Australian Open day 7: World No.1 Iga Swiatek knocked out by Czech teenager Linda Noskova
Iga Swiatek has suffered the earliest exit of a No.1 seed at the Australian Open in 45 years as a little-known Czech teenager blew the women’s draw wide open on a dramatic day 7. Recap every talking point here.
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World No.1 Iga Swiatek is out of the Australian Open after being stunned by Czech teenager Linda Noskova 3-6 6-3 6-4 on Saturday night.
Four-time grand slam champion Swiatek, 22, had never gone beyond the semi-final stage at Melbourne Park but looked destined for a dream run into the latter stages of this year’s tournament after a spate of seeded players bombed out.
Instead the Polish powerhouse became the latest victim of the curse; cut down by 19-year-old Noskova who had never reached the third round at a grand slam until this week and last year was knocked out in qualifying at Melbourne Park.
It is the earliest exit for a No.1 seed in the Open since 1979.
Swiatek looked in cruise control when she clinched the first set but was left to rue unclaimed break points in the second as Noskova romped away to send the match into a decider.
The unheralded teenager then burst out of the blocks in the third set to again break Swiatek, however the world No.1 immediately broke back to put the game on-serve at 2-2.
As the tennis world watched and waited for Swiatek to hit the accelerator it was instead Noskova, brandishing a brilliant backhand, that broke once again.
After a nervy start to her service game, the world No.50 ripped down an ace to bring up match point and booked a place in the fourth round on the next point.
“I’m speechless,” said Noskova, who crashed to the court in tears after her victory.
“I knew it would be an amazing match against the world No.1. I didn’t think it would end up like this. I’m just really glad to get through this round.”
Her stunning upset of the world No.1 marked a fourth career top 10 win of Noskova’s career.
But this was undoubtedly her best.
She is the second teenager into the fourth round at this year’s tournament.
Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva will play on No.9 seed Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday.
Swiatek’s shock exit was her worst finish at the Australian Open since she debuted at Melbourne Park in 2019, when she lost in the second round.
It also continued a stunning trend of seeded players being knocked out of this year’s tournament.
The third round began with just 12 seeded players left in the main draw – the fewest ever across all grand slams since the 32-seed system was introduced in 2001.
Swiatek became the third seeded player to bow out on Saturday, after No.11 Jelena Ostapenko and No.27 Emma Navarro also lost their third-round matches.
12.02AM: ZVEREV INTO FOURTH ROUND
Alexander Zverev wins in straight sets over Michelsen and is into the fourth round, where he will take on Cameron Norrie.
The match ends 6-2 7-6 6-2.
And with that, our blog for day 7 is done and dusted.
We’ll have all the news covered again on Sunday as Novak Djokovic, Alex De Minaur, Aryna Sabalenka and a host of big names are in action.
11.40PM: MEDVEDEV SAYS 2022 PAIN BEHIND HIM
Third seed Daniil Medvedev says his near-miss in the epic 2022 Australian Open final is behind him as he bids to go one better this year.
Medvedev lost to Rafael Nadal in an incredible five-setter after leading the Spanish legend two sets to love in the decider two years ago.
The Russian has one Grand Slam title, the 2021 US Open, and has twice made the Australian Open final but been on the wrong end of the result.
“I feel like I’m 100 per cent, let’s say, left this match behind,” Medvedev said after a 6-3 6-4 6-3 win over Felix Auger-Alisassime.
“Only future and present is ahead. Was tough. Was tough. I mean, for sure wanted to win it. Was close. Then even fifth set, when he was like kind of almost winning it, I came back but still lost.
“Tough loss, but now I have 100 per cent behind me. I’m focusing on right now. I want to, as you say, try to go again to the final, try to have my chance of winning another Grand Slam.
“I had another final finally in US Open. Just want to show good tennis, beat good guys, and hopefully get one more title.”
11.30PM: ZVEREV ONE SET FROM FOURTH ROUND
Alexander Zverev is one set from locking in a fourth-round match against Britain’s Cameron Norrie after taking the second set against Alex Michelsen in a tiebreak.
Zverev leads 6-2 7-6 and incredibly, we could be done before midnight tonight!
11.25PM: UKRAINIAN STAR’S MESSAGE AS WAR RAGES
After becoming the third Ukrainian woman to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open, Elina Svitolina sent a message to those fighting for her country in the war.
The 19th seed wrote: “Ukraine (heart) glory to all heroes” on the camera as she headed from the court.
The Australian Open has not been without political tensions, with fellow Ukraine player Lesia Tsurenko snubbing a handshake from Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka.
Elina Svitolina signs the camera after advancing to Australian Open R4:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 20, 2024
“Ukraine 💙 Glory to the heroesâ€
💙💛 pic.twitter.com/X1hMkuDZSu
11.15PM: ‘THAT’S A SHAME’ — SWIATEK SPEAKS AFTER SHOCK LOSS
Iga Swiatek says she is still coming to terms with being handed the early exit of any No.1 at the Australian Open in 45 years by Czech teenager Linda Noskova.
