Tennis: 'Dream come true' as Linette stuns Pliskova to make Australian Open semi

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Unseeded Magda Linette marched into her first Grand Slam semi-final on Wednesday and said it was a "dream come true" after stunning former world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 7-5 at the Australian Open.

Linette continued flying the flag for Poland after the shock exit of world number one Iga Swiatek, taking 1hr 27min to set up a clash with Aryna Sabalenka or Donna Vekic for a place in Saturday's final.

"I'm so emotional, I can't really believe it," Linette said. "It's a dream come true. I'm super grateful and happy. Thank you for cheering and supporting, I really needed this. 

"So we keep going. I don't want to get too excited because we are still in the tournament," added the world number 45, who will break into the top 30 for the first time thanks to her exploits in Melbourne. 

There was plenty of on-court history between the two 30-year-olds, having met nine times before with the Czech holding the advantage.

Pliskova, the 30th seed, won six of their first seven meetings up to 2017.

But last year she required a final set tie-break to win at the US Open before Linette turned the tables, winning 6-4, 6-1 at the Billie Jean King Cup. 

It was Linette's first last-eight match at this level, but you wouldn't have known it as she coolly recovered from being an early break down against the big-serving Czech to take the first set in 35 minutes.

"I definitely stayed composed at the beginning because she had a really good break at the very start of the match," said Linette.

"I knew how tough it was going to be to break her back, so I just stayed really composed and I'm really happy that when I had my chance I took it.

"I'm glad that I managed to serve it out and then later on, when I had the opportunity to break her again, I took my chances."

Pliskova had by far the greater experience in Slams and was making her fourth appearance in the Australian quarter-finals.

She needed it to hold on in the second set at 3-3 when facing two break points.

The 6ft 1in (1.86m) tall Pliskova had swept into the last eight without dropping a set, largely on the back of serving 28 aces, including 12 in her last-eight romp past China's Zhang Shuai. 

But she managed only seven in a stuttering display against Linette, committing a massive 36 unforced errors to her opponent's 16.

The decisive moment came on Pliskova's serve at 5-5 in the second set. 

The Czech dished up two double faults at 15-15 and followed with a forehand into the net before Linette served out for the biggest win of her career.

"I will never forget this," said Linette. "That's, you know, the first time ever I'm breaking through. This will stay with me for life."

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Shapovalov slams Nadal time tactics after 'corrupt' umpire jibe

A fuming Denis Shapovalov slammed Rafael Nadal for receiving preferential time treatment after losing to the Spanish great in an epic quarter-final at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

Shapovalov labelled chair umpire Carlos Bernardes "corrupt" during the match for not enforcing a penalty on the meticulous Nadal, whose ultra-finicky routine between points often pushes the 25-second serve clock to the limit. 

But the 22-year-old Canadian later backtracked on his accusation, acknowledging it was wrong and that he "misspoke" during the 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 defeat.

Shapovalov, however, stuck to his guns on "how much Rafa is getting away with" and believed the Spaniard deserved a time violation.

"I mean, I think I misspoke when I said (the umpire's) corrupt or whatever I said. It's definitely emotional but I do stand by my side. I think it's unfair how much Rafa is getting away with," said Shapovalov.

"I'm completely ready to play and the clock is ticking, clicking towards zero, and I'm looking at the ump, and obviously I'm going to speak up and say something.

"I've been ready to play for a minute and a half, and he tells me he's not going to give him a code violation because I'm not ready to play. 

"To me, it's a big joke if somebody says that."

Shapovalov also said he was not allowed to take a toilet break after the fourth set when he asked for one.

"He (Nadal) had already taken two medicals. He was getting medically evaluated, and after the evaluation the guy goes and takes a toilet break," he said.

"It's like, where is the line? Where are you going to step on the players and say, okay?

"I respect everything that Rafa has done and I think he's an unbelievable player. But there's got to be some boundaries, some rules set.

"It's just so frustrating, you feel like you're not just playing against the player, you're playing against the umpires, you're playing against so much more."

Asked by reporters if he thought Nadal gets preferential treatment because of his status in the game as a 20-time Grand Slam champion, Shapovalov was unrepentant.

"Of course. 100 percent he does," he fumed.

"Every other match that I have played, the pace has been so quick because the refs have been on the clock after every single point.

"This one, he's given so much time in between sets and all this. It's just dragged out. I mean, it's just not balanced."

Agence France-Presse

Alex Eala, partner enter Australian Open girls doubles final

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino protégé Alex Eala and her partner Priska Nugroho of Indonesia advanced to the final of the girls doubles event of the 2020 Australian Open Thursday at Melbourne Park.

