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Today’s Tennis match, Max Purcell falls short in a four hour, five-set marathon v Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud after a mighty effort all around at Margaret Court Arena

by Sports Benches

Oh so close but Norwegian Casper Ruud has just won the match as Max Purcell left the men’s singles draw with so much applause from the crowd at Margaret Court Arena. He too has put up such a top notch effort right through the very end before things just didn’t end up his way after four hours of play this afternoon. The final score was 3-6, 7-6 with 7-5 tiebreaker, 3-6, 6-3 & 6-7 with 7-10 tiebreaker.

He’s got the fight Purcell needs to keep it up with such a Top 15 seeded player in Ruud, which wasn’t easy. But He bounced back really well as seen during the 2nd set tiebreak and the 4th set to give himself a lifeline ahead of the 5th & final decider. He looks like he was almost there to bring home an upset against someone he has known from his junior competition days, but just couldn’t quite escape right of time at the finish line there with the loss. It’s his best performance yet in the 2R at this grand slam alongside the Roland Garros in Paris last year as he is 25 right now with the room to improve throughout this year.

Meanwhile, what a player he is from Ruud who proved to be the better challenger after being established at other slams grams over the last few years. Although he has yet to advance past the 4th Round so far here back in 2021, but this is his greatest day today ahead of his next match-up against Briton Cameron Norrie who also got away from his own five set escape v Giulio Zeppieri from Italy. He fired off well with a great start to bring an early lead. Now he might have struggled to keep up the consistency as exposed by Purcell at times, but he managed to stay ahead by regrouping himself towards the end with patience for the win. He has some unfinished business left though with back-to-back 2nd round results off the back end of last year at Wimbledon & the US Open respectively.

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AO Open Tennis, Linda Noskova def. McCartney Kessler to book a 3rd Round tie with Iga Swiatek after they both won their own three-set 2nd Round matches on Day 5

by Sports Benches

Here’s one of the excellent Round 2 women’s singles matches so far on Day 5 of the 2024 Australian Open Tennis between American McCartney Kessler & Linda Noskova at Show Court Arena where Noskova fired off well while Kessler responded really quickly that sets up a 3rd decider. Only of them can only go into the third round though & that is Noskova who defeated the American in the end by two games the difference (3-6, 6-1 & 4-6). It’s been not a bad run from Kessler on her first grand slam tournament but her time has now come to an end, having defeated Fiona Ferro the other day also in a three-set contest. Looks like she brought in such a tremendous effort to hang in there from start to finish like that fiery 2nd set response to give herself the chance to get the job done on her own terms. Sadly, she just fell so short where her opponent had the better execution like it was in the opening set, which would be the slow starts/re-starts as her weakness. This years tournament is the one she can look back with more to come from the 24-year-old soon.

Meanwhile, Noskova had a brilliant game to start and finish off the match with another win to go into the 3rd round. Yes, she would need to work on her inconsistency after being challenged by Kessler on occasions, particularly during the 2nd set. But she has the ability to go all the way to make things shine at age 19 as seen during the final set decider where the Czech can rebound under pressure to close the match 2-1. This is her highest grand slam singles performance yet so far as there will be another huge test to come when she will take on seasoned grand slam champion Iga Swiatek from Poland, who just defeated 2022 runner-up Danielle Collins from the USA (6-4, 3-6 & 6-4).

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Tennis, Alex De Minaur def. Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets as his Italian affair continues with Fabio Cobolli for the 3rd Round

by Sports Benches

Great to see our Aussie own Alex De Minaur advance into the third round after following straight sets win (6-3, 6-0, 6-3) earlier in the afternoon v Italian Matteo Analdi. He might have been not far behind from the beginning but the Demon has worked his way up with some excellent challenged that reflected his natural game. The first set was there before he too good unchallenged in the 2nd set where De Minaur took his time well towards the end with the win after just two hours of play at Rod Laver Arena. His next opponent will be another Italian in 21-year-old Fabio Cobolli who just defeated Pavel Kotov out of a four-set contest at Court 6 (5-7, 3-6, 7-5 & 2-6). Meanwhile, Arnaldi may have put up a great fight on occasions but his time is now up after a few days at Melbourne Park with the straight sets loss. He started the opening game well before doing the best he can to stay in the fight during the 3rd set. However, he couldn’t bridge the upper half form where Arnaldi just couldn’t keep up with De Minaur that saw him being left out through every set of this match. He had a great career moment off the back end of last year such as the fourth round at the US Open as well as the Davis Cup trophy for his country, but there’s still some work to do if wants to be good as Jannik Sinner next time when it comes to the next few grand slams throughout 2024.