Speaking to reporters after the loss, Swiatek said: “I felt like I had everything under control until she broke me in the second set. But, yeah, well, I had couple of chances to break her in second set and I didn’t use them. So that’s a shame.
“But when she broke me, she was kind of proactive. I wanted to do that as well later in the next games. Sometimes, yeah, I was rushing it. I just wasn’t playing kind of with my intuition and naturally.”
There was an awkward moment in the press conference when Swiatek was asked to explain how she was feeling, ‘so we understand where you feel?’
She replied: “Why do you need to understand? Sometimes I don’t even understand, so I don’t know if you will.
“I mean, as I said, I really wasn’t expecting a lot. I just tried to do the best kind of work possible. I felt today that, okay, I wasn’t playing my best game, and I had many things that didn’t work on previous rounds.
“I felt actually today that I’m playing little bit better.”
11PM: IT’S BIG FOR PORTUGAL - NUNO BORGES REACTS TO HISTORY
Portugal’s newest sporting hero Nuno Borges says he is still processing being the country’s first player to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Borges upset Grigor Dimitrov to reach the last 16 and will now face Daniil Medvedev.
Asked what it meant to be a history maker for his country, Nuno Borges said: “I think it’s big for Portugal, I guess.
I’m proud to be Portuguese and be here and being competing in the biggest tournaments in the world. I hope I’m showing the younger kids that it is possible.
“A little bit of luck and working hard, it is possible to achieve. Just living in the moment.”
10.50PM: 19TH SEED INTO FOURTH ROUND
Elena Svitolina has cruised into the fourth round with a 6-2 6-3 win against Viktorija Golubic.
Her next match will be against Iga Swiatek’s conqueror Linda Noskova.
10.25PM: AUS OPEN CHAMP INSPIRING COMPATRIOT’S RUN
Zheng Qinwen admitted on Saturday she has watched Chinese great Li Na’s win in the 2014 Australian Open final “10 times” as she moved closer to matching the exploits of her idol, who surprised her with a visit after the match.
The 21-year-old, known to her fans as “Queen Wen”, battled into the last 16 with a fighting 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10/8) victory over compatriot Wang Yafan.
Their clash was played on Rod Laver Arena, where Li beat Dominika Cibulkova in 2014 to become the first Asian player to lift the trophy at Melbourne Park.
Zheng has previously credited two-time Grand Slam winner Li for putting “a dream seed in my heart” and she was quick to praise her again after coming through against Wang.
“I was sitting there in front of the TV, watching that (2014 final) from the beginning to the end,” said 12th seed Zheng, who was aged 11 at the time.
“That final, I have watched it more than 10 times, so I have a lot of memories. “I mean, she was an unbelievable player, the first Asian woman who won the Grand Slam. How can you not remember that.” Li is back in Melbourne to mark a decade since her win and met Zheng after the match — the first time they have spoken in person.
“We don’t have each other’s WeChat, no phone calls,” said an elated Zheng. “We met once before when I was a junior, but not single to single, face to face. I didn’t have the chance to talk with her, but today is the real first time we talk with each other.” Asked if Li gave her any advice, she replied: “She said to me ‘don’t think too much, just keep simple’. I think that right now that’s what I need to do as well.” Zheng, China’s brightest young tennis star, has raced through the rankings to be 15 and is looking to build on a breakthrough 2023.
She won her first WTA title at Palermo and followed it up with a second in Zhengzhou at the back end of the season, while making the last eight at the US Open and winning an Asian Games gold medal.
Her next challenge will come from the unseeded Oceane Dodin, who beat fellow Frenchwoman Clara Burel in straight sets.
— AFP
9.50PM: MEDVEDEV REVEALS HOW HE RECOVERED AFTER 4AM FINISH
After his five-set epic that finished at almost 4am on Friday, Daniil Medvedev was in no mood to mess around.
The two-time Australian Open finalist cruised into the fourth round with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over 27th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on Saturday night.
Medvedev needed five sets to see off Auger-Aliassime when they clashed in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park two years ago, but was in a hurry to get the job done this time out following his early finish only 40 hours earlier.
The world No.3 revealed he felt “something like 80” per cent of his best level ahead of the third-round match on Margaret Court Arena after a compromised few days of preparation in the wake of his five-set win over Emil Ruusuvuori.
“Tough, especially after the last match I had but happy to play (at a) good level,” Medvedev said.
“I felt it was tough for me when I ran, so I tried to always give him a tough shot to not have to run too much.
“I’m not feeling fresh. I’m not feeling 100 per cent, but we tried to make the best work possible with my team.
“(I) did the physio work, went to bed at 7am. I woke up at 12pm then had an easy day … at least I had some hours of sleep.
“When I was very young, maybe until 21, I was going out – it was not good for my tennis, I was not playing as I’m playing now, but maybe some practices without sleep sometimes helped me play (better) today.”
The world No.3 had never lost to his Canadian rival in six previous meetings and needed only a tick over two hours to make it seven on the bounce.
