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Alex De Minaur & the doubles pair of Max Purcell & Jordan Thompson turned out to be Australia’s saviour in the semis v Croatia as they advanced into Sunday’s Davis Cup Final

by Sports Benches

Australia has done it as they have now punched their ticket for Sunday’s Davis Cup Final following their win in the Doubles decider v Croatia where they wrapped up 2-1 in this series. Their next opponent will either be Italy or Canada as these sides will battle it out in the other Semi-Final later tonight.

We’ll start off with Borna Coric & Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first singles match where both players battled so hard from the very start. However, it was Coric who narrowly escaped Kokkinakis with the opening set lead before he shut him completely in straight sets that gave Croatia a 1-0 headstart. The final score was 4-6, 3-6.

Then we turn our attention to Alex De Minaur v Marin Cilic in the second singles tie that will determine if it’s a Croatia 2-0 whitewash or a lifeline for Australia going into the 3rd & final doubles match. It’s safe to say that De Minaur have saved Australia from the brink of elimination at 1-1 apiece – where he was just too good for Cilic from start to finish – 6-2, 6-2.

And alright here’s the doubles deciding tie now where one of them will advance into Sunday’s Final v the winner of Semi-Final No.1 between Italy or Canada; It’s Max Purcell & Jordan Thompson v Nikola Metkic & Mate Pavic. Like we saw with the opening singles tie earlier on, this opening stage was really competitive by both teams before Croatia narrowly got away unscathed in the first set via tiebreaker. 

But not all hope is lost though from Australia when they never gave up with the rebound after the break that sets up a one-set shootout. In the end, it’s Australia who pulled off comfortably following a tight first half distance, as they have came from behind to close off a stunning 2-1 series win v Croatia. The final score was 6-7 (3-7 tiebreaker), 7-5, 6-4.

We loved the leadership Lleyton Hewitt orchestrated as Team Captain, as well as Purcell & Thompson’s celebration & De Minaur’s roar both on-court & from the crowd. Let’s see if they can go all the way & lift this historic trophy for the first time in 19 years, as Australia want to be an elite challenger again for many years to come.

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2022 French Open Day 13: Marin Cilic’s brilliant opening set spell was cancelled by Casper Ruud’s comeback that decided the 2nd and final spot for Sunday’s Final

by Sports Benches

It was a fast and easy start from the 20th seed in Croatian Marin Cilic with the opening set lead. However, his momentum quickly went downhill when Casper Ruud from Norway fought back at 1-1 apiece after the break before Ruud pulled off further away from Cilic comfortably that secured his French Open final spot towards the finish line. The final score is 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Marin Cilic’s fairytale run has just came to an end. He got the ball rolling for a start with the early lead but then fell off a cliff ever since when he just couldn’t find the consistency to stay in this fight. Not only he was gutted to be held short while making some lost time during the next set, but he was blown away so easily through the 3rd & 4th sets that marked his exit out of the Final 4. It’s good to see him being back to his best though at age 33, having last made the grand slam finals back in the 2018 Australian Open where he was runner-up to Roger Federer.

And on Casper Ruud, take a bow as he will gear up for his first ever grand slam final appearance tomorrow v Rafa Nadal. He never looked out of place even though Ruud couldn’t bridge that gap to Cilic earlier in the first set. But it’s all about the finish where Ruud stood out as the better player from last night. The patience & response he saw right into Cilic’s game helped the Norwegian deny him a 2-0 lead, as well as tie at 1-1 before Ruud proved too good to wrap this up just under the three-hour mark.

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2022 French Open Day 11: Holger Rune’s sensational run has come to an end as Casper Ruud books semi-final place tomorrow v Marin Cilic

by Sports Benches

The Final Four is all set for Day 13 tomorrow at the French Open; Rafa Nadal v Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud v Marin Cilic. Casper Ruud proved too good to pull off at the start while youngster Holger Rune isn’t an easy opponent to face when he made up some lost time from the opening set down. But it’s Ruud who responded well to Rune’s competitiveness when he denied him a 3rd set closer at the tiebreak followed by a win that sent the Dane out of the Quarter-Finals here at Court Philippe Chatrier. The final score is 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 via 7-2 tiebreaker. 6-3.

Well, it’s been a great run but it all has to come to an end from 19-year-old Dane Holger Rune. He responded really well from the opening set down where Rune showed lots of fight to try and keep his French Open campaign alive. However, the poor starts really let him down after he was easily blown away while he just couldn’t kick on when Rune fell short in the 3rd set before he was over and done by Ruud. It’s his first grand slam knockout appearance which is quite a remarkable achievement just under 20 years old. He’s sure to create many more moments including the moment when Rune gets to win his first grand slam title.

And job well done to World No.8 Casper Ruud from Norway with the win. He never looked out of place having fired off to a fast start; he also didn’t hesitate on the young Dane when Ruud lost the 2nd set before he held back Rune at the tiebreak & pulled off his way further towards the finish line. This tie was his first grand slam Quarter-Finals appearance as his brilliant run at the French Open continues into the Final Four tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if he can knock off Marin Cilic for a spot in the final this Sunday with either Rafa Nadal or Alexander Zverev.

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Tennis News, Australia clean swept by Croatia 3-0 in Group D of the 2021 Davis Cup Finals at Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy

by Sports Benches

It’s not been a great day in the office for Australia today in the 2021 Davis Cup Finals when they were clean swept by Croatia 3-0 during their first of two Group D encounters at Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy.

Yes, that first game between Croatian Borna Gojo and Aussie Alexei Popyrin was really intense with really great battles from both players that gone down to the very end but it’s always Gojo who nailed Popyrin down first in straight sets (Final Score: 7-6 via 7-5 tiebreaker & 7-5).

Then we turn our attention to Marin Cilic & Alex De Minaur where De Minaur redeemed himself in the second set after a poor start earlier on, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hold off the win De Minaur wanted for Australia despite that early lead in the third set (Final Score: 6-1, 5-7, & 6-4).

And last but not least the doubles tie with Croatia (Nikola Mektic & Mate Pavic) being too good along the way here to wrap up a 3-0 whitewash v Australia (Alex De Minaur & John Peers), Australia might have the early fire off but just wasn’t able to produce the goods needed to hold Croatia back (Final Score: 6-3, 6-1).

With that being said Australia’s next encounter in Group D is Hungary on 8pm Saturday Night AEDT as they needed to smash something big & win all three ties via both singles & a doubles game
if an unlikely Quarter-Finals berth comes their way.

#DavisCup #Croatia #Australia #Tennis #PapaAlpitour #DavisCupFinals #BornaGojo #AlexeiPopyrin #MarinCilic #AlexDeMinaur #JohnPeers #NikolaMektic #MatePavic

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