All posts tagged: australian open news

‘I am surprising myself’: Carlos Alcaraz opens up about renewed serve at the Australian Open after entering record-breaking 14th Grand Slam quarter-final | Tennis News

‘I am surprising myself’: Carlos Alcaraz opens up about renewed serve at the Australian Open after entering record-breaking 14th Grand Slam quarter-final | Tennis News

Six-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz has admitted that he has been personally surprised by how well he has been serving with a renewed technique at the ongoing Australian Open. The 22-year-old said that the serve was an “important weapon” to his game, admitting that he was glad to see the high percentage of first serves that have landed right in the slam so far. The Spaniard booked a place in the quarter-final after beating 19th seed Tommy Paul 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 7-5 on Sunday. The upcoming match would be his 14th appearance in a last-eight fixture of a Grand Slam, thereby breaking the record for the most quarter-final appearances for any player before turning 23 in the Open Era, going past Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker, who had reached 13 Grand Slam quarter-finals before they had turned 23. “I’m surprising myself to be honest. The serve is something I’ve been working on for a long time. I’m really happy to see the improvement of the serve and to have a high percentage” ALSO READ …

Australian Open final, Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison Keys: Head-to-head, key facts, when and where to watch | Tennis News

Australian Open final, Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison Keys: Head-to-head, key facts, when and where to watch | Tennis News

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will battle American 19th seed Madison Keys in the final on Saturday looking to become the first woman since Martina Hingis from 1997-99 to win the Australian Open title three times in a row. Victory on Saturday would see the world No 1 become the sixth woman to win three straight Australian Open titles, joining Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and Hingis. It’s a feat that has not been achieved in 25 years. At the other end of the spectrum is 29-year-old Keys, looking for that elusive first Major. Despite an impressive start to 2025, few would have expected Keys to get this far but the 29-year-old is a worthy finalist having beaten world No 2 Iga Swiatek in the last four. Swiatek was the third top 10 seed to lose to Keys after the American defeated sixth seed Elena Rybakina in the last 16 and 10th seed Danielle Collins in the third round. Keys lost to compatriot Sloane Stephens in her only previous trip to a …

Jannik Sinner’s strong and improved baseline game helps him stun Novak Djokovic to reach Australian Open final | Tennis News

In a resolute, nerveless, three-hour-long display of destructive shot making and tactical mastery, Jannik Sinner, the rising 22-year-old World No.4, defeated Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday, reaching his first Major final and becoming the first Italian man to reach the singles final in Melbourne. Sinner outplayed and outmanoeuvred the undisputed king of Melbourne Park – and men’s tennis in general – and in doing so, not only strengthened his long-held credentials as a potential great in the making, but also achieved a feat that none of the Serb’s greatest rivals had been able to accomplish even at the peak of their careers. Prior to Friday, 10-time champion Djokovic had never lost in the semifinal or final of the Australian Open. A perfect 20-0 record. He was 33 matches unbeaten in Melbourne, a streak that went back to 2018 – 2195 days, as the broadcasters were keen to point out every chance they got. Savour the moment @janniksin 🥕#AusOpen • #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/FTSDsa2AOp — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) …

Hurkacz powers past French wildcard Cazaux into Australian Open last eight | Tennis News

Big-serving Hubert Hurkacz ended the dream run of French wildcard Arthur Cazaux 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 on Monday to advance to his first Australian Open quarter-final. Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz (L) shakes hands with France’s Arthur Cazaux after the end of their men’s singles match on day nine of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 22(AFP) Cazaux, 21, raced into a 3-0 lead in the first set but was pegged back by ninth-seed Hurkacz, who came out on top in the tie-break on John Cain Arena. Stay tuned for all the latest updates on Ram Mandir! Click here There were no breaks in a serve-dominated second set but the 26-year-old Pole again won the tie-break to take a firm grip on the match. He broke his 122nd-ranked opponent in the first game of the third set and never looked back. Overall, Hurkacz won 91 percent of his first-serve points and was broken just once in the entire match. The former Wimbledon semi-finalist, whose previous best performance at Melbourne Park was the fourth …