Eala and Nugroho scored a stunning upset over top-ranked Europeans Kamila Bartone of Latvia and Linda Fruhvirtova of Czech Republic, 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8) in the semifinals.


The Southeast Asian pair will take on the winner between the United States’ Savannah Broadus & Elizabeth Coleman and Slovenian Ziva Valkner and British Matilda Mutavdzic the final.

After a disastrous first set, Eala and Nugroho gutted it out in the second with a 4-4 tie then jumped on that stalemate to take the set.

Trailing 7-1 in the tiebreaker, the two pushed back once more capitalizing on the Europeans’ errors to take the match.

Eala, who reached the third round of the singles competition, is ranked no. 9 in the world’s juniors circuit.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Djokovic cedes Australian Open set in 1st round

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic did something he hadn’t in 14 years: He dropped a set in a first-round match at the Australian Open.

That didn’t bother him, though. He actually looked upon the challenge he faced Monday night under the closed roof at Rod Laver Arena as a good thing.


“I actually like tough first rounds — in Grand Slams, particularly,” the defending champion at Melbourne Park said after getting past 37th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. “Because it gets me going. From the beginning, I have to be alert. I have to be on a high level. And I think I was.”

Djokovic last ceded a set in an Australian Open opener all the way back in 2006, during a loss to Paul Goldstein. Since then, the 16-time Grand Slam champ had produced 13 consecutive straight-set wins in the hard-court tournament’s first round; add in the initial pair of sets against Struff, and the streak was at 41.

But then came a bit of a blip.

Struff managed to break Djokovic three times in that third set alone.

“He turned it around. He was not missing much,” the second-seeded Djokovic said. “Credit to him for fighting. He’s a very powerful player.”

Also worth mentioning: Djokovic helped his opponent by faltering with two double-faults on the last two points of the set.

Soon, though, he regrouped, taking eight of nine points to begin the fourth and was on his way to the 900th match win of his career. The last set took all of 22 minutes.

The first set offered its own hiccups for Djokovic. He was a point away from taking it while serving for the set at 5-3 before finding himself locked in a tiebreaker against the big-hitting Struff, who has lost in the first round in 16 of his 26 career major appearances.

Djokovic began to show signs of frustration, rolling his eyes and spreading his arms wide, as if to say, “What is going on here?!” after one miss, hanging his head and slumping his shoulders after another. Eventually, he came through there.


All in all, even with some less-than-perfect patches, Djokovic considered the evening a satisfactory way to launch his bid for a record eighth title in Melbourne.

“I ended this match in a good fashion, in the right way,” Djokovic said, “and this is very positive.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Venus Williams reaches quarterfinals at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Venus Williams has returned to the quarterfinals for the ninth time at the Australian Open, where she reached the same round on debut in 1998.

The 36-year-old, seven-time major winner had a 6-3, 7-5 fourth-round win Sunday over No. 181-ranked Mona Barthel, who won three matches in qualifying and then beat two Australian wild cards and Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig in the first three rounds.

Williams has advanced without dropping a set, finding her rhythm quickly after pulling out of a tournament in Auckland and withdrawing from the doubles before the first round at the Australian Open because of an elbow problem.

“It was just not ideal to start the year like this, and it was a ton of anxiety, to be honest,” Williams said of her preparation. “But really, at the end of the day, it’s about walking to the net, shaking hands as the winner.

“This is where you want to be … but this is not the end-all for me. This is not the end goal.”

Williams will next play No. 24-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-3 in the opening match of Day Seven at Rod Laver Arena.

Pavlyuchenkova’s win over fellow Russian Kuznetsova left Williams as the only Grand Slam winner left in that quarter of the draw.

Williams has a 3-2 edge in career meetings with Pavlyuchenkova, including wins in the last two matches.

But she hasn’t advanced beyond the quarterfinal round at Melbourne Park since her loss to younger sister, Serena, in the 2003 final. Against Barthel, she won 90 percent of points when she got her first serve into play, hit 31 winners and fired four aces while not serving any double-faults.

Barthel was the lowest-ranked player to reach the fourth round of the women’s draw here since 2010, although she has a career-high ranking of 23 and was consistently top 50 before an illness last year caused her slide down the rankings.

“I know what it’s like to be down on my luck,” Williams said. “We’ve played a couple of tough matches before. Today I expected to have some competition.”

Defending champion and No. 1-ranked Angelique Kerber was playing CoCo Vandeweghe in the last night match.

