Rafael Nadal stopped by security guard at Australian Open 2020
It was undoubtedly the choke of the tournament. Failing to convert seven match points against Roger Federer left Tennys Sandgren shattered. But he had a novel way of drowning his sorrows.
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No one could blame Tennys Sandgren for wanting to drown his sorrows.
The American blew seven match points in his dramatic five-set loss to Roger Federer on Tuesday.
He was understandably shattered and let the world know all about with a late night tweet following the defeat.
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What’s the rule here folks- a double shot for each match point you didn’t convert?
— Tennys Sandgren (@TennysSandgren) January 28, 2020
“What’s the rule here folks — a double shot for each match point you didn’t convert?” he tweeted.
Earlier at his post-match media conference, Sandgren joked about the amount of match points he squandered.
FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION AT THE OPEN
“(There was) one (match point) on my serve, (so) really not that many,” he said with a wry smile. If I had like six on my serve, I’d be really pissed off.”
Maybe just keep the bottle, Tennys.
RAFA’S SECURITY SNUB
First Roger, now Rafa.
The security guards at the Australian Open mustn’t be huge tennis fans — or at best they are more keen on the #NextGen crew.
Because they certainly don’t like showing any love to the elder statesman of the game.
Last year it was the GOAT, Roger Federer, who was denied entry to the men’s locker room because he didn’t have the right credentials.
Apparently winning six titles at Melbourne Park wasn’t enough — perhaps he should’ve just pointed to one of the many pictures of him that grace the walls of Rod Laver Arena?
Well, 12 months on, it seems nothing has changed.
This time it was world No.1 and top seed Rafael Nadal — owner of 19 grand slam titles himself — who ran into a blue-shirted roadblock.
Gotta love it when security treats EVERYONE equal 😂@RafaelNadal I #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/7el1QXIAfb
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) January 29, 2020
Nadal, who plays on Wednesday night and was returning from a practice hit, seemed miffed at the lack of recognition — lifting his cap to reveal one of the sporting world’s most recognisable faces.
But it wasn’t enough for the man on the door, who needed convincing from a fellow security guard before letting Nadal pass through ... where he walked past a giant silhouette of his own image before turning into the locker room.
NADAL’S HOT SPOT
Those in the know are aware it is one of world No.1 Rafael Nadal’s favourite dining destinations during the Australian Open.
The Spanish bull is a repeat customer of Richmond Oysters, visiting the Church St seafood eatery this week for the second successive year.
The restaurant’s Instagram account posted a happy snap of Nadal at the Richmond hangout following a visit on Tuesday night.
“We love it when @rafaelnadal pops in and visits us! Thanks for taking a picture with our wonderful Richmond Oysters staff. All the best for the remainder of the @australianopen,” said the post.
It’s understood Nadal also visited the eatery during last year’s tournament and was a big fan of the “seafood linguine and the fresh seafood”.
TOP GUN REFEREE
How would the AFL whistleblower “Razor” Ray Chamberlain handle a tram ride to the footy?
Probably not as well as one of Nick Kyrgios’ biggest adversaries, chair umpire James Keothavong, who rode the rails to Melbourne Park just in time for his men’s quarter-final.
Eagle-eyed commuters were quick to spot the “Gold Badge Chair Umpire”, the highest level available, on the packed No.70 rattler, which lobbed less than 30 minutes before the Londoner officiated the Stan Wawrinka-Alexander Zverev quarter-final.
Apart from being one of the world’s best, Keothavong is most known for being on the wrong end of Nick Kyrgios’ sprays, most recently during the Australian’s gripping fourth-round loss to Rafael Nadal.
Keothavong coincidently was also the sounding board for Kyrgios’ US Open meltdown, where the Canberran accused the ATP Tour of corruption.
Keothavong, who has been touring the world since 2013, wouldn’t have wanted any transit hiccups on Wednesday.
HAPPY SNAPS
The mass exodus of Australian Open stars always correlates with the Insta-inundation of sponsored posts on social media as sweeteners for airline and accommodation freebies.
Australian Open champion Angie Kerber led the charge on Wednesday but she was not alone, with Kiki Bertens and Karolina Pliskova also gushing over city hotels.
Spaniard Fernando Verdasco made use of a pristine Melbourne sunset on Monday to pump up his St Kilda Road digs.
Expect more of the same to follow suit as quarter-final and semi-final losers start checking out in coming days.
HALEP’S SHOP TACTIC
It could be the secret to world No.3 Simona Halep’s hot form so far at this tournament.
Halep has not dropped a set in her barnstorming run to the semi-finals and will next face Garbine Muguruza for a place in the final.
She prepared for her fourth-round clash with some retail therapy and did the same on her day off before blowing Anett Kontaveit off the court in less than an hour on Wednesday.
The Romanian did not watch Wednesday’s other quarter-final, instead opting for another dose of shopping in the hope history will repeat.
“It worked last time and worked again today,” she said. “I’m not going to tell you (what I want to buy), I’ll see what inspires me.”
GRAND
Former Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki is already enjoying her retirement.
She hung up the racquet just a week ago but the former world No.1 and her husband were spotted hitting the links at Trentham Golf Club in central Victoria on Tuesday.
No word as yet on how she performed, but she certainly now has plenty of time to work on her hobby.
SLAM
A quarter-final that lasts just 53 minutes is a poor spectacle. You would have been forgiven for thinking Wednesday’s clash between Simona Halep and Anett Kontaveit was a first or second-round clash.
THE WHISPER
Was an international commentator censored by his network from commenting on an international headline-maker during commentary duties?