Tag:

Jannik Sinner

World No.4 Italian Jannik Sinner is on a roll this afternoon at Margaret Court Arena following a straight sets win v Sebastian Baez from Argentina. He was too good in the opening two sets & although Baez finally got the ball rolling on time that late in such a huge task to try & hang in there, but Sinner took his time well to bring it home with the win 6-0, 6-1 & 6-3. The Davis Cup team winning player for Team Italy will now face either Tomáš Macháč (Czech Republic) or Karen Khachanov (Russia) for the fourth round this Sunday.

It’s been a great run where this is the second time that Baez has played in the third round after the 2023 US Open but his time was over so fast against such a tremendous player. Like how he fought back in the third set with some good shots to slow Sinner down. But then he was so behind unfortunately for most of the time as there’s nothing he can do about it other than looking to move on next time. He’s ranked 26th right now at age 23 who might not be the tallest but has great ability to unpack things along the way where a great ATP Tour season would see him challenge beyond the third round. And yes, what a player he is from Sinner who is enjoying the Tennis of his life at the moment. He was simply too good over the first two sets over an opponent being so much shorter than him before he took his time a bit longer well against an alert & ready Baez in the third set with a great way to wrap it up in just under two hours of play. Aside from the 2023 Davis Cup team win for Italy, he only made the semi-final last year at Wimbledon but only made the last 8 at Melbourne Park once back in 2022. So he has plenty to prove as his Davis Cup heroics can help springboard his way into something special & win a grand slam from there – same goes to our Aussie own Alex De Minaur who also did well in the Davis Cup and he’s currently ranked World No.10.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

It’s not the day the Aussie Davis Cup Team wanted to bow out with another runner-up finish this time to Italy, but it was still a great run again nonetheless where they showed some fight by staying on right through the very end during Finals week in Malaga, Spain. We didn’t have a great start v Czech Republic but Alex De Minaur and the strong doubles pair of Matt Ebden & Max Purcell has turned things around from 0-1 to 2-1 that saw them live another day onto the semi-finals v Finland after they shockingly knocked last year’s champs Canada out of the tournament.

Yes, that semis performance was easily good enough without the need of a doubles match following a 2-0 whitewash win v Finland as the Aussies go through to the final for the second straight year. They needed that prestigious trophy so bad having last won it back in 2003 on home soil v Spain at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. But coming back again this time v the Italians after their big win in the other semi-final from Saturday v Serbia, we unfortunately fell short once again fair & square with a 2-0 loss where Italy set the benchmark higher ahead of everyone & they too deserve to win the Davis Cup Trophy for the second time since 1976.

Oh so close when Alexei Popyrin fought back from the opening set down but fair play to Matteo Arnaldi who responded really well to nail him down during the 3rd set drag race. And Jannik Sinner has unleashed his A-game in the 2nd singles tie after he blew Novak Djokovic away where Alex De Minaur just couldn’t grasp any of his weaknesses all along. If De Minaur or Popyrin won their own games, we could’ve seen our strong Doubles team back in the final tie decider to maybe outmuscle them towards the end there.

Italy has some excellent talent as they hope to see Sinner and/or Arnaldi go all the way in the next few grand slams starting with the annual Australian Open at Melbourne Park in January. Meanwhile, as said, Australia should keep on working that saw them work their way through to the big Davis Cup Final over the last two years. You never know as the Aussies can continue to be at their best when it comes to the World Cup of team Tennis & surely they will finally win back the Davis Cup next time around sooner rather than later.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

The 1st of two players confirmed for the 2nd semi-final spot goes to Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece, he just defeated 11th seed Italian Jannik Sinner in straight sets (3-6, 4-6, 2-6) at Rod Laver Arena.

Sinner left Melbourne Park with his highest result so far at the Australian Open in the Final 8, he made up some lost time and won back some games as Sinner doesn’t take Tsitsipas lightly with plenty of tough duels. However, a poor start combined with a huge gap behind Tsitsipas left Sinner no time to execute & stay in contention, when he couldn’t level 1-1 after the 2nd set before he was quickly eliminated. He’s 20 years old though so Sinner has time to improve & win a Grand Slam in the future, having defeated fellow future champion Alex De Minaur prior to the Quarter-Final two days ago in the 4th Round.

And speaking of next-generation Grand Slam stars & champions, Tsitsipas is through to the Australian Open semis once again which will be his third occasion & Melbournians do love him. He simply was unbelievable where he built that early headstart, extended his lead as this tie goes while he overcame a series of competitive battles before Tsitsipas comfortably found the homestretch in just over two hours.

All eyes on the 4th and last Quarter-Final tie with Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime v Daniil Medvedev from Russia, where one of them will race towards that 2nd and final semi-final ticket v Tsitsipas on Friday night.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Two brilliant Quarter-Final match-ups last night at the same Rod Laver Arena venue in Melbourne, these players such as Denis Shapovalov & Gael Monfils showed plenty of fight on the Tennis court but one of them had to end out on top as Rafael Nadal & Matteo Berrettini defeated their respective opponents, as they will face each other in the 1st semi-final on Friday Afternoon.

Unlucky from Shapovalov, who fought very hard, after he went from the first two sets down to a 2-2 lead that led to the 5th set decider. It goes to show he is no stranger of playing through long spells and did hit back Rafa on occasions, he just couldn’t hold it off a little longer during that climax towards the finish line and had to smash his racket in the end.

The same went with 35 year old from France Gael Monfils where he too was always on the same page as Berrettini, now Monfils began to make up lost time from the close first two set defeats & almost pulled a late comeback. However, he was blown away quickly by Berretini when it comes to a final lap sprint which confirmed his elimination from the Final 8 of this main draw.

Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal off to a flying start with an early lead following the first two sets, although he was tested on occasions later on but he had the better experience when it comes to his finishing & that came back to haunt Shapovalov’s renewed 2nd half momentum. And Berrettini just never gave up, who didn’t have the easiest of battles along the way, against an experienced Grand Slam semi-finalist like Monfils. He eventually found light at the end of the tunnel during the 5th set decider having held his early two sets lead intact as his advantage & pulled off too good in the end.

Look out for Jannik Sinner v Stefanos Tsitsipas plus Felix Auger-Aliassime v Daniil Medvedev in the other two Quarter-Final ties later today.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Great to see Ash Barty in the Quarter-Finals after another straight sets (6-4, 6-3) win v Amanda Anisimova, she had fought back a series of close battles at the beginning which wasn’t easy before it led to a easier path later on that summed up Barty’s terrific Sunday night at Rod Laver Arena. Her next challenger will be 21st seed Jessica Pegula on Wednesday, where one of them will face either Barbora Krejcikova or Madison Keys for the first semi-final tie on Thursday.

Anisimova played some great games especially when she fired off early on both sets, but she just couldn’t bridge that 2nd half consistency that became her huge weakness throughout this round of 16 tie and it eventually let her down. She has a bright future though having upsetted the reigning champion Naomi Osaka prior to her meeting last night v Barty, and Anisimova is sure to return where she left off from the 2019 French Open semis with the help of her consultant Darren Cahill.

For now, it’s all eyes on the men’s singles side and hope that another Aussie will advance to the Final 8, when Alex De Minaur will meet 11th seed Italian Jannik Sinner later this afternoon also at Rod Laver Arena.

#Tennis #AshBarty #AmandaAnisimova #JessicaPegula #AustralianOpen #GrandSlam #RodLaverArena

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • 1
  • 2