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2023 Roland Garros Tennis, tomorrow’s women’s singles final are set after two unreal semi-final matches from Day 12 yesterday 

by Sports Benches

Tomorrow’s women’s singles final in this year’s Roland Garros has been set between Karolina Muchkova & Iga Swiatek after two excellent semi final matches yesterday. One match was the best of three where Muchkova was held back by Aryna Sabalenka at 1-1 before she found her way out with patience for the win  (7-6 (7-5 tie), 6-7 (5-7 tie), 7-5). And another looked a bit different where Swiatek got away with an easy first set, but that 2nd stage was really competitive where Beatriz Haddad Maia made some lost time along the way. But it was Swiatek who stood tall once again that ended for Brazilian’s fairytale run from the semi-finals in straight sets (6-2, 7-6 (9-7 tie)).

Gotta feel sorry for Sabalenka there who not only fired off really well but also showed some excellent fightback including that 2nd set tiebreak that led into a 3rd set decider. However, she just couldn’t hold on under pressure while leading briefly before she fell short to Muchova. Speaking of Muchkova, she kept it simple by taking her time all along when facing the current Aus Open champ in Sabalenka. She might have been held back following the 2nd stage of tiebreaks when the pressure began is on Muchkova to turn things around. But she has stuck to the approach that was working & here she is finding her way out unscathed en route to her first grand slam final – unbelievable.

Then we look back at the other semi tie now as Haddad Maia got away with a good start, but then was largely behind throughout the first set. Although her 2nd set run was improving where she threw the pressure back at Swiatek at times, but just couldn’t get the job done under pressure, even though she fell short from setting up a 3rd set decider in the tiebreak. And hats off to Swiatek who was class all along with the win. She got away with an easy first stage before she took her time with patience to grasp more of her opponent’s game while leading the 2nd set. Yes, it wasn’t easy but she credits that tiebreak as her lifeline where she went on to stand out on top.

Now we turn our attention to the men’s singles last 4 later tonight (or today over in Paris) – first up Carlos Alcaraz v Novak Djokovic then straight after this opening semi is Casper Ruud v Alexander Zverev.

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2023 Roland Garros, Beatriz Haddad Maia makes history for Brazil into the Final 4 after her win v Ons Jabeur as she’s set to face Iga Swiatek who def. Coco Gauff in straight sets

by Sports Benches

Tonight’s women’s singles semi-finals (or later today over in Paris) are all set at Court Phillipe Chatrier where four players will become two for a shot on Saturday’s big final – it’s Karolina Muchkova v Aryna Sabalenka followed by Iga Swiatek v Beatriz Haddad Maia. We saw Beatriz Haddad Maia rise up from the opening set down to beat Ons Jabeur after she held on really well that went all the way through the tiebreak as not only she set up the 3rd set decider, but she too has won as well (3-6, 7-6 (7-5 tiebreak) & 6-1). And not too long later, Iga Swiatek got away with a competitive opening stage battle v Coco Gauff before she was being too good in straight sets (6-4, 6-2).

Jabeur is disappointed with the loss there after an easy start. However, she struggled to build on that good start where not only she couldn’t find the sweet spot going into the 3rd set decider, but was also easily run down by Maia in the end as well. Speaking of Maia, she had a great game to turn this around from the 1st down. She might have built that momentum that late before Jabeur had that 1-0 lead, but grasped her opponent’s game well to stay in the fight before these two lifelines gave Maia the better pull towards punching that semi-finals ticket.

Meanwhile, Gauff showed some excellent response from the beginning to keep Swiatek in check, especially when facing such a difficult opponent who is the top-ranked seed of this draw. But then her momentum began to go downhill where not only she fell short ahead of Set 2, but just couldn’t hold on under pressure before it was too late. Meanwhile, Swiatek was really patient along the way that allowed her to find some time before she found that checkpoint with the opening set lead. And that puts her in a great position with the 1-0 advantage going into the 2nd set where she was good in the end.

