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26Jan

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‘I’m not a crier in front of people, but I’m almost there right now’: Sania Mirza on mixed doubles final run

“I’m so emotional – I’m not a crier in front of people, but I’m almost there right now.” The emotions were at an all time high as Sania Mirza secured a place in the mixed doubles final of the 2023 Australian Open, the final grand slam of her playing career that spanned over two decades. The 36-year-old partnered alongside Rohan Bopanna to best Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski 7-6(5) 6-7(5) [10-6] and reach the final. “We were playing one of the best mixed doubles teams on tour and we knew we had to come up with the best – I’m glad we were able to do that,” Mirza said post-match. The legendary pair of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna are just one win away from the Australian Open mixed doubles title 🏆 pic.twitter.com/iRwTATr3lQ — Indian Tennis Daily (ITD) (@IndTennisDaily) January 25, 202...

26Jan

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Novak Djokovic targets 10th Australian Open final, Tommy Paul looks to flip the script | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: As title contenders fall by the wayside at Melbourne Park, Novak Djokovic's march to a 22nd Grand Slam crown carries an air of inevitability, with American first-time semi-finalist Tommy Paul next in the super Serbian's crosshairs on Friday.Fourth seed Djokovic, seeking a record-extending 10th Australian Open title, has been in dominant form in his return to the country, a year after being deported on the eve of last year's tournament for not being vaccinated against COVID-19.The biggest threat to his campaign so far has been a hamstring injury, which he suffered en route to winning the warm-up title in Adelaide.Djokovic was at his devastating best in statement wins over Alex de Minaur in the fourth round and Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals and he said those remaining in ...

26Jan

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Aryna Sabalenka on cusp of Australian Open crown and all-Belarusian final | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka will attempt on Thursday to set up an all-Belarusian final at the Australian Open, and in doing so give organisers a headache.Two-time Melbourne champion Azarenka faces Elena Rybakina in the first women's semi-final on Rod Laver Arena, with Sabalenka up against Poland's unseeded Magda Linette after that.Should Azarenka and Sabalenka progress to Saturday's final, it will be the first time two Belarusian players have contested the championship match at a tennis major."I really want it to happen," said Sabalenka, the fifth seed who is yet to drop a set in 2023 after winning the Adelaide International earlier this month."I know that Vika will do everything she can to make it happen. I will do everything I can to make it happen. That's going t...

25Jan

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Wimbledon shorten men’s doubles to three sets | Tennis News – Times of India

LONDON: Wimbledon will shorten men's doubles matches from best-of-five sets to best of three from this year's championships, the All England Club announced on Wednesday.The traditional five-set format had been criticised in the past for discouraging more singles specialists from entering the doubles.Wimbledon was the only grand slam tournament to stage five-set doubles matches, but will now move into line with the Australian Open, French Open and US Open."The decision was made following a wide-ranging consultation and the change brings Wimbledon into line with the other grand slams which stage the gentlemen's doubles in a best-of-three format," the AELTC said in a statement."This update will provide the referee's office with greater certainty when scheduling matches during the event and...

23Jan

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Australian Open 2023: Sebastian Korda making a name for himself | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Every time Sebastian Korda walks down the corridors with pillars that have giant posters of former champions, including those of his father Petr and fellow American Andre Agassi, wrapped around them, he pauses for a fist pump. “Maybe I was just trying to get the energy so I could hit my backhand a little better,” the American world No. 31 said after powering into the Australian Open quarterfinals, his first charge into the lasteight of a major. The 22-year-old put out 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in three hours and 28 minutes. Korda, who said the victory was an early 55th birthday present for his father, who had won the tournament here 25 years ago, will play Russian Karen Khachanov in the last eight. Korda had the support of the full hous...

21Jan

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Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka barrels into last 16 | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Hard-hitting Aryna Sabalenka burnished her Australian Open title credentials on Saturday as she barrelled into the last 16 along with several other women's seeds.The Belarusian fifth seed blew away 26th-seeded Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-3 to set up a clash with Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.Thirtieth seed Karolina Pliskova and 23rd seed Zhang Shuai also went through in straight sets on day six at Melbourne Park and will clash in the fourth round.Sabalenka is building a head of steam in her pursuit of a first Grand Slam title.The Minsk-born 24-year-old teased the Margaret Court Arena crowd for supporting Belgium's Mertens over her but said she was enjoying the ride into the second week.She is yet to drop a set. Likewise her next opponent Bencic, the Swiss 12th seed who eased past ...

21Jan

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Andrey Rublev rolls on, Karolina Pliskova through to last 16 at Australian Open | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Fifth seed Andrey Rublev avoided a third round banana skin in the form of Briton Dan Evans at the Australian Open on Saturday after former world number one Karolina Pliskova sailed into the last 16 of the women's tournament.Red-headed Russian Rublev has found Evans a handful in the past but swept aside the 25th seed 6-4 6-2 6-3 with 60 winners on a glorious afternoon at Melbourne Park.A quarter-finalist two years ago, Rublev had unleashed on the chair umpire in his previous match after being warned for an audible obscenity.But it was all smooth sailing against Evans, who obligingly threw Rublev a banana during a change of ends at sun-drenched Margaret Court Arena when the Russian came up empty in his search for a snack."I didn't ask him (for one), I asked the ball-boy," said ...