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British Women’s No.1 Katie Boulter def. Yue Yuan to kickstart her 2024 Australian Open Tennis campaign in straight sets at Court 7

by Sports Benches

Here’s another close straights sets match we just saw not long ago over in Day 3 of the 2024 Australian Open women’s singles draw when Briton Katie Boulter has just defeated China’s Yue Yuan at Court 7 as her next opportunity next for Round 2 this Thursday will either be China’s Qinwen Zhang (12th seed) or Ashlyn Krueger from the USA. The final score was 7-5, 7-6 with 7-1 tiebreaker & the match was done in just under two hours at 1 hour & 55 mins. Great effort by Yue Yuan to keep her game up with Boulter where she was so close to getting the set done herself after giving her opponent a hard time on occasions on the court. Unfortunately, she just couldn’t hold on and get that breakthrough where Boulter had the upper hand with the win as this is her 2nd grand slam singles appearance here at Melbourne Park. We wish her all the best, having played her first WTA Tour final a few months ago (October) where she lost to American Jessica Pegula in the Korea Open.

Meanwhile, the current women’s British No.1 has played her A-game to begin her Australian Open tour with the win. She never lets herself down without a fight against her opponent right through the very end of each set before things went her way where Boulter has the better pull to get things done under pressure & she did exactly just like that today. Now this will be her 2nd round appearance since the 2019 Australian Open, but she had a great 2nd half of 2023 thanks to back-to-back 3rd Round glam performances at Wimbledon & the US Open. Let’s take one match at a time but hopefully she’ll make another big breakthrough herself just like her boyfriend of our Aussie own Alex De Minaur aka The Demon.

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2024 Australian Open Tennis, Sumit Nagal shocks Alexander Bublik by flying the Indian flag in straight sets at Court 6

by Sports Benches

Someone else has made a name for himself just a while ago on Day 3 of the Australian Open today at Court 6 in none other than Sumit Nagal from India, who defeated 31st seed Kazakh Alexander Bublik. It was such a close game by both players, even though it ended up in three straight sets where Nagal holds all the cards (4-6, 6-2, 7-6 with 7-5 tiebreaker).

Not the exit Bublik wanted to see out as the three-day first round’s leg is coming to a close ahead of the 2nd round over Tomorrow & Thursday. He did well at times from the start and during the 3rd set to try & stay in the fight, but unfortunately, he was so inconsistent as the match goes on with the lack of executions being counted against him. Yes, he had a career highlight moment last year at Wimbledon where he went as high as the 4th round. However, he has yet to have gone past the 2nd round here twice despite his highly seeded Top 30 ranking back in 2021 & 2022. And the man of the moment after his breakthrough moment goes to 137th ranked Nagal who will now take on either USA’s Mackenzie McDonald or Shang Juncheng from China this Thursday. He put in a brilliant show all along that surprised the Kazakh where Nagal got away with a close first stage lead before he was too good in the 2nd set & although he had some challenges in the 3rd set, but managed to get the job done under pressure at the tiebreak. This is the second time he has advanced into the 2nd Round of his grand slam career since the 2020 US Open. Let’s hope he can fulfil his potential onto something big & special at Melbourne Park.

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Matteo Arnaldi off to a great start after he defeated wildcard Adam Walton on Day 1 of the 2024 Australian Open Tennis at Kia Arena

by Sports Benches

Great start to the 2024 Australian Open campaign by Matteo Arnaldi from Italy with the straight sets win in Round 1 v Adam Walton at Kia arena. It was a tight opening stage battle for a start between the two players that went all the way through the tiebreak before one player went on to get the job done at his own pace that bundled up with the big lead for the win 7-6 (7-5 tiebreak), 6-2 & 6-4. 