Despite his unbeaten record against Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev was very nearly bundled out of the 2022 Australian Open when the Canadian claimed the first two sets and held match points in their quarter-final encounter.
But the Russian was in no mood to mess around this time out; breaking Auger-Aliassime early in each set before wearing his younger opponent down with trademark punishing ground strokes.
Medvedev will meet unseeded Portuguese Nuno Borges in the fourth round.
Borges claimed his second seeded scalp of the tournament when he defeated 2017 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov in four sets on Saturday night.
No. 13 seed Dimitrov looked to be in career-best form to start this year after winning the Brisbane International two weeks ago.
But Borges romped home after dropping the opening set to secure the first top 20 win of his career.
The 26-year-old became just the second Portuguese player, male or female, to reach the last 16 at a grand slam.
Joao Sousa was the only other player to do so when he made the fourth-round at Flushing Meadows in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019.
— Callum Dick
9.33PM: MEDVEDEV THROUGH
Daniil Medvedev will face history-maker Nuno Borges in the fourth round after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-4 6-3.
Fair to say he’ll enjoy getting to bed six hours earlier than the other night...
EARLIER: UKRAINIAN STAR HITS BACK AT ONLINE TROLLS
Ukrainian tennis star Lesia Tsurenko has hit out at online trolls who continue to celebrate her straight-sets defeat to Aryna Sabalenka.
Tsurenko, 34, was knocked out of the Australian Open on Friday 6-0 6-0 by reigning champion Sabalenka.
The two players had a shared history. At Indian Wells last year, Tsurenko withdrew from their scheduled third-round clash, later citing a panic attack brought on by an earlier conversation with WTA CEO Steve Simon about Russian and Belarusian players and the war in Ukraine.
World No.2 Sabalenka is a Belarusian player. She has repeatedly fielded questions about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Friday, Tsurenko and Sabalenka did not shake hands at the net as is the customary gesture at the end of a match. Instead the two players acknowledged each other with a wave.
It has become standard practice for Ukrainian players to not shake the hands of Russian and Belarusian rivals.
On Friday, Tsurenko said it was a “national position” that she would continue to observe.
For her part, Sabalenka said Tsurenko “was respectful to me, so I appreciate that”.
However online trolls appear to not share Sabalenka’s view.
Tsurenko hit out in an Instagram post on Saturday night to address the barrage of abuse she had received.
“I noticed that my loss yesterday made a lot of people happy. So my new post is for you,” Tsurenko wrote on Instagram.
“Please feel free to express whatever you want to me. I hope this will make you happy for a little bit longer.
“But you know, on the eve of the new year, my friend returned from Russian captivity after 1.5 years. Lost 55 kilograms of body weight and with an infection in his legs, but the main thing is that he is alive. This is real happiness.
“So I hope that you will also have real reasons to feel happy in your life, and not because of the loss of some random tennis player whom you have never even met in your life.”
Sabalenka plays American Amanda Anisimova second-up on Margaret Court Arena on Sunday.
9.15PM: BORGES MAKES HISTORY FOR PORTUGAL
Nuno Borges is the first Portuguese player in history to reach the last 16 at the Australian Open after defeating 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
The world’s 69th ranked player triumphed 6-7 6-4 6-2 7-6 to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
He looks set to take on the third seed Daniil Medvedev.
One of the biggest men's singles shocks of this #AusOpen so far:
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 20, 2024
#13 Grigor Dimitrov, the resurgent recent Brisbane champion, falls in four sets to Portugal's Nuno Borges.
Borges, the ATP #69 who played college tennis at Mississippi State, wins 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(6).
Borges after becoming 1st Portuguese player to reach Australian Open R4
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 20, 2024
“At what point did you believe you could win?â€
Nuno: “Maybe in the 3rd set when I got a break. I was like ‘holy crap.’ Maybe I can actually win this. It wasn’t from the start. It’s like people say. Take 1… pic.twitter.com/PwfU12NuJk
8.52PM: NORRIE THROUGH, DIMITROV BROKEN LATE IN FOURTH SET
Grigor Dimitrov was on track to take Nuno Borges to a fifth set, but the Portuguese star has broken with the Bulgarian seving for the fourth.
Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie earlier won through to the round of 16, defeating Casper Ruud 6-4 6-7 6-4 6-3.
“There was all sorts of nicknames being out there — ‘Come on Nozdog’ from over there and then ‘Noz’. All things like that,” Norrie said after his victory.
“It was good stuff and I think everyone was enjoying themselves and I definitely could tell you guys had a few drinks on a Saturday afternoon. It was really good, a good atmosphere.”
8.45PM: NOSKOVA STUNS SWIATEK, TAKES SECOND SET
Just as Iga Swiatek looked to be cruising to the fourth round, the world No.1 has a fight on her hands after dropping the second set in a stunning end to Linda Noskova.
Noskova broke in the penultimate game of the set and served successfully to push Swiatek to a third set.
Is a huge upset brewing?
