Tennis News
Australian No 1 off the pace in 5-7 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 defeat
Fate sealed after throwing away 5-2 lead in second set
On a sweltering day when a series of spectators required medical attention at Wimbledon, Australia’s challenge also wilted in the heat.
Alex de Minaur, who walked on to No 1 Court with a first grand slam semi-final, at the least, very much in his sights, was left dejected after losing to Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 5-7 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 in the fourth round.
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Continue reading...Australian No 1 dismisses French veteran 6-3 6-2 6-2
‘I just love it here,’ says No 5 seed
Alex de Minaur was not at his best against French veteran Adrian Mannarino as Wimbledon’s fourth day opened with the sun out and mercury rising, but he was good enough.
The Australian No 1 saw off his potentially troublesome left-handed opponent 6-3 6-2 6-2 in one hour 49 minutes on Thursday.
Continue reading...Australian defeats Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga
Thanasi Kokkinakis loses five-set epic but Kim Birrell through
Alex de Minaur has enjoyed the perfect launch to his latest bid to reach a grand slam final with an encouraging win over Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga.
The Australian No 1 was stretched by an hour-long opening set but once he shook off his nerves, got his feet moving and found his groove, he raced to victory on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Last month she had a post-defeat meltdown and insisted she was done with tennis. On the eve of Wimbledon, she talks about what really happened – and why her ‘aggressive’ face gives people the wrong impression
It’s less than a month since Aryna Sabalenka told the world that she felt like walking away from tennis. The world No 1 had suffered an almighty implosion. Sabalenka is as famous for her implosions as she is for her on-court ferocity. But this was a different level.
She had been playing at her imperious best in the French Open, one of tennis’s four major tournaments. Winner after winner from the back of the court, and when she bullied her opponents back to the baseline she’d dupe them with the most delicate drop-shot. In the last 16 against Naomi Osaka she looked invincible. And then came the quarter-final. By now, all her main rivals were out. The 28-year-old had a clear path through to winning her fifth grand slam singles title. Again, she was playing well against the world’s No 25, Diana Shnaider. Sabalenka won the first set easily, 6-3, and was 5-3 up in the second set. Victory was an inevitability. And then it happened. One game lost. Then another. And another. The wind had picked up, playing conditions got ever worse, the organisers failed to close the roof. And Sabalenka was walloping shot after shot out of court.
Continue reading...Shorter points help the 39-year-old at SW19, where Jannik Sinner hopes to show French Open upset was a blip
For the 21st time in his long and fruitful career, Novak Djokovic arrived at the All England Club on Monday and began his preparations for another Wimbledon in earnest. The 39-year-old worked his way through his tentative first steps on the grass courts of Aorangi Park, movement exercises complementing his sparring on court. He found his rhythm against local hitting partners and tussled with other champions. His training sessions included a catchup with his old friend Marin Cilic and then he broke in the grass on No 1 Court with the world No 1, Jannik Sinner, iron sharpening iron.
The ultimate goal is the same as it has been for some time: Djokovic, the seventh seed, returns to Wimbledon again seeking to become the oldest grand slam singles champion in history by winning an unprecedented 25th grand slam title. At 39 years old, his chances of achieving this goal naturally lessen with each tournament, but he has repeatedly shown that, if fortune favours him for two weeks, he is more than capable of taking advantage.
Continue reading...Her motivations for returning may be hard to gauge but there is no doubt the returning former champion will steal the early spotlight at SW19
At the southernmost point of the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s vast grounds, Serena Williams was starting another day of training as the clock ticked down to her first singles match after four years of retirement. Her training partner for the morning, Marta Kostyuk, soon joined her on court 10 in Aorangi Park, the quaint practice area reserved only for players.
Kostyuk is one of the more extroverted players on the tour and she is widely known for speaking her mind under all circumstances, but when Williams greeted Kostyuk and thanked her for the training session, for once the Ukrainian looked at a loss for words: “No, thank you for playing with me,” she responded.