20Jan

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Australian Open: Andy Murray grinds down Thanasi Kokkinakis in second round | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Former world number one Andy Murray produced one of his greatest ever comebacks to sink home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis in a titanic second-round thriller at the Australian Open in the early hours of Friday morning.The 35-year-old Scot looked down and out against an inspired Kokkinakis as he trailed by two sets and 2-5 but displayed his trademark warrior spirit to somehow claw out a 4-6 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-3 7-5 victory after five hours and 45 minutes.When Murray finally got the job done in what was the 250th and longest Grand Slam match of his career, the clock was showing 4.05am local time but a sizeable and vociferous crowd had remained glued to their seats in the Margaret Court Arena.It was another stupendous effort from the three-time Grand Slam champion whose career has been l...

19Jan

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Djokovic bothered by leg, heckler during Australian Open win

Novak Djokovic propped up his left shoe on a courtside sign so he could stretch out his bothersome hamstring. He grimaced while flexing the muscle after one point, hopped on his right leg to keep weight off the left. He took a medical timeout while a trainer re-taped him during the second set — which Djokovic would go on to drop. As if he needed another distraction, Djokovic was flustered enough by a heckler that he asked chair umpire Fergus Murphy to have the spectator removed from Rod Laver Arena, saying: “The guy’s drunk out of his mind. He’s been provoking. He just wants to get in my head.” As Djokovic summed up: “It was a lot happening tonight.” Here’s what did not happen Thursday evening at the Australian Open: Djokovic did not lose his way entirely and, most importantly, he did n...

19Jan

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Second seed Casper Ruud knocked out of Australian Open | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: American Jenson Brooksby knocked second seed Casper Ruud out of the Australian Open on Thursday with a 6-3 7-5 6-7(4) 6-2 victory, extinguishing the Norwegian's hopes of winning a first Grand Slam title and topping the world rankings.Two breaks of serve in the opening set of the second-round match handed Brooksby the early lead and he dictated terms in the second to raise the prospect of another big upset by a Californian after Mackenzie McDonald beat defending champion Rafa Nadal.The 24-year-old Ruud, twice a runner-up in Grand Slams last year, saved three match points before winning the third set in a tiebreak as Brooksby began to feel the pressure but the American regained his composure in the fourth to complete the win."Casper's a warrior, I knew it'd be a great battle ou...

19Jan

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Australian Open: Qualifier Katie Volynets stuns ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova to reach third round | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Qualifier Katie Volynets stunned ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 2-6 6-2 on Thursday to storm into the Australian Open third round and continue the good start for American players at the year's opening Grand Slam.In only her sixth main draw appearance at a Grand Slam, the world number 113 is the first U.S. qualifier to reach the third round in women's singles at Melbourne Park since three-times major winner Lindsay Davenport in 1993.The 21-year-old she had the "chills" after grinding out the biggest victory of her career in her first match against a top-10 player."Suddenly, you get match point and it's like 'wow I've got match point against the ninth seed'," Volynets said in her on-court interview. "You just start going for it and let whatever happens happen."I've never p...

17Jan

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‘I deserved to win’, says Murray after Berrettini upset at Australian Open | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Andy Murray has always been his own harshest critic but the Scot allowed himself a rare smile and a pat on the back after his gruelling first-round victory over 13th seed Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open on Tuesday.The unseeded Murray battled with Italy's Berrettini for nearly five hours at Rod Laver Arena and even saved a match point in the final set before prevailing 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7(7) 7-6(10-6).The 35-year-old Briton had been knocked out in similar marathon matches at Grand Slams in recent years and said he took pride in shutting down those who questioned whether he could still perform at the biggest events after hip surgeries."I felt very proud of myself after the match. That's not something that I generally felt over the years at the end of the tennis matches. I ...

16Jan

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Local hope Nick Kyrgios pulls out of Australian Open with knee injury | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Nick Kyrgios's hopes of ending his country's 47-year wait for a homegrown men's champion at the Australian Open were shattered on the opening day when he pulled out of the tournament with a knee injury on Monday.The 27-year-old was, in his opinion at least, going into the tournament as one of the favourites after reaching the Wimbledon final and the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open last year."Obviously, I'm extremely disappointed, this is one of the most important tournaments of my career, it hasn't been easy at all," Kyrgios told reporters at Melbourne Park."This coming around is just bad timing but that's life you know. Injuries are part of the sport."I'm devastated ... Going into one of these events as the favourite is brutal."Trainer Will Maher said Kyrgios had been troubl...