EARLIER: ‘TIKTOK BS’ HELPING CHAMP’S RENAISSANCE
Some players go for Eye of the Tiger.
Others prefer to meditate.
When it comes to winning Australian Open third-round matches, two-time champion Victoria Azarenka’s preparation involves watching “BS” on Tiktok.
After reaching the fourth-round with a straight-sets win over Jelena Ostapenko, Azarenka told reporters about her usunsual pre-match ritual.
Azarenka has previously discussed how she uses videos to help with her mental preparation for matches.
But today, it wasn’t exactly motivational content which got her through.
“I was watching TikTok, so... It was a lot of, like, BS (laughter),” he said.
“There was one good video that kind of stuck to me.I don’t think it’s something that I’ve never really heard before.
“Sometimes it just kind of comes up. It doesn’t hit you like a light bulb. It’s like, Oh, yeah, that’s something that maybe can relate to the day, how I feel today, et cetera.”
8.15PM: US STAR BLOWS UP AFTER WASTED MATCH POINTS
American 14th seed Tommy Paul suffered an epic meltdown and smashed a racquet after squandering two match points in his loss to Miomir Kecmanovic.
Paul led 6-5 and 7-6 in the fourth-set tiebreak, but was unable to close out his third round match.
After Kecmanovic rallied to take the fourth set 8-7 in the tiebreak, Paul capitulated, winning only six points to the Serbian’s 25 in the fifth set.
The only silver lining was one fan who went home with a souvenir in Paul’s smashed racquet.
Not that there’s necessarily a lot you can do with a smashed tennis racquet.
Paul reached the semi-finals at last year;’s Australian Open.
8PM: SWIATEK WINS FIRST SET, BORGES MAKES MOVE
Iga Swiatek has served out the first set against Linda Noskova 6-3, looking largely untroubled throughout.
But across on Kia Arena, fellow seeded player Grigor Dimitrov is having a match tougher time against Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Borges has fought back after losing the first set in a tiebreak, winning the second 6-4 and racing to a 3-0 lead in the third set.
7.55PM: HOPES OF ALL-AUSSIE DOUBLES THREEPEAT OVER
An all-Australian men’s doubles three-peat is off the cards after Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell joined the reigning champions in making an early exit from the tournament on Saturday.
The unseeded duo, who were tipped by last year’s winners Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler to contend for the doubles title, were sent packing in the second round by seventh seeds Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski after their resistance crumbled in a 6-1 third set.
Earlier in the day, Hijikata and Kubler lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to German pair Yannick Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfler after entering the tournament as the eighth seeds.
There are still two Australian men in with a shot at the doubles trophy, with Queensland John-Patrick Smith partnering German Andreas Mies in the second round after they beat Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alexei Popyrin in three sets on Friday.
Veteran Matt Ebden is the other, playing with Indian doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna as the second-seeded pair and through to the third round after ending the grand slam career of John Millman with a win over him and fellow Aussie Edward Winter on Friday.
— Ed Bourke
7.45PM: RUUD BATTLING TO STAY IN OPEN
Casper Ruud has a fight on his hands to avoid being the second player in the Australian Open’s top-11 seeds to be eliminated.
The 11th seed trails Brit Cameron Norrie 4-6 7-6 4-6 1-0 and is in danger of having his tournament brought to an abrupt end.
7.35PM: FRENCH BOLTER’S MELBOURNE LOVE AFFAIR
There’s something special about Arthur Cazaux and Melbourne.
The French wildcard has shocked this year’s Australian Open by progressing to the fourth round, four years after he and the boys final at Melbourne Park.
In a tournament which featured fellow 2024 main draw entrants James McCabe and Flavio Cobolli, Cazaux was the fifth seed and went down in the final to fellow Frenchman Harold Mayot.
Four years on, he has lifted himself from 122nd in the world to 83rd by reaching the last 16 in the men’s singles.
“I love the atmosphere here. Like you said, everything, Melbourne, the Aussie crowd, the site is wonderful, is a wonderful tournament,” Cazaux said.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I love the atmosphere here. I’m feeling good here.
“Yeah, in junior I played very good. This year first time in the professional tournament here, and I play pretty good also. Yeah, I’m feeling good there, and I hope it’s gonna continue, you know.”
7.15PM: ‘IT’S GOING TO BE WAR’: ALCARAZ READY FOR HUGE TEST
Carlos Alcaraz only needs to think back less than two years to know he is in for “war” against Miomir Kecmanovic in the Australian Open fourth round.
Alcaraz and Kecmanovic clashed at the Miami Open in 2022, when the Serbian pushed tennis’ next superstar to a third-set tiebreak.
While much has transpired in their careers since, Alcaraz is expecting to be tested just as much as he was in Florida when he takes on Kecmanovic in the last 16.
“I think it’s going to be the same war. He has beaten big guys here in this tournament, so I have to be prepared to do war again,” he said.
“Hopefully to take in three sets, but no, nobody knows.I play my best level if I want to move on, so let’s see how it’s going to be.”