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2023 Roland Garros, Men’s Singles Final 4 has been set after Alexander Zverev def. Tomas Martin Etcheverry while Casper Ruud gets the job done v Holger Rune

by Sports Benches

After Day 11, the men’s singles Final Four draw has also been finalised for Day 13 throughout tomorrow at least in the daytime ahead of Sunday’s final day – with Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz for semis No.1 as well as Alexander Zverev & Casper Ruud in the 2nd semis tie. Zverev & Tomas Martin Etcheverry both players shared the lead at 1-1 before Zverev went on to win the final two sets, even though it wasn’t easy (6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4). Then we saw another thrilling contest to close the Final 8 bracket where Holger Rune won the 3rd set after being easily blown away during the first half. But then couldn’t stop Ruud all along despite trying to stay in contention as of late (1-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3).

Etcheverry never gave Zverev an easy run, having kept a close eye on him who is about as tall as his opponent. He did well to share the lead at 1-1 apiece but just didn’t have the 2nd half momentum & execution to hold him back further in his tracks. Meanwhile, Zverev was so aware of Etcheverry’s game who got away with the opening set lead before he was held back after the 2nd set loss. But he replied really well to maintain his top spot position before things starting to be easier going into the fourth set & he has nailed it towards the end without any rush thanks to that winning advantage he’s got there.

Then Holger Rune came from behind to stop Ruud from wrapping up in straight sets while continuing to stay in this fight in the hope of a 5th set decider & finish it off his way But it doesn’t mean he can stop Ruud for the whole match itself where his 1st half display wasn’t good from the start before Rune did the best he can to hang & it was simply too much to grasp with loads of pressure for him. And Ruud really had the best start and 1st half momentum where he was way ahead of Rune. Yes, he had to be wary of Rune’s 2nd half resurgence, but took his time well to find his way out unscathed for the win.

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2023 French Open: Carlos Alcaraz too good for Stefanos Tsitsipas while Novak Djokovic overcomes Karen Khachanov in a four-set showdown during the Quarter Finals

by Sports Benches

We saw two excellent match-ups to begin this year’s Quarter Finals in the men’s singles draw of the Roland Garros – one is where Carlos Alcaraz being too good following an easy win v Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-2, 6-1, 6-6 (7-5 tie)), while the other was a bit more intense between Novak Djokovic & Karen Khachanov (4-6, 6-6 (7-0 tiebreaker), 6-2, 6-4). That now puts both Alcaraz & Djokovic head-to-head for Friday’s 1st semi-final match-up (Day 13).

Not the day Tsitsipas wanted to see out on clay this year where he fired off not bad as well as being able to try and save himself in contention particularly during the third set & go from there, even though it might be a long hill to climb back. Sadly, his performance today wasn’t on par with the Spaniard where he fell way behind while beaten easily as this tie goes on. For Alcaraz, he was simply too good all around from start to finish. Yes, he had some challenges along the way during the 3rd set. But he was tested really well to hang in there before that tiebreak period gave him another chance to get the job done & he has done it en route to the last 4 here – legend v emerging grand slam champ for a spot in the Final, can’t wait!!

Commiserations to Khachanov who challenged Djokovic really well at times for the majority & knows how to get the ball rolling, having won the opening set + some near wins during 2nd & 4th set spells. But when it comes to being tested under all sorts of pressure, that is when his momentum began to nosedive during the 2nd set tiebreak & couldn’t rebound much through the rest of this tie. And Djokovic might had fell short in the opening set, but he never gave up by fighting back really well where he credits the 2nd set tiebreak as his turning point; So he can go on by overtaking Khachanov for the lead and finish this tie off calm & composed.

There’s two more QF ties left for Day 11 on the road for the 2nd semis match now with Alexander Zverev v Tomas Martin Etcheverry followed by Casper Ruud v Holger Rune.

