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Stefanos Tsitsipas comes out on top against Zdenez Kolar during an intense four-hour showdown that wraps up Day 5 of the 2022 French Open

by Sports Benches

What a way to finish Day 5 of the 2022 French Open with a four-hour thriller between Zdenez Kolar from Czech Repiblicj & Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas at Court Suzanne Lenglen. Tsitsipas went up ahead early in the first half while Kolar was never being given a free pass where he showed plenty of fight throughout the whole time. But a 3rd set win alone from Kolar wasn’t enough to drag this game even further towards a 5th set decider & a possible shock upset, as Tsitsipas takes out the win; 3-6, 6-7 via 8-10 tiebreaker, 7-6 via 7-3 tiebreaker, 6-7 via 7-9 tiebreaker.

It’s unlucky to see Kolar being eliminated after he did everything possible to stay in this fight during his Round 2 match-up. He responded really well from the opening set down where Kolar held back Tsitsipas until the very end through the tiebreak, which is a super competitive effort from the 25-year-old, who is currently ranked at World No.134. Although he denied Tsitsipas a straight sets win at the first attempt following the 3rd set, but a poor start and finishing just saw Kolar being too far behind when it comes to matching his opponent’s elite stature. There’s always room for improvement because Kolar never gave up & fought hard against a top-ranked player like an underdog tonight, as he hopes to come back better with even more miracles at Wimbledon late next month.

And congratulations To Tsitsipas with the win where he will advance to Round 3 on Day 7 Saturday v Mikael Ymer from Sweden. It was a very easy fire off as always with the opening set lead. Now Tsitsipas wasn’t given an easy ride as this tie goes on where he was constantly being challenged by Kolar that went all the way through the tiebreak. He almost got the job done in straight sets at one point, having secured a close 2nd set win before Kolar struck one back going into the fourth set. However, he finally found light at the end of the tunnel when Tsitsipas used his first-half advantage that came back to haunt Kolar & closed his gruelling night at the office on a high note.

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2022 French Open: Iga Swiatek too good for Alison Riske in Round 2 at Court Suzanne Lenglen

by Sports Benches

World No.1 Iga Swiatek was just too good against Alison Riske in straight sets at Court Suzanne Lenglen. Her first set spell so was outstanding that went unchallenged with six games to zero.

Although Riske may have fought back a game or two after the break, but it’s all about the overall performance where Swiatek closed this off comfortably from start to finish; 6-0, 6-2.

It was not the exit Riske wanted, having been blown away by Swiatek’s elite offerings on the table. She did the best she can when Riske fought back a couple of games, as well as shown some late progress with two games being accrued in the 2nd set. But the ship was already sailed by that stage when it comes to the overall lead.

And there’s so many good things to say about Swiatek where she dominated this game for the whole time; left, right & centre. She will continue her French Open campaign going into Saturday for Round 3 against Danka Kovinic from Montenegro, in a bid to secure her 2nd grand slam triumph since that breakthrough here as a 19-year-old two years ago. And although she would’ve love to challenge Ash Barty at any final, but with Barty now retired, It’s Swiatek’s time now to prove herself that she can win grand slam singles’ tournaments every year.

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2022 French Open, Round 2: Belinda Bencic holds off Bianca Andreescu’s late fightback in the 2nd set with a straight sets win

by Sports Benches

It was an easy run for the majority from the World No.13 in Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic while Canadian Bianca Andreescu made up some lost time with the 2nd set rebound. At the end of the day though, it’s Bencic who cancelled Andreescu’s possible 3rd set lifeline in a straight sets win at Court Philippe Chatrier; 6-2, 6-4.

Belinda Bencic was just too good with the strong fire offs that helped her get the ball rolling through a massive lead, so she can give herself some time to hold back her opponent. She was prepared for whatever Andreescu throws at her during the 2nd set, having almost been tied at 1-1 going into the final set decider at one point. However, Bencic eventually found a way to shut down Andreescu’s best game with her opponent’s lack of finishing while she still held a comfortable lead, where the Swiss No.1 came out unscathed that helped secure a 3rd Round tie with another Canadian in Leyland Anne Fernandez tomorrow.