Arnaldi is doing so well as he’s currently ranked just 40 in the ATP rankings at the age of 22, having reached his best finish in the 4th Round late last year where he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open. Keep an eye out though as his next round opponent will either be another Aussie Alex De Minaur or Canada’s Milos Raonic, which will take place 7pm tomorrow night at Rod Laver Arena.

Meanwhile, Walton’s time was short-lived at Melbourne Park today when he entered this tournament as the wildcard player. He did give the Italian a hard time at times, especially from the beginning where he tried to stop him from taking the opening set lead. But an unfortunate 2nd set saw Walton try to hang in there under pressure at 0-2 before it was too late in the end. He will keep on churning every week in the hope of getting better & better on the ATP circuit once this tournament is over.

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Nick Kyrgios’ unreal Wimbledon journey this year fell short as 2nd best to Novak Djokovic in the Gentlemen’s Singles Final

by Sports Benches

Well, it’s been a fairytale run from our Aussie Nick Kyrgios but it all has to come to an end when you can’t underestimate the champion of grass right now from Novak Djokovic with the win. Nick fired off well when he narrowly shut down Novak for the opening set lead. However, he just couldn’t find a way kick on ever since, even though he was so close to take out the 3rd or 4th set in order to stay in this fight. In the end, it’s Novak who now won his fourth straight title here apart from the 2020 cancellation due to COVID – 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 via 7-3 tiebreaker.

He may not have taken home that precious gentlemen’s singles trophy but what an unreal journey nonetheless for Nick Kyrgios. It was a great start with the opening set lead to hold off Novak Djokovic all along before he was tied at 1-1 apiece. He never gave up as this final goes on where he was so close from converting a set that would’ve seen him re-gain the lead while edging closer towards C’ship Point himself, but he just couldn’t find the finishing touches needed to get ahead of Novak. As said earlier, he will have to settle 2nd best after his first ever grand slam singles final appearance at 27. However, let’s hope he continues to build on his fairytale Wimbledon campaign & be a regular Top 8 performer in future grand slams.

And congrats to Novak on his 21st grand slam title as he continues to conquer on the grass with title No.7 at SW19. He was on the same page as Kyrgios at the beginning where Novak fell short in the opening set run. He did turn around however, when Novak responded easily at 1-1 before he overcame his opponent through the very end, in which was enough to deny Kyrgios a 5th set decider & wrap it up in three sets as the champ once again. It’s been a while when Novak was runner-up last year to Daniil Medvedev at the US Open, before he was unable to play earlier this year in Melbourne & also being taken out in the Quarter-Finals last month at the French Open by Rafa Nadal. While he can go & celebrate Wimbledon right now, it remains to be seen if his exemption will allow him to play at the next Australian Open in January since he won’t be able to play at the US Open next month.

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Nick Kyrgios is now one win away from taking home the Gentlemen’s Singles title at Wimbledon after Rafa Nadal’s exit due to injury yesterday

by Sports Benches

Earlier this morning here in Australia, we woke up to the news that 22 x grand slam champion from Spain Rafa Nadal made a difficult decision to exit in this year’s running at Wimbledon ahead of tonight’s semi-final due to injury. That paves the way for our own Nick Kyrgios – who is now one step away from winning his first grand slam championship on Sunday – thanks to Rafa’s withdrawal via walkover. For now, he will watch the other semi final in a few hours time & see who will be his next challenger – either Britain’s Cameron Norrie or Novak Djokovic from Serbia.

Yes, it’s been heartbreaking not to see him continue if you’re a Rafa fan, but recovery comes first before getting back up to speed with fitness on the tennis court. We would’ve liked to see him win his third straight grand slam title this year, as well as make it title No.23 & go one better to complete the clean sweep at the US Open.

Although he can take home the fourth & grand slam tournament of the year in mid-September, but he will be approaching age 37 now going into mid-2023. So there will be plenty of decisions made if Rafa is gonna bounce back or else retire next year. If he still chooses to play, then he will try and be the third player to win all four grand slams in a single year before retiring from the sport for good – after Rod Laver back in 1962 & 1969 & Don Budge in 1938.