It’s a lot more crowded on the top quarter of the men’s draw, which features matches later Sunday involving top-ranked Andy Murray against Mischa Zverev and Roger Federer against Kei Nishikori.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Milestone run in Aussie open ends in semis for Huey

TREAT Huey and Slovenian partner Andreja Klepac ended their milestone run at the Australian Open on Friday, bowing in the mixed doubles semifinals to the pair of Horia Tecau and Coco Vandeweghe, 6-4, 6-4.

Playing as curtain-raisers to the day’s blockbuster matches at Rod Laver Arena, Huey and Klepac simply found no answer to their foes’ unbreakable service games.

Still, the feat was unprecedented for the 30-year-old Filipino-American, who gained the admiration of the match commentators for being “the first Filipino to make the semifinals of a [men’s] Grand Slam event.”

“It was a big thrill for me playing my first semifinal in a Grand Slam,” Huey told the Inquirer. “Great run here in the Australian Open and great start to the season.”

Huey, whose mother is a Filipino based in Virginia, was in his elements, scoring off weak returns at the net to complement the solid groundstrokes of his partner.

But Tecau of Romania, the reigning Wimbledon men’s doubles champion, and the American Vandeweghe leaned on their superb service game and faced break point just twice in the match.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Djokovic survives Simon to reach Australian Open quarterfinal

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic survived a frustrating five-setter against Gilles Simon at the Australian Open on Sunday, spraying 100 unforced errors on Rod Laver Arena before reaching the quarterfinals for the 27th consecutive Grand Slam.

That’s rarified territory for the five-time and defending champion, equaling Jimmy Connors’ career mark of consecutive quarterfinals — only Roger Federer has done better with his 36.

“These are the tournaments that we value the most and to be able to always come up with the best performance in the Grand Slams, of course I’m very proud of it and hopefully I can keep going,” he said.

Top-ranked Djokovic won 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in four hours, 32 minutes and will meet No. 7 Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals.

A man in the crowd yelled out during the post-match, on-court interview that Djokovic should give up on the drop shots — some of which were incredibly ill-advised against Simon and contributed to the most startling statistic of the match.

“OK, thanks buddy,” Djokovic responded with a laugh. “I hate to say that but you are absolutely right.”

Centuries are celebrated across the train tracks at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but not in the unforced errors column at Rod Laver.

“I made a lot of unforced errors today,” Djokovic admitted. “Nevertheless, he was fighting. He was playing well. Physically very demanding. I’m just happy to get through this one.”

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova confirmed their quarterfinal date with comparatively routine straight-sets wins, ensuring a rematch between last year’s finalists.

Fifth-seeded Sharapova fired a career-high 21 aces and hit 58 winners in her 7-5, 7-5 win over Belinda Bencic, converting her second match point with a successful challenge after her forehand was initially called long.

Six-time champion Williams, who has won 18 of her 20 matches against Sharapova, including the last 17, had a 55-minute, 6-2, 6-1 win over Margarita Gasparyan.

Williams won 26 matches in a row at the majors last season, capturing the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles and reaching the semifinals at the U.S. Open before a stunning loss to Roberta Vinci ended her run for the season slam.

That’s the driving factor here.

“For my whole career I have been motivated by losses. So that’s just been my thing,” she said. “So each time I take a loss, I feel like I get better.”

Asked if her unbeaten run against Sharapova gave her extra confidence, the 21-time major winner said it didn’t matter who she was playing.

“I just feel like I’m really confident in my game right now, not against her or against any other opponent” in particular, Williams said. “I’m just really looking at me right now, and I feel like if I can just continue to play well, then it could be good.”

Under bright sunshine after the roof was opened following morning rain, Williams was broken in the opening game — her only point coming from an ace — but quickly found her groove and won 12 of the next 14.

Margaret Court, the Australian great who won 24 Grand Slam singles titles and has a court named in her honor at Melbourne Park, was in the crowd watching Williams.

“Well, gosh, I didn’t know she was here, I feel honored to be able to play in front of her,” Williams said. “Thank you.”

“Obviously, 24 is close, but yet it’s so far away,” Williams said of Court’s career record.

Sharapova won consecutive matches against Williams in 2004 at Wimbledon and the season-ending championships, but hasn’t won since. It’s a statistic she tries to block from her mind.

“It’s not like I think about what I can do worse. You’re always trying to improve,” she said. “I got myself into the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam. There is no reason I shouldn’t be looking to improve and to getting my game in a better position than any other previous round. It’s only going to be tougher, especially against Serena.

“I look forward to playing the best in the world and that’s what she’s proven in the last year.”