6.55PM: FIRST SINCE ISTOMIN — WILDCARD’S CRAZY BREAKTHROUGH
Arthur Cazaux’s breakout Grand Slam has been franked by becoming just the second wildcard since Lleyton Hewitt in 2012 to make the last 16 at the Australian Open.
The 122nd-ranked Frenchman will take on ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round after his straight-sets win over Tallon Griekspoor today.
Hewitt got past Andy Roddick and Milos Raonic in the 2012 tournament before running into Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.
Djokovic would later claim the third of his 10 Australian Open titles.
His feat was matched by Denis Istomin in 2017 when the Uzkebistan player stunned Djokovic in the second round.
Meanwhile, Casper Ruud has drawn level at a set apiece with Cameron Norrie after saving a set point in the second-set tiebreak.
EARLIER: AZARENKA CHARGES INTO SECOND WEEK
Victoria Azarenka is through to the second week of the Australian Open yet again after overcoming 2023 quarter-finalist Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets on Saturday
The dual Australian Open champion had the crowd heavily in her favour at Margaret Court Arena as she took out the world No. 11 6-1, 7-5 in a powerful statement ahead of a fourth-round clash with unheralded Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska.
Azarenka, 34, has now reached the final 16 at Melbourne Park an incredible 11 times in 16 attempts, including last year’s run to the semi-final which was brought to a halt by Kazakhstan star Elena Rybakina.
But Rybakina is now gone from the women’s draw and Azarenka will be heavily favoured to advance to the quarter-final, where she could meet world No. 1 Iga Swiatek or former No. 3 Elina Svitolina.
The Belarusian veteran’s serve was at its best as she crushed Ostapenko 6-1 in a dominant first set, but the former French Open champion surged back into the contest with a string of flat, low-bouncing backhand winners on her way to an early break in the second set.
The same weapon that brought Ostapenko into the match also sent her crashing out of the tournament, as three consecutive backhand unforced errors on her serve at 5-4 allowed Azarenka to break back and go on to win the match.
Azarenka had to save four break points on her serve at 6-5, but bailed herself out with two aces as she took the set 7-5 and raised her arms to the crowd.
She said a singular focus on earning a break point had kept her in the second set when she faced a 5-2 deficit.
“Of course Jelena is a champion, she’s a grand slam champion who has been in amazing form coming off the title, so I knew she was going to come back and play strong,” Azarenka said on court.
“What was going through my mind at 5-2 was, ‘OK, she’s playing well, she’s stepped it up, (but) it’s just one break’.
“I needed to add a little bit of power … I was going to make her work really hard to earn the point and I felt like that put a little bit more pressure on her at a time, and I was able to convert my opportunities.”
Azarenka said she felt physically prepared to again go deep into the second week.
“I think I’m just ready to give what it takes, I’m going to stay out here as long as it needs to be,” she said.
“I love the challenge whenever something is difficult. That makes me excited so I think that brings out probably the best for me.
“How can you get to winning titles without pressure? That’s impossible. It’s scary, it’s difficult, but it’s something you (have) to acknowledge and go through.”
— Ed Bourke
EARLIER: DEMON DUMPS DJOKER FROM PRIMETIME
Australian Open organisers have scheduled Alex de Minaur’s fourth-round blockbuster against Andrey Rublev for the primetime slot on centre court on Sunday night.
In a surprise move, Novak Djokovic will face Adrian Mannarino on Rod Laver Arena during the afternoon in a match which will be played after Coco Gauff’s clash with Magdalena Frech.
Defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka has also been bumped to Margaret Court Arena.
Tennis journalist Neil McMahon noted: “Not often Djokovic does not get his preferred night slot on Rod Laver Arena but they’ve bumped him to the day session tomorrow in favour of Alex De Minaur. If Demon and Novak both make the quarters that day/night schedule is going to be an interesting call.”
It will be the first time in three years Djokovic will play during the day at Melbourne Park.
De Minaur was asked about whether he expected to be on centre court after defeating Flavio Cobolli in the third round.
“I mean, I would love to play on RLA. Obviously that prime time slot is pretty special, and you’ve got to earn it.
“If the organizers decide to put me there, then I’ll be happy to play on it.
“But, yeah, ultimately doesn’t really matter when I play, whether I play first match, whether I play last.
“Whether I play on RLA or Court 27, I’m still going to be the same. I’m still going to walk out there and enjoy it and give it 150 per cent.”
5.45PM: HUNTER — I DON’T HAVE TO CHOOSE SINGLES OR DOUBLES, YET
Storm Hunter concedes there may come a time where she has to decide whether to put her late-blooming singles career ahead of her doubles ambitions.
Hunter, a mixed doubles champion at the US Open and women’s doubles finalist at Wimbledon, was urged to consider making singles her priority by compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic.
But after an early-morning third-round loss to ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova, the 29-year-old said she would continue to juggle singles and doubles for the time being.
“It’s definitely a consideration. I wouldn’t say it’s a consideration right now. I think where my rankings are I can still kind of do both at the moment. There potentially may be that decision down the line, but for now, no,” she told reporters.