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2023 French Open: Karolina Muchkova and Aryna Sabalenka go head-to-head for tomorrow’s Final 4 following their easy Quarter-Final displays on Day 10

by Sports Benches

Meanwhile, there were also two women’s singles quarter-finals to commence Day 10 before the men’s singles QFs take over at Court Phillipe Chatrier. Karolina Muchkova & Anastasia Pavlychenkova both had a really competitive first set spell, but Muchkova had the better pull in straight sets (7-5, 6-2). Then in the second QF straight after the Muchkova v Pavlychenkova tie between Elina Svitolina & Aryna Sabalenka, it was somewhat more competitive right through until the end of each set. But again, there can only be one winner & Sabalenka managed to get the job done also in straight sets (4-6, 4-6) where she will now face Muchkova in the 1st semis match tomorrow (Day 12).

So close from Pavlychenkova where she responded well to Muchkova’s fast start with a few rebounds of her own before it all the way through the tiebreak. But she just lacked the execution there to pull off while struggling to catch up under pressure before it was too late after a good restart to the 2nd set. On the other hand, great game by Muchkova when not only she fired off well but stayed patient too that helped her tick off both sets.

Looking back at the other tie now & oh so close as well from Svitolina who showed some excellent fightback including these good starts & restarts to stay on track. But sadly, she lacked the other half momentum where she couldn’t get the job done to finish off the 1st set, before trying to hold back Sabalenka in the hope of a decider & it was simply just too late. And speaking of Sabalenka, she’s so relieved after overcoming some great battles v Svitolina. Her patience was tested really well where she may have been challenged at times, but she found the execution to escape with the 1-0 lead & did the exact same thing again towards the finish line.

We now look forward to Day 11 tonight to see out the other two Final 8 ties with Ons Jabeur v Beatriz Haddad Maia followed by Iga Swiatek v Coco Gauff.

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An outlook of what Nine’s 2023 Roland Garros/French Open Tennis coverage may look like ahead of the next grand slam beginning towards the end of this month

by Sports Benches

It’s been a long while following a jam-packed Australian Open Tennis back in mid-late January earlier this year, but the 2nd grand slam of 2023 is just around the corner in a few weeks time starting on Sunday May 28th when we will turn our attention to the Roland Garros/French Open in Paris.

There’s going to be some decent match-ups as always from start to finish, as well as some hopeful upsets from our Aussies which is why Nine is the home of all four grand slam tennis tournaments alongside their own paid streaming service Stan Sport here in Australia. But the make up of the scaled down on-air talent other than the wider annual Australian Open coverage may be a bit different going forward as most of them have committed to NRL, AFL or Rugby Union throughout the year.

We can 100% tell that Sam Groth won’t be back to do some studio insight & colour commentary because he’s now committed to State Politics for the Liberal Party in Victoria, having won the local Nepean seat during the recent election in late November last year. So won’t be the same without him when he was always there for Nine’s Tennis coverage all year round from the moment Nine switched over from Cricket back in 2018 up until his successful election campaign at this point.

We wish him the best of luck. 

I don’t know if Nine will be seeking out a replacement for Sam when they only had Brett Phillips to kick off the overnight shift before Todd & Jelena took over for the morning sessions while providing their own commentary during the US Open last year. 

But maybe John Fitzgerald could be a great get alongside Todd & Jelena for the early evening ties & all-important finals, as he too has done plenty of overnight shifts before in a studio/off-tube with the Davis Cup coverage involving Australia in the past as well as Stan Sport’s Roland Garros & Wimbledon coverage last year.

Speaking of Todd (Host/Announcer) & Jelena (Analyst), they will always be there to provide studio & insight play-by-play commentary including most finals, with Brett Phillips to back them up once again except both men’s & women’s singles’ finals for the overnight/early morning shift.

And you never know if Roz Kelly will stop by from Sydney to Melbourne studio when she might do some hosting of Nine’s French Open coverage, but then she has a packed schedule coming up with the Cricket over in England that will begin sometime next month for The Ashes. 

So it’s unlikely that she will juggle both the other three Tennis grand slams & Cricket this year, with Todd or another different anchor taking her place.

