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Murray and Soares through in Melbourne doubles

  • Posted: Jan 17, 2019
Australian Open 2019
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 14-27 January
Coverage: Daily live commentaries on the BBC Sport website, listen to Tennis Breakfast daily from 07:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and watch highlights on BBC TV and online from 19 January.

Former Australian Open champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares reached the second round in Melbourne after seeing off Roman Jebavy and Andres Molteni.

Britain’s Murray and Brazilian Soares, winners in 2016, clinched a mammoth tie-break in the second set to beat the Czech-Argentine pair 6-4 7-6 (13-11).

The third seeds face all-British duo Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara next.

Cameron Norrie and American Taylor Fritz, whom the Briton lost to in the singles first round, also advanced.

They beat Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Mirza Basic and Damir Dzumhur 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 to set up a meeting with Jack Sock and Jackson Withrow.

Americans Sock and Withrow stunned second seeds and 2018 runners-up Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-4.

Britain’s Ken and Neal Skupski also progressed, beating Australians James Duckworth and Jordan Thompson 6-3 6-4.

They will take on Finland’s Henri Kontinen and Australian John Peers in the second round.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Joe Salisbury also made it through alongside American Rajeev Ram, winning 6-0 6-4 against Argentine Guido Pella and Chile’s Hans Podlipnik-Castillo.

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'I don't understand how participation is dropping' – Murray criticises British tennis chiefs

  • Posted: Jan 16, 2019
Australian Open 2019
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 14-27 January
Coverage: Daily live commentaries on the BBC Sport website, listen to Tennis Breakfast daily from 07:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and watch highlights on BBC TV and online from 19 January.

Andy Murray has criticised British tennis for failing to translate his achievements into grassroots growth in the sport at home.

The 31-year-old’s future is in doubt as he contemplates further hip surgery.

The three-time Grand Slam winner says not enough has been done by the Lawn Tennis Association to build on British success in recent years.

“I’m not sure Britain has really capitalised on the last seven or eight years of success we’ve had,” he said.

“Whether it be myself, my brother, Jo [Konta], Kyle [Edmund], the Davis Cup, those sorts of things, I’m not sure how much we’ve done there.

“There are quite a few players coming through that have potential to go on and do better, but obviously you are talking about the high end of the game.”

Murray, who was beaten in an emotional five-set match by Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday, has been at the forefront of the sport in Britain since coming through as a junior, but has been critical of the sport’s governing body on many occasions.

In 2015 after Britain’s first Davis Cup victory since 1936, the Scot said talking to the LTA about the future of British tennis was “a waste of his time” and that “nothing ever gets done”.

He is concerned that when he retires, an opportunity will have been missed to grow the sport.

“Maybe it’s something I should have given more thought to while I was playing but I never felt that was my job to do that,” he added.

“It is a little bit disappointing. I don’t understand how in the last eight to 10 years that participation is dropping – I don’t get it.

“I know in Scotland that there have not been many indoor courts built in the last 10 years. That seems madness. I don’t understand why that is.

“You need to get kids playing; you need to have the facilities that allow them to do that.”

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The LTA said: “Andy Murray is not just the greatest British tennis player of all time, but one of the greatest sports people this country has ever produced.

“But his impact for our sport goes far beyond his own trophy cabinet.

“It has transcended tennis and taken the British people’s interest and excitement in tennis to levels not seen before and the LTA is determined to translate his inspiration into a lasting legacy.”

Murray’s older brother Jamie, who starts his Australian Open doubles campaign on Thursday, said: “My greatest worry was that he would stop one day, which obviously feels like it’s been probably accelerated, and you would look around the country and there wouldn’t be much to show for it.

“If you go around the country you probably see that.

“It is sad because how on earth are you going to grow a sport if you can’t do it when you’ve got one of the biggest stars in tennis for the last 10 years, and one of Britain’s most prominent sportspeople?”

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Day 4 Preview: Djokovic Confronts Tsonga Threat

  • Posted: Jan 16, 2019

Day 4 Preview: Djokovic Confronts Tsonga Threat

Serb and Frenchman have history at the Australian Open

If Novak Djokovic was hoping to ease his way into the 2019 Australian Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is not the man he would want to meet in the second round. So expect the World No. 1 to be on guard when the pair walks out for Thursday’s feature night match on Rod Laver Arena.

Tsonga, the 16-time ATP Tour champion and a 2008 Melbourne finalist, is arguably the most dangerous floater in the draw. He has the firepower to take it to the world’s best and comes into the tournament in good form, having beaten Alex de Minaur en route to the Brisbane semi-finals.

“He’s another great player, champion, someone that has been very successful in the past, an established Top 10 player who has played a Grand Slam final,” Djokovic said of the 33-year-old. “[He’s] just very powerful, serve, forehand, big weapons. I’m really optimistic, but also respectful, trying to do whatever I can to win it. “

Ranked 177 after missing more than seven months due to knee surgery last April, Tsonga has given Djokovic trouble both times they have met at the Australian Open. The Frenchman pushed the Serb to a fourth-set tie-break in the title match in 2008, when Djokovic captured the first of his 14 majors. In 2010 Tsonga avenged that defeat with a five-set victory in the quarter-finals.

You May Also Like: Tsonga Motivated For 2008 Final Rematch Against Djokovic

Djokovic, of course, will still enter the match as a strong favourite. He is chasing a record seventh title at Melbourne Park, where he boasts a 61-8 record. The Serb, who suffered a surprise semi-final defeat to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the Doha semi-finals in the opening week of the season, began his Melbourne campaign with a confident straight-sets win over American Mitchell Krueger.

Earlier in the day on Rod Laver Arena, 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka takes on 16th seed Milos Raonic. Fortunes will largely depend on the Raonic serve, which brought Nick Kyrgios to his knees in their first-round battle. “Never seen serving like that in my life,” Kyrgios said. “I was just watching it literally going side to side.”

Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka takes a 4-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head lead over Raonic into the match, but the Canadian has won their past two meetings, including a straight-sets win in the US Open third round last year.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev looks to reach the third round for the third straight year when he tackles Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, against whom he holds a 2-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

At 39, Croatian Ivo Karlovic is looking to become the oldest man to reach the third round since Ken Rosewall did it aged 44 in 1978. But the ace king must find a way to beat eighth seed Kei Nishikori, who in the first round rallied from two sets down to defeat Kamil Majchrzak.

More Matches To Watch On Thursday

No. 7 Dominic Thiem (AUT) v (WC) Alexei Popyrin (AUS)
No. 11 Borna Coric (CRO) v Marton Fucsovics (HUN)
No. 12 Fabio Fognini (ITA) v Leonardo Mayer (ARG)
No. 24 Hyeon Chung (KOR) v Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)
No. 25 Denis Shapovalov (CAN) v Taro Daniel (JPN)

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