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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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Elena Rybakina’s fightback & all-round game beats Ons Jabeur’s fast start for the 2022 Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles title

by Sports Benches

What a way to end this ladies’ singles final on Day 13 at Wimbledon. Ons Jabeur was off to a very easy start with the early lead, but the match wasn’t over just yet when Elena Rybakina held at 1-1 apiece to bring an exciting 3rd set decider. In the end, it’s Rybakina – who overcame Jabeur at the final restart – before she pulled a comfortable finish with a huge breakthrough moment right here on Centre Court. The final score was 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Yes, it’s been so emotional when Jabeur ended up being 2nd best on her first grand slam final appearance. She came here with a fast start to get the ball rolling which blew Rybakina away. However, it’s just not enough to pile the pressure even further when it comes to the 2nd and later 3rd sets. If she had the execution and 2nd half fight to match her opponent’s standard, then this would’ve been a different story via a tiebreak or even regaining the lead. Unfortunately, she couldn’t have them ready to stop Rybakina in its tracks & finish it off her way. But there’s still a whole lot of tennis to look forward to, as Jabeur should continue working hard & try to go one better in the next few grand slams.

And congratulations to 23-year-old Rybakina – who now the Wimbledon ladies singles’ trophy – in her hands for the first time. Now she may have to improve on her build-up base where Rybakina was exposed by Jabeur earlier on. But how about we applaud her fightback, all-round game, patience and execution that helped earn her first major at SW19 – especially with a impressive tall build at 6 foot that got the best of her mind games. She quickly made up lost time from the 2nd set restart when Rybakina tied Jabeur at 1-1, before the path was hers once she took over the lead & controlled the court ever since on the run home. What a moment, what a championship win for the Kazakh. Let’s see if she can continue to be a consistent elite Top 5-10 grand slam player from now on.

For now, Australia is ready to back Nick Kyrgios later night in a bid to take home the gentlemen’s singles trophy against none other than Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

#Tennis #Wimbledon #GrandSlam #OnsJabeur #ElenaRybakina #Tunisia #Kazakhstan #CentreCourt

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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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Elena Rybakina cancelled Ajla Tomljanovic’s strong start with an amazing two-set comeback that sealed a spot for tonight’s semi v Simona Halep at Wimbledon

by Sports Benches

We’re all gutted for our Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic – who may not have held off Elena Rybakina following a brilliant opening set spell – but she has bowed out with her head held high after back-to-back Ladies’ Singles Quarter-Finals here at Wimbledon. At the end of the day though, what a performance from Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina with the win from the opening set down to just being too good in the end. Her next opponent now for tonight’s semi-final will be 16th seed Simona Halep from Romania, as the final score was 6-4, 2-6, 3-6.

As said just above, Tomljanovic fought off a competitive battle at the start that earned her the opening set lead, where she was just one set away from advancing through to tonight’s semis. Unfortunately, she just couldn’t find the execution needed to cross the finish line first when Rybakina held her back at 1-1 apiece- before it was too late when Tomljanovic was eventually overtaken that confirmed elimination on the run home. It doesn’t mean the hard work is well and truly done, having mastered over the last two years on the grass court. Now let’s see if she can replicate the same thing on the hard surface. Her best result over in that surface was the 3rd Round at the US Open last year; So hopefully, that would give her some confidence going into next year’s Australian Open in Melbourne.

And congratulations to Rybakina who is set to play in her first ever grand slam semi final v Halep. She may have narrowly lost the first set but it doesn’t mean this tie was over just yet. The response she made to hold back Tomljanovic going into the final set decider before firing away home first with the execution & patience shows that she has no reason to be scared of her next opponent. She’s young with so much potential at age 23 alongside a really tall stature at just six foot to knock any opponent out of the park. There could be two first timers for Saturday’s final with either Ons Jabeur or Tatjana Maria, but it only depends on Rybakina‘s ability to get the job done against someone – who is very experienced with two grand slam championships to Halep’s name.

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Wimbledon 2022: Two Aussies Ajla Tomljanovic and Nick Kyrgios on the hunt towards their potential semi-final singles’ berth on Day 10 today

by Sports Benches

We still have two Aussies standing in the last eight at Wimbledon that will begin in a few hours’ time – Nick Kyrgios and Ajla Tomljanovic. Yes, we’ve heard the unexpected news from off-court yesterday that Nick Kyrgios has been hit with a domestic violence assault charge over his ex-girlfriend from December last year. Nevertheless, he will still be playing v Cristian Garin from Chile in a bid to advance through to Friday’s Semis against – either American Taylor Fritz or Spaniard Rafa Nadal, as his next trial will take place next month at a court in Canberra.

We would’ve love to see an all-Australian QF with Kyrgios & Alex De Minaur that would guarantee an Aussie going into the semis but De Minaur’s great start after the first two sets was eventually hijacked by his upcoming opponent. Neither does Jason Kubler when he also advanced through to the last 16 before he was easily beaten by Fritz but then it would’ve been another hard next match anyway v one of the world’s best in Rafa.

While we won’t make any further comments about his off-court situation – especially when Kyrgios has such a big reputation there of being famous- but right now he will want to focus on the game if he still wants to be the last man standing going into the last four for Australia.

Meanwhile, we have Ajla Tomljanovic as our other female Aussie in the ladies’ singles last eight v 17th seed from Kazakhstan – Elena Rybakina. She has demonstrated brilliant fightback from the opening set down in her last two rounds v Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) & Alize Cornet (France) respectively. Now she’s ready to unpack these strengths in order to eliminate Ryabakina, and hopefully advance into the semis tomorrow for a shot towards Saturday’s big final against – either Simona Halep from Romania or USA’s Amanda Anisimova.

Here we come as these two Aussies look set to make history on Day 10 at Wimbledon!

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