Can’t wait for the next grand slam soon where we expect to see 9Gem showing one match at a time through each day of the tournament including the all-important matches on one Nine FTA channel once again, while viewers can watch all other matches only via subscription on Stan Sport.

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2023 Australian Open Tennis: Australian players’ performance review

by Sports Benches

We came off from an excellent 2nd half of tennis last year thanks to our two excellent players in Nick Kyrgios (Wimbledon Final & QF US Open) & Ajla Tomjlanovic (Back-to-Back QFs), as well as the Final of both Davis Cup & Billie Jean Cup Team campaigns where we were runners-up to Canada & Switzerland respectively. 

When it comes to our Aussies at the Australian Open this year, we hoped that Kyrgios & Tomljanovic would be there as our marquee stars amongst the top seeders after the retirement of last year’s women’s singles champion Ash Barty. Sadly, their respective injuries in the lead-up tournaments has prevented them the chance to show something special on home soil here at Melbourne Park.

The men’s draw was not bad with Alex De Minaur doing so well up until the 4th round where he was easily eliminated by eventual champion Novak Djokovic (Serbia). So does Alexei Popyrin with his upset win v 8th seed Taylor Fritz (USA) in RD 2 before he was gone next round in straight sets by another American in Benjamin Shelton. For the women though, it just wasn’t the same without Barty & even Tomljanovic where we only had Olivia Gadeki & Kim Birrell into the first two rounds, before their own exits mean that there’s no more Aussies left in this draw.

Let’s hope our Aussies go well at the other grand slams if we want a strong home campaign barring injuries next year, with the Roland Garros (Paris, France) next up in late May. And let’s not forget that we are still so good in the men’s doubles circuit also on home soil, with the Special Ks (Nick Kyrgios & Thanasi Kokkinakis) smashing it last year & now it’s the Jason & Rinky duo of Jason Kubler & Ricky Hijikata following their straight sets triumph late on Saturday night v Hugo Nys (Monaco) & Jan Zielinski (Poland). 

So lots to look forward when cheering our own Tennis stars, while Australia is looking to go one better in 2023 with the Davis Cup & Billie Jean Cup Finals campaigns.

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2023 Australian Open Final: Novak Djokovic became the last man standing as The King of Melbourne Park following his triumph last night v Stefanos Tsitsipas

by Sports Benches

After two weeks of high-standard grand slam tennis, the 2023 Australian Open has came to an close last night with the men’s singles Final match between Novak Djokovic from Serbia & Melbourne’s “own” Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece here at Rod Laver Arena.

Novak got away with an easy opening set lead. Although it was a bit more difficult this time when facing a finalist out there v Tsitsipas, but Novak never gave up & kept himself strong where he won another stage in the 2nd via tiebreak with only more set needed to win this title. Then he faced the same difficulty yet again against Tsitsipas who doesn’t give him a free run all along, but Novak took his time well on the run home & that confirms his 10th Australian Open title here, 22nd grand slam trophy in-line with Rafa Nadal & will now re-claim the No.1 ATP Tour ranking starting today. The final score was 3-6, 6-7 (4-7 tiebreak) & 6-7 (5-7 tiebreak).

Sorry to see Tsitsipas fall second best again on his 2nd grand slam singles final occasion after Roland Garros two years ago. He fired off not bad with Novak where it took him a while to show plenty of fight following the first set loss. Tsitsipas did everything he can to stop Novak from slipping past in his tracks, having won a couple of games that went all the way via the tiebreak. Sadly, he didn’t have the execution needed to win a set & pile more pressure back onto Novak with the straight sets loss. Sure he’s learned a lot last night though as he will get used to playing grand slam finals more often by going one better for the title next time. 