Australian Open: Djokovic, Sabalenka alive, but what are their title chances? | Tennis News

A riveting opening week of the 112th Australian Open came to an end on Saturday evening at Melbourne Park, with the women’s draw witnessing another big shocker. Linda Noskova, who has quite been in the discussion through the better part of 2023, scripted an upset in knocking out world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the first match of the night session on Day 7, just a day after world No. 3 Elena Rybakina, who was touted to lift her second major even by the likes of the legendary Martina Navratilova, succumbed at the end of a historic 42-point tie-breaker to incur a second-round exit. While the two big upsets could strengthen Aryna Sabalenka’s chances of successfully defending her crown, reigning men’s champion Novak Djokovic awaits a tough second week in Melbourne with ATP witnessing a familiar script. As Australian Open 2024 gears up for the final week, we take a look back at what unfolded in the opening seven days at Melbourne Park. Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic are both into the second week of …

What Novak Djokovic can learn from Golden Slam winner Steffi Graf? | Tennis News

If Novak Djokovic says that he can walk on water, the world is most likely to believe him. So late last year when the Serb said that 2024 for him would be about winning the Olympic gold medal at Paris and sweeping the four Slams, the ambitious new year goal sounded reasonable and realistic for most. The ones not convinced by the Serbian living legend were those who had diligently followed the then 19-year-old Steffi Graf’s magical Golden Grand Slam year of 1988. Djokovic might have won a world record 24 Slams but at 36 he isn’t the Steffi of the late 80s. The 1988 bar is too high. The German phenomenon lost a grand total of just two sets in all the four Grand Slams she won. Djokovic, by the way, has already lost two sets in the first two rounds of the season’s opening Slam – the ongoing Australian Open. Steffi’s breakthrough win of 1988 was at Wimbledon, where she stopped Martina’s six-year long unbeaten run. Credited with bringing power to the game, …

Australian Open 2024: Sumit Nagal stuns World No 31 Alexander Bublik | Tennis News

Sumit Nagal vs Alexander Bublik, Australian Open 2024 Results: India’s Sumit Nagal defeated World No 31 Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5) in straight sets to advance into the second round of the Australian Open. He will face the winner of Mackenzie McDonald and Shang Juncheng up next in the second round Nagal became the first Indian since Ramesh Krishnan at the 1989 Australian Open to beat a seeded player at a Grand Slam. That’s a big win for @nagalsumit 🇮🇳 He takes out No. 31 seed Bublik 6-4 6-2 7-6(5).#AusOpen • #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/ldM9VE4X0M — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2024 The top-ranked Indian singles player defeated Slovakia’s Alex Molcan, did not lose a set to reach the main draw of a Major for the fourth time in his career. Nagal, who recovered from a series of injuries to increase his ranking to 122 after being ranked outside the top 500 for much of last year, looked in good nick during his qualifying campaign, not losing a single set across his three matches. The first Indian man …

‘Djokovic comes into Australian Open 2023 as the favourite’: Todd Woodbridge | Tennis News

The preparations for the 2023 season has already begun and in about three weeks, the Melbourne Park will be all set to stage the first Grand Slam of the new calendar year – the Australian Open. The cynosure of the event so far has been the return of Novak Djokovic after the drama that had unfolded last January with his deportation and visa ban over his Covid vaccination stance. The nine-time champion eventually managed to get his ban overturned, leaving him with an opportunity to complete La Decima in Australian Open come January 2023. And Todd Woodbridge, a former world No.1 in doubles, has backed the Serb as the overwhelming favourite despite the presence of defending champion Rafael Nadal and world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz. Unvaccinated Djokovic was denied the opportunity to defend his Australian Open title at the start of this year owing to then Covid restrictions in the country. While Djokovic remains unvaccinated from Covid-19, Australia have eased on their restrictions and overturned his three-year visa ban, implying his return 18th appearance in Melbourne …