“I’m kind of just working out my schedule over the next few weeks and how it looks post-AO depending where my ranking goes and whatnot.
“At the moment my focus now is on doubles and mixed doubles. I have doubles tomorrow and then I think mixed on Sunday.
“Yeah, kind of just focused on that. Yeah, trying to kind of get a bit more doubles practice in. Obviously I’ve been preoccupied this week. Yeah, I’ll get out on the court and get some doubles practice in now and focus on that.”
Hunter and her doubles partner Katerina Siniakova are the third seeds in the women’s doubles, while she is the No.1 seed in the mixed doubles with fellow Aussie Matthew Ebden.
5.25PM: DJOKER WARNS — LATE NIGHTS ARE HERE TO STAY
Novak Djokovic says changing the grand slam daily schedule to a single continuous session would benefit players and help avoid early morning finishes but he does not expect tournament organisers to move away from the current day-night format “because that is how they sell their tickets”.
The scheduling debate was once again put on the agenda when world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev and Emil Ruusuvuori played to 3.39am on Friday morning after their scheduled second-up match on Rod Laver Arena was pushed back beyond 11pm due to a lengthy third set tie-breaker between Elena Rybakina and Anna Blinkova.
After the match Medvedev joked that if he were a fan he would not have stayed to watch his comeback victory and revealed the early morning finish would make recovering for the next round much more difficult.
Djokovic weighed into the debate after his straight-sets victory over Tomas Etcheverry on Friday night, revealing what he believed to be a plausible solution – though conceded he did not expect it to happen.
“The daily schedule and the time of the matches … is a problem obviously when you have men playing best-of-five (sets), as it did last night with day matches (going to) five sets,” the world No. 1 said.
“Yeah it’s not an ideal situation to be in that, for sure. I don’t know, I mean, I don’t see grand slams on main courts, particularly on centre court, changing the format of having day matches and night matches, because that’s how they sell their tickets. That’s how they commercialise. That’s how they promote.”
5.05PM: AZARENKA STORMS THROUGH FIRST SET
Victoria Azarenka is eyeing an incredible 11th run to the second week of the Australian Open after crushing 11th seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-1 in the opening set of their blockbuster third-round clash on Margaret Court Arena.
The 2012-13 winner broke Ostapenko’s serve twice and heaped pressure on the Latvian star, who gave up 12 unforced errors to only two from Azarenka.
The crowd is firmly with the dual Australian Open champion, whose serve was on song with four aces as the rivals vie for a fourth-round clash against Ukrainian qualifier and world No. 93 Dayana Yastremska.
Despite the lowly-ranked round of 16 opponent, the winner is in the most difficult quarter of the women’s draw, with either Iga Swiatek or Elina Svitolina lying in wait as the most likely quarter-final opponent.
Neither clash will intimidate Azarenka in this form – the Belarusian has been to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park no fewer than six times including her run to the semi-finals last year.
— Ed Bourke
5PM: MEN’S ROUND OF 16 CLOSE TO BEING DECIDED
There are only four spots left in the men’s round of 16 after Arthur Cazaux, Hubert Hurkacz, Miomir Kecmanovic and Carlos Alcaraz booked their spots.
The 122nd-ranked Cazaux won in straight sets against Tallon Griekspoor, while Hurkacz took down Ugo Humbert in four sets.
Kecmanovic will take on Alcaraz, while Hurkacz will play Cazaux.
The remaining spots will be decided this evening with Cameron Norrie taking on Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimtrov up against Nuno Borges, Daniil Medvedev taking on Fleix Auger-Aliassime and the battle of the Alexs — Zverev against Michelsen.
4.26PM: ALCARAZ CLOSES ON WORLD NO.1
Carlos Alcaraz is closing in on becoming the world No.1 again after Juncheng Shang retired in the third set of their third-round match.
The Chinese star was trailing two sets and 1-0 in the third set when he retired.
Lleyton Hewitt noted on Channel 9 that Alcaraz, who has dropped one set in the opening three rounds, “hasn’t wasted much energy at all to get through to this stage.”
4.20PM: ALCARAZ CRUISING, KECMANOVIC SPRINGS UPSET
A merciless Carlos Alcaraz is in no mood for pleasantries, blowing away Juncheng Shang in two lopsided opening sets.
Alacaraz will move closer to the world’s no.1 ranking — albeit possibly for less than 24 hours — if he completes the third-round win.
Meanwhile, Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic has come from two sets to one down to send 14th seed Tommy Paul packing in five sets.
Kecmanovic won the fourth set in a tiebreak before blitzting Paul 6-0 in the fifth to storm into the fourth round.
French wildcard Arthur Cazaux — who is fast becoming one of the breakout stars of the tournament — is on track for the last 16 and leading Tallon Griekspoor in the third set.
The match betweeen seeds Ugo Humbert and Hubert Hurkacz looks headed for a fifth set.