Meanwhile, what a moment to savour from our Aussie own Nick Kyrgios in his first grand slam final appearance – with the Wimbledon Men’s Singles trophy now on his sights. This is the moment he has been waiting for a long time after he took the world by storm out of nowhere – especially when he shocked 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece in the 3rd Round a few days ago.

Yes, there’s going to be talk about his off-court life over the next few weeks but now it’s not the time to talk about it. Instead, Australia is right behind him on the cusp of making history at Wimbledon – which would mean another golden moment in Australian tennis and sport in general – alongside the now retired Ash Barty earlier this year at the Australian Open.

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Two first-time grand slam finalists: Ons Jabeur & Elena Rybakina are ready to battle it out for the one and only Wimbledon Ladies Singles’ Title tomorrow

by Sports Benches

We now have two first-time ladies singles’ finalists going into tomorrow night on Day 13 here at Wimbledon. We have Tunisian Ons Jabeur where she had an very easy first set spell before she reacted to Tatjana Maria’s 2nd half fightback with a supercharged sprint towards the finish line – which was impossible for Maria to catch her down in 1st. And on the other hand, it’s Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan. She was just too good all along to wrap up in straight sets from start to finish against a two-time Grand Slam Champion – Romania’s Simona Halep. The final score was 6-3, 6-3.

It’s not been the return she wanted in the end when Halep last played in a grand slam final four back in 2020 at the Australian Open. She finally found a way to get the ball rolling after a poor start when Rybakina was way ahead in the opening set. Although she did well to try and stay in contention going into the 2nd set, but Halep just didn’t have the 2nd half momentum to match her opponent’s standard to stand any chance possible of upsurging Rybakina. It’s good to see her back at her best though, as there’s plenty of unfinished business ahead for Halep.

And congratulations to Rybakina on another outstanding display that secured her first-ever grand slam final appearance. There’s a lot of things to say about her natural game & playing style – especially when she got off to a fast start before she read really well on Halep’s strengths earlier in the 2nd set & pulled off another easy run with a straight sets victory past the finish line. It gave us plenty of reasons as to why she’s here to win grand slam silverware, as she has unbelievable potential at age 23. But it remains to seen if Rybakina can overcome Jabeur with the same mindset & fight on what it should be an amazing finish to this women’s singles final tomorrow.

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Nick Kyrgios continues his fairytale 2022 Wimbledon campaign with another victory in the Quarter-Final v Cristian Garin

by Sports Benches

Once again, Nick Kyrgios has made Australia proud as our last man standing in the last eight on Day 10 yesterday at Wimbledon, despite the off-court drama surrounding him over the last 24 hours.

Speaking of being the last man standing, he never gave up battling so hard patiently against a difficult opponent – like Chilean wildcard Cristian Garin. Not only he overcame his opponent in straight sets, but he also became the first Australian to play in a Wimbledon Final 4 since Lleyton Hewitt back in 2005. He will no doubt be ready for another uphill battle for tomorrow’s semi-final against Spaniard Rafa Nadal – in the hope of going one better towards Sunday’s big final v either Novak Djokovic from Serbia or Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The final score; 4-6, 3-6, 6-7 via 5-7 tiebreaker.

It’s been a unreal run from the 26-year-old in Garin but his time at SW19 has now came to an end from the last 8. He never gave Kyrgios a free run when Garin fired off well ahead of him with an excellent 1st-half momentum. However, he just didn’t have the other half consistency to pile more pressure back to his opponent. It would’ve mean a lifeline or two in order to stay alive in this tie but that became a missed opportunity when Kyrgios swooped in all three sets instead. Well played though, as he hopes to build on his fairytale Wimbledon campaign at the US Open late next month.

Meanwhile, hats off to Kyrgios on another breakthrough win en route to his first-ever grand slam singles semi-final at 27. He responded really well to Garin’s opening half momentum that gave himself some time to close in on his opponent with patience. Then they were both tested at the very end through every set where Kyrgios provided the better execution to shut down Garin. He just never rushes to look through the body language of Garin on-court before he went on to unpack & action it in his best ability. These are the traits Kyrgios will be tested once again in another make or break moment as the

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