Continue reading...Draper to play sixth seed Taylor Fritz in first match
Ostapenko and Sabalenka drawn in Raducanu’s quarter
Serena Williams will face Australia’s Maja Joint at Wimbledon in her long-awaited return to singles competition after four years of retirement, a match between two players born nearly 25 years apart.
Joint, a talented 20-year-old who won Eastbourne last year, has struggled badly this year, compiling a 3-15 record. The winner of their first round match could face the in-form Filipino 25th seed, Alexandra Eala.
Continue reading...Climate crisis is on show every day when sportspeople do their thing and the rest of us sweat on the sofa
Nothing sharpens the distinction between professional athletes and the rest of us like a week of truly hot weather. While we’re apologetically crying off long‑in‑the-diary engagements – so sorry, just can’t face it in this weather – elite sportspeople are blinking the rivulets of sweat out of their eyes while squinting under a hot and heavy helmet, then doing 22-yard sprints with a couple of kilos of padding strapped to their legs.
As one of nature’s non-athletes, I speak not only with admiration but with genuine wonder. My experience of the past week has been working out how not to do things, or, if forced, doing them half‑heartedly because, you know, I haven’t slept. My friends and I message each other the latest innovations in fan strategy (“Apparently putting a frozen bottle of water in front of it helps”) and talk about our journeys on public transport as if we’ve just survived the Somme.
Continue reading...All-time greats have questions to answer in SW19 while Raducanu and Draper have to show they can stay fit
Serena Williams left it until the last minute to take the final available singles wildcard at Wimbledon and dramatically escalate her comeback from retirement. It is hard to imagine this was all part of her master plan. If she knew she was ready to compete against the best in the world from the beginning of the grass court season, Williams would have surely tested the waters at Queen’s Club or in Berlin, rather than playing doubles. But here she is, unable to resist the pull of Wimbledon, where she has won seven times in singles. Williams’s career has been filled with so many magical moments and at 44 years old, after four years of retirement, she is back at SW19 attempting to create a few more magical moments.
Continue reading...23-year-old spotted in protective boot on Wednesday
Raducanu’s last match was HSBC Championships final
Emma Raducanu faces a race to be at full fitness for Wimbledon after her preparations for the tournament were disrupted by injury.
On Wednesday evening Raducanu was seen by Clay magazine leaving the All England Club wearing a protective boot on her right foot after not practising that day. She had been scheduled to train at midday on Thursday but did not practise for a second straight day.
Continue reading...It is the stroke that looks easy but can be a nightmare for some of the world’s top players – even Novak Djokovic has the Djokosmash
Elite players are often at their most comfortable when speaking about the fine technical details of their game, but last month at the French Open, a straightforward question about the overhead smash initially drew little more than a regretful shake of the head from Novak Djokovic. “You’re talking to the wrong person,” he said, laughing.
One of the pillars of Djokovic’s legendary career is his complete game. In a sport where most players have a weak point, the 24-time grand slam champion has mastered nearly every stroke.
Continue reading...Australian veteran says four-year ban is a ‘disgrace’
ITIA says strong testing means unpredictable timing
Ajla Tomljanovic has described the lengthy doping ban administered to Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon singles champion, as a disgrace and has accused the tennis anti-doping authorities of being out to get players even when they have done nothing wrong.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced on Monday that Vondrousova had been handed a four‑year suspension by an independent tribunal after the Czech player had refused to provide a sample to a doping control officer at her home last December at around 8pm.
Continue reading...‘No compelling justification’ for not submitting a sample
‘Unpredictable testing is essential to protect clean sport’
Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon singles champion, has been banned from professional sport for four years after she refused an anti-doping test.
According to an independent tribunal, Vondrousova provided “no compelling justification” for declining to provide a sample after being notified at her home by a doping control officer in December. The 26-year-old is suspended from all professional events until 21 June 2030.
Continue reading...Seven-time champion, now 44, continues on-court return
She will also compete in doubles with sister Venus
Serena Williams will make a stunning return to singles competition at Wimbledon after being announced as the tournament’s final wildcard on Sunday.
Wimbledon will mark Williams’s first singles appearance in nearly four years after retiring from the sport at the 2022 US Open and it marks a dramatic escalation in her comeback.
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