And Bianca Andreescu responded well as of late in the 2nd set where she did the best she can to stay in contention towards the 3rd & final set decider, as Bencic doesn’t give any opponent including Andreescu a free pass. However, the poor starts really hurt Andreescu while Bencic take advantage of her weaknesses with a huge lead before it’s too late. The knee hasn’t been great to her over the last year or two since her heroics at the US Open back in 2019, but there’s still a lot of time to climb back into her best form towards pre-2020 level at age 21.

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2022 French Open: Novak Djokovic advances into the 3rd Round with a straight sets win v Alex Molcan

by Sports Benches

It was an easy start by Novak Djokovic while Slovakian Alex Molcan began to make up some lost time after he was beaten easily in the opening set. However, Molcan’s late fightback in the 3rd set wasn’t enough to save his French Open campaign, as Djokovic closed out this Round 2 tie in straight sets with the win; 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 via 7-4 tiebreaker.

Congratulations to Djokovic who is through to Round 3 tomorrow against Aljaz Bedene from Slovenia. He was simply outstanding for the majority during these two opening sets. Although he had to overcome a competitive duel in the third while Molcan tried to keep this game alive, but Djokovic used the lifeline well going into the tiebreak and capped off in style with the win. Brilliant response there to hold back his opponent in a couple of areas that helped Novak being prepared to fight hard & show grand slam quality on the court.

Meanwhile, Moclan played some brilliant shots that earned him a few games, especially when he tried to stay in this fight which went all the way through the tiebreak in the 3rd set. But a poor opening set spell alongside a couple of gaps with his inconsistency just couldn’t him challenge the elite stature of Djokovic in the end. He came off a great run recently in the ATP Tour despite a couple of runner-up losses so far in 2022. But there’s still room for improvement though at age 24 where his best grand slam appearance was the US Open 3rd Round last year, as well as being the 38th ranked singles’ player right now.

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2022 French Open: Paula Badosa off to a great start after an easy 54 min match-up v Fiona Ferro in Round 1

by Sports Benches

And 3rd seed Spaniard Paula Badosa was just too good against Fiona Ferro from France in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. She basically wrapped this up real quick in just 54 minutes from start to finis, as Badosa’s next opponent going into Round 2 tomorrow will be Estonian Kaja Juvan.

She’s currently ranked Number 2 behind Iga Swiatek from Poland in the world of the women’s singles game after Ash Barty chose to retire on a high with an Australian Open women’s singles’ title two months. Her best grand slam performance to date was the Quarter-Finals here last year where she was defeated by Slovakian Tamara Zidansek.

However, this is her only grand slam finals appearance so far after she couldn’t get past the Round of 16 earlier this year at the Australian Open by American Madison Keys in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. It’s still a long way to go but a great tournament last year here on clay, as well as a great WTA Tour campaign, also off the back from the same year, will hopefully be her breakthrough in a bid to win her first grand slam career here at the Roland Garros.

And unlucky with the heavy loss from Ferro where she was eliminated very early in this tournament. She was on the same page as Badosa with a point or two at the beginning of this match-up, but she just couldn’t keep up the high standards Badsoa has set ever since.

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2022 French Open: Alex De Minaur eliminated early in a shock defeat by Frenchman Hugo Gaston despite a competitive battle out of a five-set showdown

by Sports Benches

We’re all gutted to see our Australian No.1 & World No.19 Alex De Minaur being eliminated early by Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the opening round of the 2022 French Open at Court Suzanne Lenglen, even though it was a really competitive effort by the two players.

He fired off well but then fell behind for a while where De Minaur at one point was on a brink towards an early end going into the third set. However, he never gave up and began to rebound lost time midway through this match-up with two easy mini-wins in sets 3 & 4. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t hold off Gaston in a head-to-head sprint to the finish when De Minaur blew his lifeline away during the 5th & final set via the tiebreak.

And hats off to 21-year-old Gaston who opened his French Open campaign he really wanted at home in Paris. He responded to De Minaur’s fire off beautifully at the beginning with a late snatch following the opening set before he was too good in the second stanza. Now he may began to falter when De Minaur denied Gaston the chance to close the opening round in straight sets, even though he was beaten so easily after the fourth set. However, you gotta praise his finishing going into the final set tiebreak where Gaston managed to reset himself that helped him bow out comfortably with the win.