EARLIER: FISHY CODE VIOLATION CONFUSES US STAR
An unusual pairing of sushi and smoothies as in-match fuel did not do the job for Sloane Stephens as the American ace crashed out of the Australian Open.
The 2017 US Open champion looked flat at times in a surprise third-round loss to Russian-born world No.75 Anna Kalinskaya.
Stephens had two packets of sushi and two smoothies brought out to her bench during the match – only a small amount of which she actually consumed – and also reached for a gel shot in the third set.
However, it was to little avail as Kalinskaya powered to a 6-7 (10/8) 6-1 6-4 victory.
She may have lost the match, but Sloane Stephens' sushi & smoothie order will go down as one of the all-time sports power snacks pic.twitter.com/vocHPww1LK
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) January 20, 2024
Well Sloane Stephens got California Rolled in that set.
— NawTTrouble KPSS (@NawTrouble) January 20, 2024
Sloane Stephens guzzling sushi mid-set, womens tennis is back
— Matthew. (@MFallingStar18) January 20, 2024
Stephens had saved four set points during the first set tiebreaker, after finding herself 6-3 down.
The American appeared to lack energy during a quick 41-minute second set.
She briefly rallied to hold a 3-1 advantage early in the third set, before fading once again.
Kalinskaya’s previous best result at a grand slam was a second-round berth, something she had achieved on four occasions.
The 25-year-old will face a fourth-round match against the winner of today’s clash between Anna Blinkova and Jasmine Paolini.
1:15PM: ROD LAVER REVEALS HIS TIP TO WIN THE AUS OPEN
Tennis legend Rod Laver believes Novak Djokovic already has “part of his initials” on what would be an 11th Australian Open trophy, suggesting the Serbian star had been toying with fans by dropping sets in his opening two matches.
An 11-time grand slam winner himself, the man who has a court named after him at Melbourne Park said he rated “tough” Australian hope Alex de Minaur highly but would be shocked if he or anyone else toppled Djokovic in this tournament.
Djokovic took four sets to beat world No. 187 Dino Prizmic in his first-round match and was also taken to four sets by 24-year-old Australian Alexi Popyrin in his second-round match.
The 36-year-old was not pushed to a fourth set to overcome 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round on Friday night, but was taken to a third-set tie-breaker which he dominated 7-2.
“Djokovic, it’s amazing,” Laver, 85, said.
“He has all the shots. He knows exactly when he can play them, when he can’t play them.
“He’s priming himself to get through to the final.
“He’ll lose a set somewhere in that five-setter and so I’m thinking, is he having us on? Because he could win this thing (easily).
“He’s such a great athlete to begin with, but his mind also is tennis and so he sees it. It almost unfolds in front of him, what he should be doing. He’s a great champion.
“He serves well. His ground strokes are unbeatable.
“I have to believe he’s not going to come through unless someone miraculously plays their best tennis to knock him off.
“I think if we could put his initials – actually, part of his initials – on the trophy now.”
Sydney product de Minaur will face fifth-seed Andrey Rublev in a fourth-round match on Sunday, vying for his first quarter-final appearance at his home grand slam.
Laver said he saw plenty of talent and determination in the 24-year-old, but he was not the only rising star on the tour chasing Djokovic.
“Alex de Minaur is a great player,” Laver said.
“He should be doing more than he’s doing, because he’s got a great game.
“Alex is tough, but (so are) all the other players that have improved.”
12:45PM DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR AUSSIES
Reigning men’s doubles champions Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler are locked in a tough battle to preserve their title defence on Court 3 against Germans duo Yannick Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfer.
The Aussie duo dropped the first set 4-6 but held their nerve to win the second set 6-4 despite coughing up a set point.
They went down a break early in the third set with Hanfmann’s height causing the pair significant problems at the net.
It comes after Hijikata and Kubler played down their chances of back-to-back titles on Friday, instead backing Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson to continue the trend of underdog local pairs surging to the title.
“I think they could be the third straight Aussie pair to win the tournament, if I’m being honest,” Hijikata said of the duo.
“I got to play with Max in Tokyo, and I’ve seen Thommo play a ton – they’re both unbelievable doubles players.
“Now that they’re both out of the singles, they can probably focus on their doubles a bit more … I would say they’re a very good shot to go deep these next couple of weeks.”
Purcell and Thompson are taking on the seventh-seeded combination of Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski in the second match of the day on Show Court 2.
10:00AM: TEQUILA MOCKING SERB: THE BOOZY TRICK TO BLOCKING OUT DJOKER
Novak Djokovic is a master of mental disintegration, but his next Australian Open opponent, Adrian Mannarino, has a mind-altering weapon at his disposal - tequila.
The journeyman on the rise was ranked No. 71 in the world in 2021, but has risen to No. 19 currently, with further improvement to come after he reached the round of 16 by defeating American Ben Shelton.
The interviewer points to the uptick in Adrian Mannarino's results after he turned 34.
— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) January 19, 2024
"Can you give a few people in this building a clue, what's the key to getting better when you're supposed to be too old?"
