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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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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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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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Cameron Norrie is one tie away from being the next Briton in-line for a home grand slam final after he defeated David Goffin in the Quarter-Final

by Sports Benches

What a thrilling Quarter-Final match to close out Day 9 of Wimbledon when we saw two brilliant players battle for that 1st of two semi-final spots for Friday v Novak Djokovic. We love seeing Belgian David Goffin & Britain’s Cameron Norrie fought back and forth through each and every set until the very end. There’s only one winner to settle at Court No.1 as Norrie came out victorious for Great Britain – 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 3-6 & 5-7.

So unlucky from Belgian No.1 David Goffin who was just being eliminated from the last 8 of this gentlemen’s singles draw. He fired off well for a start before Goffin bounced back after the third set in a bid to wrap things up from his end. Sadly, he just couldn’t overcome the persistence, fightback and execution when Norrie brought to a fifth and final set showdown before it was too late. He’s always a top player with so much effort though, as this was his fourth grand slam Quarter-Final appearance since the 2019 edition here.

Meanwhile, Great Britain is right behind Norrie now in a bid to upsurge Djokovic in the semis on Friday, and be the next Briton to play on a home grand slam final since Andy Murray back in 2016. He finally got the ball rolling when Goffin already took the 1st set lead earlier on. However, that doesn’t mean it’s over when it comes to the overall result – as Norrie just never gave up under pressure all match long. It helped him respond every time Goffin fought back – especially after the 4th set that gave him a lifeline to close it out his way. And that is top level tennis from Norrie when he proved to be a better fighter than Goffin, before he kicked his opponent out of the Final 8 with a brilliant finish to seal the win in front of his home supporters.

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Ajla Tomljanovic – the only Aussie left standing in the Wimbledon Ladies Singles’ 4th Round after she went from the 1st set to a comeback win v Barbora Krejcikova

by Sports Benches

Apart from the three Aussies being confirmed in the men’s singles fourth round with Alex De Minaur, Jason Kubler & Nick Kyrgios; We do only have one player left over at the women’s singles side – also in the fourth round – in none other than Ajla Tomljanovic. She too came from behind to eliminate the 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova from Czech Republic – 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 at Court No.12.

It’s not the exit the Czech wanted following a great start to this tie with an easy first set spell. She just couldn’t build on to bring herself home first ever since with two missed opportunities being taken away. She struggled to bridge that 2nd half consistency before Tomljanovic stepped in to tie at 1-1 apiece, brought it to a 3rd set decider where she later lost the lead & now it’s too late. She also hasn’t had a great grand slam record lately following her 1st round elimination recently at the French Open. But she’s 26 having made the Quarter-Finals earlier this year at the Australian Open, as it’s still possible for her to end her 2022 grand slam season on a high just like it was last year in the Final 8 at the US Open.

Meanwhile, Congratulations to Tomljanovic with the win she deserves against one of the past grand slam champions on-display. She may be disappointed with the poor start there by Krejcikova. However, she never gave up when Tomljanovic began to make up lost time as this tie goes on. Not only she was better than her opponent when it comes to the 2nd half pull, but also the persistence & fightback that helped gave herself another lifeline going into the 3rd set decider. From there, it allowed her a bit more time to read about Krejcikova’s on-court approach/body language before Tomljanovic smashed her way past the finish line first for the win.

It will be interesting to see if she can get past Alize Cornet from France on Monday – who just eliminated World No.1 Iga Swiatek from Poland – also in the third round tie – 4-6, 2-6. Should she win once again, it will be back-to-back Final 8s for another year here at Wimbledon.

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Wimbledon 2022: Nick Kyrgios shocks 4th Seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with the upset win going into the 4th Round v Brandon Nakashima on Monday

by Sports Benches

What an upset it has been from our Aussie own Nick Kyrgios who just knocked 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the third round at Wimbledon. Both players played really well where Tsitsipas just narrowly beat Kyrgios for the first set lead via the tiebreak. However, Kyrgios had the better fightback than Tsitsipas that saw him win over the next three consecutive sets that sealed his upset. The final score at Court No.1 is 6-2 via 2-7 tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-3 & 7-6 via 9-7 tiebreaker.

Gutted for Tsitsipas with the shock elimination there, even though he fought hard all the way until the very end. The fire off was there when he just shut down Kyrgios with the opening set lead after a series of competitive duels going into the tiebreak. Although he had the opportunity to bring it towards the 5th & final set decider via another tiebreak; unfortunately, he just didn’t have the consistency needed to stay ahead & execute it his way. It’s the one big weakness where he was exposed as this tie goes on by Kyrgios.

And congratulations to Krygios with the win as he advances into the fourth round on Monday v American Brandon Nakashima. If he wins that next round tie, then this will be the third Quarter-Final appearance; first since the 2015 Australian Open and second here at Wimbledon back in 2014. He may have fell short in the opening set spell but he proved to be the better player than Tsitsipas when it comes to the 2nd half pull ever since. We love his fightback when he went from the opening set down to winning the next three straight sets. It tested his persistence to respond back to Tsitsipas under pressure before he upsurged his opponent in the process; first with the lead after the 3rd set, then the victory he deserved in front of these delightful and excited spectators.

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Andy Murray concludes the opening day’s play of the 2022 Wimbledon with the First Round win v Australia’s James Duckworth

by Sports Benches

We wrap up the opening day of Wimbledon at Centre Court with Grand Slam veteran Andy Murray from Britain v one of our Aussies in action – James Duckworth.

What a brilliant response from Duckworth with early 1st set lead out of nowhere, having held Murray back for a while before he moved onto the 2nd set in his way. However, he just couldn’t kick on ever since where Murray had the better execution and long-run consistency in the end, with three sets being tied up to advance into Round 2 for Day 3 tomorrow v 20th Seed John Isner from the USA.

The final score is 4-6 to Duckworth; 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to Murray.

It’s gutting to see Duckworth leave very early but great effort though to try & stay in this fight nonetheless. He’s always great at responding which is one of the traits you need to be prepared at grand slam level, having won the opening set following a poor start there. But building on that opening set lead to keep it consistent & executing it is another trait if you really want to go all the way – which is something he couldn’t do before he left it too late by the fourth set. He’s 30 now so let’s hope he learns a thing or two from the legend like Murray so Duckworth can possibly make more possible upsets like this.

And congratulations to Andy Murray with the win – who still has something to offer at the age of 35 – even though he hasn’t advanced to any finals appearance in recent years since the 2017 US Open Quarter-Finals. He was tested earlier on when his fantastic start to this opening tie was challenged by Duckworth en route for the opening set lead. At the end of the day however, he’s good at being persistent where Murray was too good over the next two sets – before he came home first at his own pace that denied Duckworth the chance to bring out the 5th & final set decider. Now Cameron Norrie may have the top-ranked seed at No.9 by a Briton, but Murray still has his supporters’ backing in a bid to get back to his best on home soil if he can get past Isner.

#Wimbledon #Tennis #GrandSlam #AndyMurray #JamesDuckworth

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