Sharapova, the 2008 champion and four-time finalist, had to play under an indoor match because play started while it was lightly raining, but the roof was open for Williams.

No. 7-seeded Nishikori was the first male player through to the quarterfinals, beating No. 9-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych advanced 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 over Roberto Bautista Agut and will play the winner of the night match between five-time champion Federer and No. 15-seeded David Goffin.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Lleyton Hewitt to be honored at 2016 Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has a wild card into January’s Australian Open to mark a record 20th-straight appearance in his national tennis Grand Slam, which is also likely to be his last.

The 34-year-old Hewitt, now ranked No. 296, had his best result when he finished runner-up in 2005 but hasn’t been past the second round in the last three years.

Tournament director Craig Tiley told reporters at the launch of the 2016 Open on Tuesday “we want to celebrate the great career Lleyton’s had but we need to sit down and talk with him because he will also want to focus on doing the best he can at the Open.”

Tiley said prize money for 2016 would rise by 10 percent to A$44 million ($32-million).

source: sports.inquirer.net

Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray in 4 sets to win his 5th Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Atustralia — Novak Djokovic won his fifth Australian Open title and extended Andy Murray’s misery at Melbourne Park by beating the Scotsman 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 in the final Sunday.

Djokovic broke open a close match with a service break in the eighth game of the third set, winning four straight points. When he took a 4-0 lead in the final set, he smacked his fist hard against his chest in celebration.

Murray has now been runner-up four times here, losing twice previously to Djokovic in 2011 and 2013 and to Roger Federer in 2010.

Djokovic is a perfect 5-for-5 in Australian Open finals.

The second set was delayed for about five minutes after the seventh game when a court invader protesting Australia’s refugee policies was removed by security.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Sharapova reaches Australian Open final for 4th time

MELBOURNE, Australia — Maria Sharapova has reached the Australian Open final for the fourth time, beating fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-2 in a lopsided semifinal on Thursday.

The second-ranked Sharapova needed 10 minutes to hold in her opening service game, fending off two break points. She responded to the only service break against her in the first set by winning six straight games and seizing control of the match from the 10th-seeded Makarova, who had only taken one set off her in five previous matches.

She will next meet the winner of the all-American semifinal between top-ranked Serena Williams and 19-year-old Madison Keys.

Sharapova won the Australia Open title in 2008 but was comprehensively beaten in the championship matches in 2007, by then unseeded Serena Williams, and in 2012 by Victoria Azarenka.

The five-time major winner opened the 2015 season in confident style by winning the Brisbane International title but had a close call in the second round here, having to save match points against No. 150-ranked Russian qualifier Alexandra Panova. Since then, she hasn’t faced a set point.

“It’s been a strange road for me to get to the finals, but I’m happy,” said Sharapova, who is now into her 10th Grand Slam final. “Came from behind in a few, really behind in one — saving match points. I felt like I was given a second chance. I just wanted to take my chances.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Wawrinka eases into 4th round at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia—Defending champion Stan Wawrinka says he’s quite happy flying under the radar after easing into the fourth round at the Australian Open on Saturday, nominating Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as title favorites.

The Swiss fourth seed cruised through 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 over Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen in one hour and 49 minutes on Rod Laver Arena and will play Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the round of 16.

It doesn’t perturb him one bit that he is not generating any headlines in the tournament as he treads his way through the top half of the men’s draw.

“I’m feeling good since the beginning of the tournament,” he said.

“For sure I’m not the focus on the tournament because there’s Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal coming back from injury, was Roger Federer before he lost, there’s Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic still playing.

“I still think Novak and Rafa are the big favorites for the tournament.

“For sure I’m not the focus. For me it doesn’t matter. I’m feeling great. I’m happy the way I’m playing. To get to the second week again, it’s great. So far everything is good for me.”

Wawrinka was always in control of his first meeting with the 72nd-ranked Finn in four years and broke Nieminen’s serve six times and hit 55 winners.

He said he was looking forward to playing Garcia-Lopez after a “tough loss” to him at last year’s French Open.

“He’s been playing really good. I lost against him last year French Open first round,” Wawrinka said.

“We had some tough battles in the past. It’s never easy. Think it will again depend a lot on me, the way I’m going to play, the way I’m going to be aggressive, because I need to make the game.”

Wawrinka, who is now the main Swiss contender at this year’s Open following Federer’s shock defeat to Andreas Seppi on Friday, was pleased with his progress at the tournament.

“I was aggressive today on the court, it was in quite fast conditions and I took control of the match,” he said.

