, I think for us it’s more about the people. Playing for them is more important than our doubles success.

“We haven’t drawn up any goals of what we want to achieve this year in doubles. I just want to play and give the people of Australia and the Australian Open a show and genuinely try and grow the sport of tennis. That’s why I’m playing. I know Thanasi is just enjoying it. This is the most fun we’ve ever had on the court.”

Kokkinakis, who captured his first ATP Tour title at the Adelaide International 2 with the full support of the Australian fans, agreed.

“The thrill for us is honestly walking out there. This sounds stupid, but we worry about what happens in the match after,” Kokkinakis added. “But it’s just seeing the support we’ve gotten and the crowd go nuts every time we get out there and how much they’re enjoying it, that kind of gets us going and gets us motivated to do better for them, honestly.”

Kokkinakis and Kyrgios will play third seeds Granollers and Zeballos in the semi-finals.

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Monfils: ‘I’m Not Losing The Faith’

  • Posted: Jan 25, 2022

Gael Monfils suffered a heartbreaking five-set defeat against Matteo Berrettini in the Australian Open quarter-finals, but the Frenchman’s resolve is as strong as ever.

“I will take a lot of positive things. Again, I put [myself in a] situation to beat a Top 10 player at the past two Slams in a row, so the past two times, really bad in a way,” said Monfils, who lost against Jannik Sinner in five sets at last year’s US Open. “I keep learning from that, but I feel like it’s been always tough for me. It’s still tough for me, but somehow I’m not losing the faith.

“I need one time… I won’t win 20, but one time, just one time I need. I’m working for this. I still believe I can do it. It’s hard. It’s been 20 years that I’m not doing the good thing, but who knows? This year it might click.”

The 35-year-old was trying to reach his first Australian Open semi-final and advance to the last four at a major for the third time (2008 Roland Garros, 2016 US Open). Not much separated Monfils from that achievement.

“[On the] important points, [I need to] bring the ‘A’ game, and inside the court. It’s easy to say, but inside the court, make the good choices. Either don’t rush or you don’t go for it. It’s always a split second and boom, it’s gone,” Monfils said. “The best, they are the best for that, because [in] the split second, they make the best decision. They know [how] to handle it better, the pressure. And this you cannot learn. It’s experience.”

It was the second time Monfils has lost a major quarter-final against Berrettini. They also went to a fifth set in the last eight at the 2019 US Open, where the Italian triumphed in a tie-break.

“He handled it good, played good, [has a] big game. Obviously my tactic was not up [to par] at the beginning, but as I said, I’m in shape, I have a strong belief, I play good,” Monfils said. “Of course he will have a tough time. I think I’m a good player. Not better than him, but good player. So no matter what, he needs to work to beat me.”

Regardless of his disappointment, Monfils has had a strong start to his 2022 season. He claimed his 11th ATP Tour title in Adelaide and is now 8-2 on the year. All eight of the Frenchman’s victories have come in straight sets.

“I’m working hard. I feel I played good. I was lucky to win a 250, but as I said, I’m gonna click, for sure, maybe go [to] a semi-final in a Slam, maybe more, play better in the [ATP] 500s, play better in the [ATP Masters] 1000s,” Monfils said. “It’s just [the] beginning of the year. It’s a long season. So [I] will have some time for sure. I will go back at home with a positive energy [from] Australia this year.”

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