Australian Open: Cameron Norrie, Naomi Osaka & Rafael Nadal in action on day one
Cameron Norrie begins the British challenge on day one of the Australian Open as the first Grand Slam of the year gets under way without Novak Djokovic.
Cameron Norrie begins the British challenge on day one of the Australian Open as the first Grand Slam of the year gets under way without Novak Djokovic.
ATP Statement
Today’s decision to uphold Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa cancellation marks the end of a deeply regrettable series of events. Ultimately, decisions of legal authorities regarding matters of public health must be respected. More time is required to take stock of the facts and to take the learnings from this situation.
Irrespective of how this point has been reached, Novak is one of our sport’s greatest champions and his absence from the Australian Open is a loss for the game. We know how turbulent the recent days have been for Novak and how much he wanted to defend his title in Melbourne. We wish him well and look forward to seeing him back on court soon.
ATP continues to strongly recommend vaccination to all players.
Judges reject the tennis star’s last-ditch bid to stay and defend his Australian Open title.
Tennis’ first couple Matteo Berrettini and Ajla Tomljanovic mixed business with pleasure Sunday on the eve of the Australian Open, practising together at Melbourne Park in preparation of their first-round matches at the year’s first Grand Slam.
Berrettini, the seventh-seeded Italian, faces a challenging opener against 20-year-old American Brandon Nakashima, who slashed his year-end ATP Ranking from 166 in 2020 to 68 by the end of last season.
Berrettini performed strongly at the majors last year, reaching the Wimbledon final, the quarter-finals at the US Open and Roland Garros and the fourth round of the Australian Open, his deepest run in four outings in the Victorian capital.
Tomljanovic, who at No. 43 is the second highest-ranked Australian behind World No. 1 Ash Barty, is looking to push beyond the second round at the Australian Open for the first time in eight outings.
Andy Murray has won 46 tour-level titles, reached No. 1 in the ATP Rankings and accomplished plenty more in his distinguished career.
But the Scot is hungry for more. That was plenty apparent on Saturday evening during the Sydney Tennis Classic trophy ceremony following his loss in the championship match against Aslan Karatsev.
“What an amazing atmosphere to play in, thank you, it was so good. I’ve really missed playing in front of these sorts of crowds and these sorts of matches,” Murray said. “Unfortunately the result didn’t go my way tonight but I’ll keep trying my best to come back and have more nights like this.”
The 34-year-old has played on the biggest stages in the sport countless times. However, he still is keen to return to those big matches. And Murray made it clear this week he does not just want to play in those moments, but succeed in them.
“I’d like to thank my family back home…I miss you all” ♥️
Emotional moments for @andy_murray #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/sBkDUDEeOw
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 15, 2022
The No. 135 player in the ATP Rankings, who is still working towards his best form following hip surgery, has said on multiple occasions one of his big goals is to reach 50 tour-level titles. He currently has 46.
“I have made some of my shorter-term goals quite clear and things I still want to try and achieve,” Murray said earlier in the week. “I want to try and win tournaments again. That’s one of the reasons why I’m still playing, because I believe I can still do that.”
Karatsev had too much firepower on Saturday. The Russian, who broke onto the scene in Australia last year by reaching the Australian Open semi-finals as a qualifier, saved all five break points he faced. It was their first ATP Head2Head clash.
“What he [is doing], for me it’s unbelievable… I arrived a bit late to this kind of level, but especially to get this kind of player, one of the greatest players in the world and all time, for me it was a really important match,” Karatsev said. “I think it’s a huge comeback from him to play at this level after what he had in the past with the injury.”
It was a positive effort for Murray, who did not reach an ATP Tour semi-final in 2021. Now he will travel to Melbourne, where he will play Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round of the Australian Open.
Murray is not just doing this for himself, either. The 34-year-old made that clear during his speech Saturday.
“I would like to thank my family back home,” Murray said. “I don’t know if you’re all watching, but I miss you all.”
It did not take long for a heartwarming story to come to the forefront during the 2022 ATP Tour season.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, whose career has been riddled by injury and illness, won his first tour-level title on Saturday at the Adelaide International 2. The 25-year-old Australian was visibly emotional within moments of clinching the championship.
“When I’m having good wins, playing in front of a packed house, it reminds you why you keep doing it, why you get up in the morning, do the training sessions, spend countless hours rehabbing what look like injuries you may never come back from. It just makes it all worth it,” Kokkinakis said. “In front of mum and dad, then seeing the tears in their eyes when I went to hug them after the match, they’re the moments you live for.