The final score if 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 via 10-6 tiebreaker, as Gaston will meet Argentine Pedro Cachin in the second round tomorrow.

There’s only one Aussie though in the men’s singles running when it comes to Jason Kulber after he too overcame a really tight battle v American Denis Kudla in straight sets that was all collected via tie-breakers. He will need to beat 10th seed Cameron Norrie from Great Britain if Kubler wishes to continue his run in the 2nd Round tonight.

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The next best Australian Tennis stars to watch following the retirement from Ash Barty

by Admin

Ashleigh Barty, a three-time Grand Slam champion, has announced her retirement from tennis. Barty, the No. 1 ranked women’s player got her country most of its major tournament, made it known publicly on Wednesday that she was leaving tennis for other pursuits. This will be the third time that Barty has stepped away from professional tennis but this is her first time of announcing her retirement. But her sudden retirement announcement coming after her triumph Melbourne, is a decision she has considered a lot. She has spent 113 weeks altogether at No. 1 putting her seventh on the career list. Barty happen to be the first women’s player to retire while on top of the single rankings since the Belgian star Justine Henin suddenly announced her retirement in May 2008.

Presently, and probably for eternity, Barty has ended her career $23.8 million prize money plus 15 career singles titles, including three at Grand Slam tournaments. In 2019, she won the French Open, in 2021 she won Wimbledon, and Australia Open this year, which means that she has won major singles titles on all three of tennis’ primary surfaces (clay, grass and hard court). Her triumph in the Australia Open gave her a great ending. She withdrew from the BNP Paribas Open making her Melbourne triumph her last match.

To conclude with, her unexpected retirement is obviously a blow to the sport. Barty is extremely popular in Australia with her humble personality. She is also a very important figure of Indigenous Austrailan descent.

After Barty’s retirement, there are few Aussie women’s players to watch: There are just two Australian women sitting in the world’s top 100 and they are Ajla Tomljanovic and Astra Sharma.

Ajla Tomljanovic has recorded eight singles wins in her career best Grand Slam season. She reached the Wimbledon quarter finals and US open third round. Ajla played a major role in the Fed Cup final in November 2019, making her first win for the country.

Astra Sharma won her first WTA singles title in April. She won her second WTA doubles title in Guadalajara. She was named twice in the Fed Cup team in 2019.

A 19 year old Olivier Gadecki. She is one of the fastest risers on the WTA the previous year. She moved from no ranking to mid-200s.

Charlotte Kempenaers and Tayla Preston are the two highest ranked juniors at the moment. They are both ranked in the top 40 – 50 in the world. Both of them will be competing at the upcoming junior grand slams.

THE NEXT BEST AUSTRAILIAN TENNIS STAR (MEN)

At 23, Alex de Minaur is one of Australia’s brilliant tennis prospect. He has continued to arise heads and he is still a player to keep close eye on moving forward.

De Minaur will be in action at the Miami Open on the 29th of March to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 32. Alex De Minaur has kept Australia’s hopes alive with a victory in the Davis Cup qualifier over Marton Fucsovics. In a relentless display, De Manaur defeated Fusovic, who is is ranked No. 35 in the world and 5 places below De Minaur.

James Duckworth is an Australia professional tennis player. He has a high rank in Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of the world No. 47 who he achieved on November 8 2021 and No. 185 doubles achieved on February 10 2020. Duckworth has won three titles and reached the semifinals of the 2010 French Open.

Thanasi Kokkinakis has made another chapter in his stunning 2022 comeback story with a victory over Hungary in the Davis Cup qualifier. It was his first match win in the world team event since 2015. That was the last time he represented Australia against Great Britain in the World Group semifinals.

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Tennis News, Rafa Nadal is the 2022 Australian Open Men’s Singles champion after he pulled off one of the greatest comebacks from the opening two sets down v Daniil Medvedev

by Sports Benches

What a way to wrap up two exciting weeks of Grand Slam Tennis in Melbourne!! We just saw a thrilling five 1/2 hour marathon of tonight’s men’s singles final where Rafa Nadal pulled off one of the greatest comebacks v Daniil Medvedev, having gone from 0-2 down to 3-2 in the end & that is sensational world-class sport to watch. It’s Rafa’s 21st Grand Slam title plus his 2nd on Australian soil since 2009.