And yes, we feel for Novak when he capped off an emotion end to his Australian Open Final victory last night for the 10th time here. Huge scenes when he was crying alongside family who were there for Novak by his side. Moving onto his performance, him facing a rising elite grand slam star isn’t always easy. The first set was not hard for a start, but then he was tested plenty of times by Tsitsipas all along that will tell if he’s up to the challenge or not. The answer is that he responded really well where his patience & execution has helped Novak move past Tsitsipas unscathed before he got home safely. Now he still has unfinished business at 35 by planning to win more grand slams as possible; Let’s see if he can win three more throughout the same calendar year in 2023.

For now, we can’t wait for the next grand slam where we will turn our attention to the French Open/Roland Garros in Paris starting on Sunday 28th May-11th June.

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2023 Australian Open Tennis: Aryna Sabalenka goes from the opening set down to a stunning turnaround right through the 3rd & final set decider that secured her first grand slam title v Elena Rybakina

by Sports Benches

Wow!! What a night it has been in the 2023 Australian Open women’s singles final between Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) & Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus). They both fired off well where Rybakina got away with a competitive first stage lead. However, Sabalenka wasted no time with an easy 2nd fight return going into the 3rd set dash towards the finish line. And the winner goes to Sabalenka who not only overtook  Rybakina for the lead, but she also executed well without hesitation here at Rod Laver Arena. The final score was done in 2 hours & 28 minutes – 6-4, 3-6, 4-6.

Rybakina played not bad where she never gave up from start to finish. She was glad to overcome such a difficult opponent like Sabalenka earlier on, having got away with a great start as well as the opening set win. But then Rybakina began to slip away under pressure as exposed by her opponent at times beforehand. That weaknesses not only blew her away going into the final set dash, but also eventually forced Rybakina to settle as 2nd best in the end to Sabalenka. Gutted to see her lose in a grand slam final for the first time at the 2nd occasion following a triumph Wimbledon campaign last year, as it’s best if she can improve her record at Roland Garros & US Opens later this year before more grand slam silverware will come her way sooner rather than later.

And how good was Sabalenka tonight with her first grand slam & Australian Open women singles title. Now she may have dropped the opening set, even though Aryna finally got the ball rolling after a slow start. But she also gave Rybakina a huge warning when trying to stay ahead; it’s something Aryna did with so much fight in return before she ticked off not only one but two sets needed that secured her huge breakthrough. Although she will be ranked No.2 starting next week behind Iga Swiatek, but Sabalenka played such an incredible performance where the fight, patience & execution helped her stood out on top v Rybakina. Let’s hope she stays that way in a bid to chase more grand slam silverware going forward before Sabalenka can dethrone Swiatek as the world’s top-ranked female tennis player.

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2023 Australian Open Tennis: Sunday’s Main Event now confirmed with Novak Djokovic v Stefanos Tsitsipas following a straight sets win in the 2nd semis against American Tommy Paul

by Sports Benches

The second & last player to punch their ticket ahead of Sunday’s main event & final match of the 2023 Australian Open goes to Novak Djokovic from Serbia, who is now set for his 10th men singles final appearance here, having won all nine of them & no runner-ups yet so far at Rod Laver Arena. He & Tommy had a couple of duels earlier on, but Novak too was just too good going forward against Tommy Paul (USA) in straight sets – 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.

Well played from Tommy Paul on his first grand slam singles semi final where he fired off really well that went nearly all the way throughout this opening set. But then he couldn’t stay on top of Novak as this match-up goes on when it comes to the momentum before he was easily dismantled in the end. We would’ve loved to see him go one better at Melbourne Park & test himself v Stefanos Tsitsipas this Sunday, but sure he will look back from his 2023 Aus Open campaign with such incredible moments right from the 1st RD.

And well done to Novak with another brilliant display that got him one step closer towards collecting grand slam title No.22 if he can defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday night, which could see him tie that record with Spaniard Rafa Nadal. He overcame a series of close battles against Tommy Paul for the first set lead, and that early advantage helped him respond to not only one but two quick set finishes where Novak ticked off all of these boxes comfortably with the win. Now if he also takes home the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after this weekend, then he will be back on top of the ATP rankings once again since June 12th last year.

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