“Who knows, not a lot of people get the opportunity to win a title. For me to do it at home kind of in my comeback, I just started to play again, I hope this is just the beginning for me.”
In the aftermath of his big win, Kokkinakis has received plenty of support from his colleagues. Later in the evening, Kokkinakis revealed on Instagram that he had received a message from former World No. 1 Roger Federer.
“Maiden title at home big fella, love the sound of that Thanaser. Amazing… keep going,” Federer wrote.
One of the biggest wins of Kokkinakis’ career came against Federer in Miami in 2018. Then World No. 175, he became the lowest-ranked player to defeat a World No. 1 in 15 years. The Swiss was happy to compliment the Aussie.
“He’s a cool guy, a cool demeanour. I know him well. He’s been to Dubai to practice with me a couple of times,” Federer said at the time. “We have worked very hard together. I’ve always liked his game.”
Kokkinakis’ longtime friend, countryman Nick Kyrgios, was also quick to celebrate the victory.
“I’m so proud [especially with] everything you’ve been through my lil bro,” Kyrgios wrote in an Instagram story that featured an old photo of the pair together.
“Congrats!! Great to see you holding that trophy,” tweeted WTA legend Kim Clijsters.
Congrats !! Great to see you holding that trophy ??
— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) January 15, 2022
It has been a long journey for Kokkinakis. Entering the season, he had made just one ATP Tour semi-final. Not only did he reach another last week in Adelaide, but he followed it up with his dream performance at the same venue this week.
It was not easy to get to this point, which wheelchair tennis star Dylan Alcott alluded to on social media.
“Seriously behind the scenes, the absolute mountain of work this dude has put in has been incredible to watch. And more importantly is a ripping bloke,” Alcott tweeted. “You bloody deserve this brother!”
Seriously behind the scenes, the absolute mountain of work this dude has put in has been incredible to watch. And more importantly is a ripping bloke. You bloody deserve this brother! #kokkinakis @TKokkinakis pic.twitter.com/beM0IUgSxe
— Dylan Alcott (@DylanAlcott) January 15, 2022
Other stars who congratulated Kokkinakis on social media include Mark Philippoussis, Janko Tipsarevic, John Isner, Jeremy Chardy and Daria Saville (nee Gavrilova).
Kokkinakis will now prepare for his first-round match at the Australian Open against German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.
An upcoming Netflix series, which purportedly offers an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at life on the ATP and WTA Tours a la the popular Formula 1: Drive to Survive, was all the buzz on Media Day at the Australian Open, with several players weighing in on news of its production.
“I was the first person to know about that before any of you,” Stefanos Tsitsipas told the gathered press with a grin. “I’m very privileged to be in it. I’ve watched Drive to Survive. I instantly became a huge fan of F1. I’m extremely happy they’re bringing this to tennis and making something similar in that sense.”
“I think it’s great thing for the ATP to try to promote the sport,” said Alexander Zverev. “I think tennis will gain younger fans through a Netflix documentary like Drive to Survive because [it] shows the inside of the sport, the pit lane, all that. I think the drama comes with it. I’m going to be very interested to see how it’s going to be with tennis because I am inside the locker room, I am inside with the players, so I know what it is like. It’s going to be interesting to see how much Netflix can show of that.”
World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev says he watched all three seasons of Drive to Survive and looks forward to the tennis equivalent.
“I liked Formula 1 before watching it, so it’s not like I watched it and now I’m a Formula 1 fan. It’s really cool. We can never know how it’s going to work out in tennis. We can only know after the first season is out. But I think it’s exciting,” Medvedev said. “It’s great to bring more fans to the sport, to try at least, a younger generation maybe. They can see the inside a little bit.”
The series is being produced by Box To Box Films with James Gay Rees and Paul Martin serving as executive producers. Filming is already underway in Melbourne.
Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray lead the British interest before the start of an Australian Open still clouded by the Novak Djokovic controversy.
Watch the best shots as Andy Murray’s bid for a first ATP title since October 2019 ends in a straight-set defeat by Russian Aslan Karatsev in the Sydney Classic final.
Andy Murray’s bid for his first ATP Tour title since October 2019 ends with defeat by Russian top seed Aslan Karatsev in the Sydney Classic final.