ATP
Last orders for bar service
WARM weather and cold beer is a good recipe for a day at the beach or a BBQ, but it’s a disaster for an international sports event where the vast majority actually go to watch the sport and not get drunk and throw abuse at players.
Melbourne Park organisers have quite rightly been left embarrassed with their ‘party court’ theme on court 6 where alcohol-fuelled behaviour saw Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova harassed by fans who screamed and “meowed” at her.
The Courtside Bar has a capacity of about 400 people with seating that overlooks the court.
Back in October AO boss Craig Tiley said it was a model they like to expand further across the site in future. Really?
With music blaring from the bar and ‘fans’ shouting abuse at players?
“I was actually thinking during the match ‘What was the idea behind it?’,” Pavlyuchenkova said.
“Yeah okay, maybe of course, for the fans, it’s super fun for them. But tennis is a special sport in a way.
“It’s not like baseball, or other sports where you can eat and walk around, or like basketball. It is completely different. It’s very quiet in a way. So yeah, that was really uncomfortable.”
Spaniard Paula Badosa, played there and was unhappy with it.
“My two matches I played there. It’s very noisy, very loud. It’s a little bit tough to concentrate there,” Badosa said.
Her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas played doubles on the court on Thursday, also complained that it was not a nice experience.
Like father, like son…
Following in dad’s footsteps in Melbourne last week was a teenager called Hewitt.
Cruz Hewitt, the 15-year-old son of legendary Aussie Lleyton Hewitt, made his junior Slam debut in the Australian Open boy’s singles.
Hewitt was wildcard entry after falling at the final hurdle of junior grand slam qualification.
The wildcard came 27 years after his father debuted in the main draw of the Australian Open.
Cruz won three junior titles in 2023, and was spotted training with Dominic Thiem and Alex de Minaur at Melbourne Park.
IT’S only week one – and tears have been flowing.
Milos Raonic’s wife was tearful after watching her husband withdraw from the Open in his first round match against Alex De Minaur.
The big-hitting Canadian, 33, was unable to complete his match against the Aussie, bowing out midway through the third set.
“It’s tough to see any player walk out this way,” John McEnroe said.
And a misty-eyed Camille Ringoir had to fight back the tears as her husband limped off the court.
NO tears, but plenty of ‘other’ body fluids at a hot Melbourne on Tuesday as Brit Jack Draper won the first five set match of his career, before he threw up ointment a bin afterwards.
Draper battled to overcome American Marcos Giron 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in a three hours and 20 minutes slog that saw him have a trainer check his blood pressure when the match was 1-1.
WILL Andy Murray play Melbourne again? It seems extremely unlikely after his first round exit.
‘It’s a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here,’ Murray said, after losing to Tomas Etcheverry.
No disgrace there, as Etcheverry is ranked No.30 and a decent Slam player.
But for Murray it was a major disappointment and raises the retirement question again.
“I have an idea of when I would probably like to finish, so much of that depends on how you’re playing. The time frame for that narrows when you play and have results like today,” Murray added.
A Wimbledon finale perhaps?
ANOTHER first round loser was Naomi Osaka, clearly still recovering from giving birth to a daughter, and far from elite match fitness.
She just didn’t look ready for a Slam, her opponent Caroline Garcia did.
And it didn’t take long for the critics to sharpen their knives.
“Tennis-wise, it was maybe a B-plus performance. But overall a C, because she couldn’t get to the ball. She’s not in shape,” Martina Navratilova said.
“I’m surprised she played this tournament without clearly being in the tip-top shape she needs to be in.”
Ouch, but a fair point.
As for Osaka and a plan to be back at the top?
I’m definitely thinking of playing Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, then probably like a full clay season,” she said.
QUOTE of the week: “Oh my god, this is the wokest tournament ever.”
Those were the words of a vert frustrated Aussie Jordan Thompson speaking to an umpire last week, complaining about the noise from spectators.
Australian Open organisers have clearly ditched the traditional rules of watching and enjoying tennis in favour of what many consider the mob rule.
Courtside bars, loud music, beer swilling fans behaving as if it were an American football match.
The wokeness has not stepped there. Australia’s national day on January 26 has been dropped by organisers, but they will have a ‘First Nation’s Day’ and a Pride day.
“If you’re going to call yourself the Australian Open and it happens that our national day takes place during the tournament, you have to acknowledge Australia Day,” Melbourne radio host Tom Elliott said.
Does it have anything to do with the $100m secret bailout payment from the Victorian State radical left labor government to prop up the event post the covid pandemic shutdown. “We’ll help you out but you have to follow our narrative?”
And what is going on at 3.40am? Middle of the night matches that Craig Tiley said would stop with the extra day of play.
This is not good for TV, spectators or players.
BEST courtside interview? At 16 Ms Andreeva shows how it’s done…
OUR WTF moment … the one that made us laugh out loud – and it has to go to who else but Nick Kyrgios.
The outspoken Aussie, who is missing the event through injury, has offered to become Novak Djokovic’s personal security guard.
Kyrgios was angered by a heckler on Rod Laver Arena last week, saying he would jump into the crowd to “sort it out”.
“When he was heckling you, Novak, I told everyone from the commentary box worldwide ‘if you want me to jump into the crowd and sort him out, I’ve got your back 100 per cent, bro’,” Kyrgios said.
“There’s always some jerk in the crowd who wouldn’t say something to Novak’s face.”
FINALLY… Sad to hear of the passing of The London Daily Mail’s tennis correspondent Mike Dickson while at the Australian Open last week. Mike, 59, had worked at the Mail for 33 years, covering tennis since 2007. A well respected tennis writer. RIP.