14Jan

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Indian pair of Yuki-Saki wins Bangkok Open Challenger title

The top-seeded Indian team of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni came from behind to win the Bangkok Open title, their sixth together on the ATP Challenger Tour, as they beat Christopher Rungkat and Akira Santillan here on Saturday. Playing their seventh final together, the Indians beat the Indonesian-Australian combo 2-6 7-6(7) 14-12 in an exciting and close final, that lasted one hour and 50 minutes. Yuki and Saketh, who joined forces last year, made six Challenger finals and won five of them between April and October last year. The win on Saturday is likely to give the 28-year-old Yuki his career-high doubles rank of 90 while the big-serving Myneni, 35, should also touch a career-best 74 in the ATP doubles chart. They will next compete in the Australian Open — the season’s first Grand Sl...

9Jan

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Players could play at Australian Open with COVID: Craig Tiley | Tennis News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: Players at this month's Australian Open will not be required to take COVID-19 tests and could play even if they had the virus, tournament director Craig Tiley said on Monday.The health policy, which Tiley said reflected what was happening in the wider community, is a marked change from strict protocols which surrounded the tournament over the past two years.The 2021 tournament took place in a biosecure bubble with spectators shut out for several days after an outbreak of the virus in the community, while last year nine-times champion Novak Djokovic was deported because of his stance on vaccines."We just wanted to follow what's currently in the community," Tiley told reporters at Melbourne Park."We have gone a step further by making a recommendation around staying away when yo...

8Jan

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Novak Djokovic lost sleep to deal with hamstring problem | Tennis News – Times of India

ADELAIDE: Novak Djokovic said he worked with his physiotherapist all night to fix a hamstring issue before the Serbian beat Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday ahead of this month's Australian Open.Djokovic underwent treatment on his left leg during Saturday's semi-final victory over Daniil Medvedev after he hyper-extended his left hamstring while stretching to make a forehand.But the 35-year-old moved freely on the court in Sunday's final before he dug deep to save a match point and seal a 6-7(8) 7-6(3) 6-4 victory."I woke up all right. Went deep into the night last night with work done with the physio," Djokovic told reporters. "Talk with the doctors, as well, of the tournament, etc."There was a lot of care going into today's match about the hamstring. It w...

8Jan

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Novak Djokovic saves match point to beat Sebastian Korda for Adelaide crown | Tennis News – Times of India

ADELAIDE: Novak Djokovic dug deep to save a match point on the way to a 6-7(8) 7-6(3) 6-4 victory over Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday ahead of this month's Australian Open.A day after he overwhelmed Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final despite sustaining a hamstring injury, Djokovic moved freely on court but was pushed hard by Korda before the Serb made a late charge to deny his opponent a potentially career-defining win.Korda broke for a 5-4 lead in a tense first set and was 40-0 up on serve when Djokovic hit back to level the scores, but the world number five came undone in the tiebreak as the American soaked up the pressure to convert his seventh set point.A fuming Djokovic yelled at and banished two members of his entourage from their courtside seats be...

8Jan

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Daniil Medvedev caught mocking Novak Djokovic’s injury at Adelaide

Danii Medvedev got soundly beaten by an injury-hampered performance by Novak Djokovic at the Adelaide International semi-final. The top seed took apart his Russian counterpart in 6-3, 6-4 within 90 minutes but the moment in the match most talked about was one where eagle-eyed viewers seem to have caught Medvedev mocking Djokovic. During the first set, Djokovic took a medical timeout. The timeout was to stretch out his hamstring and involved the physio when the set was at 5-2. The Serbian later returned to the court but was clearly seen clutching his hamstrings. Then in the second set, once Djokovic recovered and regained control of the match, there was a moment where Medvedev was unable to break the top seed. The Russian, who is famous for moments of petulance on the court, appeared to ...

7Jan

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Fired-up Aryna Sabalenka races into Adelaide International final | Tennis News – Times of India

ADELAIDE: World number five Aryna Sabalenka surged into the final of the Adelaide International Saturday, crushing Romanian veteran Irina-Camelia Begu for the loss of just five games.Her reward is a title-match against either world number two Tunisian Ons Jabeur or rising Czech teenager Linda Noskova as she hits her stride ahead of the Australian Open."I'm happy with the level I played today," said the Belarusian, who is targeting an 11th career title and a first since winning at Abu Dhabi and Madrid in 2021, after winning 6-3, 6-2."She's playing a different style so super happy that I was able to be in the match."We did everything right in the pre-season, I think this is the key," she added in explaining her good early-season form, where she is yet to drop a set.Begu had beaten seventh...

4Jan

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Novak Djokovic set to miss US events amid tightened vaccination requirements | Tennis News – Times of India

Novak Djokovic is set to miss the Indian Wells and Miami Open ATP 1000 events this year if he remains unvaccinated against COVID-19, after United States authorities said non-nationals will need to have taken their shots to enter the country.A statement from the Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday said the requirement for foreign air travellers to be fully vaccinated against the disease would be in place until April 10.Indian Wells runs from March 6-19 and the Miami Open from March 20-April 2 and Djokovic risks missing the two important hardcourt tournaments if he does not take the vaccine.The 35-year-old Serb was unable to defend his Australian Open crown last year after being deported from that country on the eve of the hardcourt major due to his unvaccinated status.Djo...