Love how the crowd got behind Rafa especially during these tough times earlier on when Rafa had a poor start before he was almost done by the third set, but he never gave up with so much to reset his mindset, as this is the main reason how Rafa made up lost time step by step that eventually helped him leapfrog Medvedev towards the finish line after the 5th & final set decider.

And Medvedev gutted to settle runner-up here again for the second year running, he had a brilliant 1st half spell off the back from an easy start followed by a close 2nd set tiebreaker. However, he just couldn’t sort things out when it comes to the executions having hit and missed some easy shots plus a few heated exchanges with that chair umpire, unfortunately, these mistakes eventually came back to to him before it was too late which confirmed his runner-up status.

Final Score: 2-6, 6-7 via 5-7 tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5

Medvedev may not be what some fans see as the nice guy here, but he’s a great athlete nonetheless with a US Open title already bagged late last year and Daniil will bounce back for more silverware throughout 2022. Meanwhile, Rafa is still thriving at age 35, who still has a few more years, left in the tank before retiring as he’s unbelievable once again that put grand slam tennis to another level.

The summer of Australian sport is done for now but can’t wait for more grand slam tennis with the French Open next up from Sunday May 22 to June 5.

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Tennis News, Ash Barty just became the new Australian Open women’s singles champion on home soil after she defeated Danielle Collins in straight sets

by Sports Benches

Wow!! Can you believe it as Ash Barty just defeated 27th seed American Danielle Collins in straight sets & made history at Rod Laver Arena, as she is now the new Australian Open women’s singles champion. It’s her third grand slam title that first began at the French Open in 2019 followed by Wimbledon last year and her dream to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on home soil has now been fulfilled in Melbourne tonight.

She and Collins were on the same page at the beginning before Barty shifted a gear or two which justified the opening set lead, now Barty may have been tested a few times by Collins, who almost tied 1-1, after a brilliant response. However, she never gave up with so much patience having fought back a couple of games, brought it towards a tiebreaker & renewed that momentum where Barty beat Collins to the punch in the end.

And Collins would be disappointed to end up behind Barty, she came in this main draw as the 27th seed where she worked very hard through each round by upsetting some opponents along the way and here she is now in the main event. Collins returned the favor well back to Barty especially in the 2nd set having respond beautifully which was almost too good to pull off & still be in the game, it’s just not her night when it comes to the 2nd half momentum as Collins couldn’t hold back Barty before she eventually ran out of options at the tiebreak that saw her opponent race towards a home run.

Final Score: 6-3, 7-6 via 7-2 tiebreaker to Barty

Love seeing an Australian win a major grand slam title at home, it’s a huge night to write another breakthrough moment in the history of Australian sport. Let’s hope Ash continues her best tennis throughout the year and the next few years to come for more Grand Slam silverware. And for Collins, she will use her runner-up campaign here for some room for improvement, so she can try to improve these other Grand Slam records towards at least more Finals appearances that will help finally win a championship.

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Tennis News, Daniil Medvedev confirmed booking for Sunday’s Australian Open Men’s Singles Final after he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2nd semi-final last night

by Sports Benches

The 2nd semi-final tie from last night has been written at Rod Laver Arena, Daniil Medvedev got ahead with the early lead before Stefanos Tsitsipas came back after the break & tied at 1-1. However, Medvedev managed to steer in the right direction since then with the 3rd & 4th set turnaround, despite his dismay towards the umpire at one point, as he shown enough to seal victory plus booked his place for Sunday’s main event v Rafa Nadal.

Gutted for Tsitsipas, who had Melbournians rooting him last night, especially when some of that population has a strong Greek community. There’s no letting down on effort and fightback where Tsitsipas was always on the same page as Medvedev, he just couldn’t unpack the checkpoint and finish line.

And congratulations to Medvedev, who just advanced, to his 2nd straight Australian Open Final. It wasn’t the easiest of times when he battled against a fellow elite opponent like Tsitsipas, but he never gave up having kept being patient even though he lost his cool at one point, before the Russian saw light at the end of the tunnel & eventually made his way out of here first.

There’s only two days left of Australian Open Tennis in Melbourne, first up will be Australia’s own Ash Barty v American Danielle Collins tonight then we wrap this up with Nadal v Medvedev tomorrow.

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