Mannarino:
"I started tequila. That helps to not think too much." pic.twitter.com/SeMfjgtTnk
When asked about how he’s managed to improve his game as he’s aged Mannarino revealed an unorthodox approach to improving his mindset.
“I started tequila, that helps to not think too much,” he said. “You just keep going. Sometimes you need to clear your brain, stop thinking about the past. Don’t look back and just go!”
A clear head will be useful against Djokovic who made headlines for mocking Shelton after their US Open clash in 2023 and took an unsubtle jab at Andy Murry in a recent ATP Tour promotional video.
Who doesn’t spend their time thinking about @andy_murray ??? @AustralianOpen | #AusOpenpic.twitter.com/MF4KE3hPdl
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 15, 2024
8:00AM TRASH TALK: DJOKOVIC DROPS FEDERER TRUTH BOMB
Novak Djokovic dropped a couple of truth bombs in his post-match press-conference at the Australian Open revealing his love of “trash talk” – and admitting that his brash personality particularly grated on fellow great Roger Federer.
Despite the comfortable nature of the win on Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic occasionally looked frustrated with himself, exchanging gestures with his coaching team.
“It’s not always a positive pep talk,” he said. “There’s a lot of trash talk happening inside of my head.
“I guess it’s part of the game, it’s part of who I am. I mean, I’m quite certain that everyone goes through their crisis moments, particularly in the matches where they don’t feel their best and they have doubts.” He added: “I’m trying to fight the demons that I have, as anybody else, on the court.”
Djokovic says Roger Federer didn’t like the way he behaved, but he never lacked respect.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 19, 2024
He also says he doesn’t mind Ben Shelton’s confidence, but there has to be a ‘non-visible line of acceptable behavior’
“When you first came on tour, you had a big personality & were very… pic.twitter.com/2K3o6yNIHV
Djokovic was then quizzed about his younger days on the ATP tour, and if there were any players who took offence to his “expressive” personality.
In response, Djokovic said, “I know certainly Federer didn’t like the way I was behaving at the beginning. I think it didn’t sit with him well. I don’t know about the others.”
“I guess I wasn’t the favourite type of guy to some of the top guys because I was not afraid to say that I want to be the best player in the world”.
The World No. 1 further added, “I never, ever lacked respect. Whenever I start a match, before the match or finish the match, I would always greet the opponent, always acknowledge. Respect is something that I was taught that needs to be present regardless of what is happening.”
7AM: SABALENKA’S DIRE WARNING TO OPPONENTS
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka labelled her double-bagel demolition of Lesia Tsurenko as “perfection”, but delivered an ominous warning to her challengers when she said she could get “even better”.
The No. 2 seed monstered her Ukrainian opponent in just 52 minutes to power through to the fourth round at Melbourne Park in a performance that would have made her rivals sit up and take notice.
Sabalenka made a meal of the No. 28 seed with the 6-0 6-0 victory on Rod Laver Arena to set up a clash with American Amanda Anisimova in the round of 16.
The 25-year-old has not yet dropped a set and has given up just six games so far in her Australian Open defence.
In her three games so far, Sabalenka has spent a total of 2 hours and 52 minutes on court.
Sabalenka, who won her maiden grand slam in Melbourne last year,
“I think today’s performance was really, yeah, was perfection,” Sabalenka said after the third round victory.
“I’m happy with the level I played today.”
But Sabalenka, who won her maiden grand slam title in Melbourne last year, said she hoped she could still find another gear as she targets back-to-back Australian Open crowns.
“Well, there is always something to improve, you know,” Sabalenka said.
“That’s why you just can’t be happy with the level you are at right now so you always have to keep moving, keep improving.
“That’s why I said like ‘even better’.”
Sabalenka earlier said the benchmark set by world No. 1 Iga Swiatek last year had motivated her to want to sweep her opponents.
“Last year Iga won so many sets 6-0 and this is one of the goals to try to get closer to her,” Sabalenka said on court after the match.
“I am just super happy with the level I am playing and hopefully I can just keep going like that or even better.”
Asked if the tournament was hers to lose, Sabalenka said was wary of the path that still lay ahead of her.
“Listen, it’s tennis. As we see by some of the top players losing in the earlier matches that anything can happen, so I don’t want to look that far,” Sabalenka said.
“I’m just focusing match by match. If I’m ready, ready to be in another one; if not, I’m not. I’m just trying to do my best and prepare myself as best I can for each match.”
Sabalenka predicted a tough match against Anisimova, who is back after taking a break from tennis last May to focus on her mental wellbeing, citing burnout.
“First of all, I’m happy that she’s back on tour. Secondly, we had a lot of great matches against each other, always tough battles,” she said.
“I’m happy that my first week was not simple, but it wasn’t super long matches. First week is past … now it’s time to focus to the next week.
“I’m not expecting easy matches because when you’re getting to (the) last stages of the tournaments, it’s not going to be easy at all.
“I’m just trying to prepare myself as good as I can and make sure I bring my best level and compete in the high level.”
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