“It’s been three really good matches, I think my game is there and I’m really happy to get through again.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Federer to make Brisbane return

BRISBANE — Grand Slam record-holder Roger Federer will return to play next year’s Brisbane International as he warms up for a tilt at his fifth Australian Open title, organisers said Monday.

Tournament officials said the 17-time Grand Slam winner, who lost this year’s final to Lleyton Hewitt, would be the major drawcard at the Brisbane WTA/ATP event from January 4-11.

“The conditions are very similar to Melbourne so I think it’s an ideal preparation (for the Australian Open),” Federer, 33, said in a Tennis Australia statement.

“It’s an important tournament on my calendar, a tournament I’m very happy to go back to and I was very excited to go there for the first time this year.

“When I sign up for a tournament it’s because I’m going to try to win it and I want to enjoy the week there.”

Federer won the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on January 19, in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010.

After the warm-up tournament in Brisbane, he reached his 11th successive Australian Open semifinal this year before falling to Rafael Nadal.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Nadal blazes into fourth round with Murray, Federer at Aussie Open

MELBOURNE — World number one Rafael Nadal played his best match of the tournament to join title-contenders Andy Murray and Roger Federer in the fourth round at the Australian Open on Saturday.

The Spaniard was relentless in dispatching French 25th seed Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in just over two hours in a dynamic night performance on Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal will next play Kei Nishikori in the round of 16 after the Japanese star ousted American Donald Young in straight sets.

“Gael is always a big test, he’s a great player, but I think today I played my best match in the tournament so far, so very happy for that,” Nadal said.

The top seed is bidding to win his second Australian Open title and become only the third man to win each of the four Grand Slam titles twice, after Australians Roy Emerson and Rod Laver.

Murray, a three-time Melbourne finalist, tossed aside Spanish 26th seed Feliciano Lopez in straight sets and Grand Slam record-holder Federer also did it in regulation sets over Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili.

Murray, the British fourth seed, extended his dominance of Spanish left-hander Lopez to 8-0 with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-2 win in two hours 15 minutes on Hisense Arena.

The Scot will next play French journeyman Stephane Robert, who is the first-ever ‘lucky loser’ to reach the last 16 at the Australian Open.

Federer, chasing his fifth Australian crown, made the round of 16 at Melbourne for the 13th straight year after an unruffled 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over the unseeded Gabashvili in one hour 41 minutes.

It was his 71st match victory at Melbourne Park, extending his record at the Australian Open, and set up a clash against 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Tsonga needed only three sets to get past fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-2 in one hour 53 minutes in a night match on Hisense Arena.

Federer, the 17-time Grand Slam champion, said he was over the back pain that dogged him last year and was in good shape heading into the second week, with battles looming against his main rivals.

“Right now I feel very fresh and very good physically,” Federer said.

“That’s why I do a lot of prevention work. You make sure you sleep enough and do all these things. You eat healthy and so forth. But it’s been a good spell now.

“I didn’t have any setbacks since Hamburg (last July) really, and that’s very good looking forward.”

It was a confident Federer performance against the 79th-ranked Russian as the stylish Swiss looks to become the second man after Roy Emerson to win five Australian Open singles titles.

Murray, who had back surgery in September, briefly appeared in pain early in the first set against Lopez, but through the match he moved unhindered to progress through to the last 16.

Robert, ranked 119, failed to come through qualifying but was handed a spot at the tournament when Philipp Kohlschreiber pulled out injured.

On Saturday, he beat fellow lucky loser Martin Klizan 6-0, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. It was the first Grand Slam third round match between two lucky losers since Wimbledon in 1973.

“I’m very happy. You know, it’s not a dream because I lost in the qualies (qualifiers), but now after I got this opportunity, now I’m really in the tournament,” Robert said.

Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov also won through to the fourth round and a meeting with Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut after ousting Canadian power-server Milos Raonic in four sets.

Bautista Agut continued his winning run with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win over French 27th seed Benoit Paire.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Rory McIlroy wins Australian Open

SYDNEY, Australia—Rory McIlroy birdied the 18th hole to snatch victory from Adam Scott at the Australian Open on Sunday, winning for the first time in 2013 and denying Scott the rare Australian triple crown.

McIlroy started the last round four shots behind Scott but drew level when he eagled the seventh and birdied the eighth.

Scott went a shot ahead with a birdie at the ninth then the pair went shot for shot over the back nine before the tournament’s dramatic climax on the final hole.

Scott’s approach shot went over the back of the green and his chip went well past the hole, with two putts bringing a bogey. McIlroy hit his approach to 10 feet and sank the putt to claim victory by a shot.

source: sports.inquirer.net