Alexander Zverev cooled the jets of a teenaged tearaway on Tuesday, schooling Spaniard Rafael Jodar 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to power to his fifth career semi-final at the French Open.
The world No. 3 German finished runner-up in Paris two years ago and is still seeking his first trophy at one of the majors.
Zverev has been a consistent presence at the business end of the event here, figuring iin five of the past six semis.
But the achievement doesn’t amount to much for the seed, who has his eye on the big prize.
“I want to keep going. I don’t really care so much about a semi-final,” he said. “I want to win all the matches in front of me.
“Today was a tough test against a good player – that’s it for now.”
The 29-year-old who becomes the ninth man to play five Paris semi-finals, got away slowly as the 19-year-old Jodar showed his intentions with an early break..
But the seed began turning the tables on his young opponent while trailing 5-2 in the opening set after dropping serve in the eight-minute opening game.
Jodar’s unravelling began as he served for the first set leading 5-4 but was unable to close it out.
From then on, Zverev was in control.
The German won the opener in a tiebreaker and dominated the second to claim that chapter also.
In the third, he broke the fading youngster in the first and last games of the set
before closing out the win with a running forehand down the line on match point.
“He had perfect rhythm in the first set and I didn’t,” the winner said. “I was playing too short and too defensive.
“The ball was also not bouncing as high as it did in (last week’s) heat, I had to flatten out my shots.
“He outplayed me at the beginning of the first, but I managed to come back.
he seemed a bit nervous when he served for (the set).
“I took my chances, it was a good match for me.”
Main photo:- Alexander Zverev in control at Roland Garros – by ATPTour.com
Matteo Berrettini took Italian revenge on Monday against the Argentine who knocked out Jannik Sinner with a 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6) fourth-round demolition of Juan Manuel Cerundolo at the French Open.
Former top 10 player Berrettini, now mended after several seasons of intermittent injury absences sent the South American packing in a solid clay display.
The Italian saved three Cerundolo set points in the third-set tiebreaker, with Berrettini claiming a match point on an inside-out forehand, and following up with a serve winner..
“I feel great,” Berrettini said. “I’m happy with the support in a full stadium.
“This is why we train and fight, I’m enjoying the atmosphere with my team and family.”
Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime booked the last eight as he put out another South American in Canadian-born Chilean AlejandroTabilo 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.
FAA becomes the first Canadian man to complete the set of quarter-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
The 30-year-old Berretini from Rome is competing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2021 when he also reached the last eight here.
The current No. 105 is the lowest-ranked men’s quarter-finalist in Paris since in 2007.
Cobolli lost his first set of the tournament as he ran up against an American with negligible experience on clay, defeating Zach Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5).
The 10th-seeded Italian’s victory put him into his second Grand Slam and his first in Paris.
“I was a little bit nervous to close the match today,” the winner said. “It means a lot, this tournament, for me.
“Sometimes it’s not easy when you have to close, especially when you are up in the score like I was today.
“But also Zachary played a really good match today after the second set… tennis is like this. At the end, I was happy, and that’s the important thing.”
Svajda came to the major with only one career match win on clay. He began correcting that in the third round by beating Francisco.Cerundolo.
Cobolli cruised through the first two sets but his perfect set record took a dent in the third as Svajda forced a tiebreaker and saved a match point after closing the Italian’s 5-1 lead and forcing a tiebreaker.
It took a tiebreak fourth set to settle the outcome after more than three and a quarter hours.
Alexander Zverev stayed on track for a possible fourth Grand Slam final as the highest seed remaining in the men’s draw at the French Open moved efficiently into the quarter-finals on Sunday.
The German who has finished runner-up at the Australian and US Open plus Roland Garros, defeated qualifying lucky loser Jesper de Jong 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-1.
With this week’s second-round losses by world No. 1 and top seed Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic, Zverev could have one of his best chances at lifting a major trophy.
The 29-year-old reached his eighth Roland Garros quarter-final as he beat his Dutch opponent on de Jong’s 26th birthday.
He needed a tiebreak to secure the opening set but picked up momentum before crushing it in the third set to get off court in a relatively quick two and a quarter hours.
“I had some early difficulties but he started well,” the winner said. “But once I found my rhythm I felt comfortable on the court.
“That is important for my game. It’s (his game) is there, I just have to show it on the match court.”
With the recent 10-day heatwave now gone, temperatures dropped into the mid-20s Celsius, which should make for more comfortable conditions.
But Zverev is not so sure: “To be honest, I like the heat, I prefer it. My ball flies a lot faster through the air and opponents struggle a bit more.
“I also spend a lot of time in Florida so I’m used to the heat. But we have to make the best of it, things can change within one day.”
Zverev will bid for the semi-finals in a matchup against Rafael Jodar, the prodigy who won an all-Spanish fourth-rounder 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 over Pablo Carreno Busta.
The fightback took nearly three and three-quarter hours and put the 19-year-old into his first last-eight spot in only his second Grand Slam appearance.
He has reached the last eight here for a sixth straight year.
Jodar, ranked No. 707 a year ago, is the fifth man this century to reach the quarters in his main draw debut at the event.
The youngster made a 4-1 start in the opening set but soon found himself in a five-set dogfight against a 34-year-old dealing with a shoulder injury.
The winner of a clay title in March has now taken victory in 19 of his last 22 matches.
“He’s young and incredibly talented,” Zverev said of his next opponent. “He came onto the clay scene in two months.
“He will be a difficult challenge but I’ll be ready for it.”
Main photo:- Favourite Alexander Zverev wins third round match – by ATPTour.com
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