Category: Tennis

• João Fonseca beats Andrey Rublev 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
• Medvedev struggled to 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 success

There were contrasting fortunes for two Russians in the first round of the Australian Open with Andrey Rublev crashing out in straight sets to João Fonseca while Daniil Medvedev smashed a net camera in an angry outburst during his five-set Australian Open win over the lowly ranked wildcard Kasidit Samrej.

Brazilian Fonseca began his grand slam career in spectacular fashion as the qualifier took down the ninth seed 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (5). Fonseca’s first main-draw match at a slam had been eagerly anticipated and the 18-year-old lived up to the hype with a stunning straight sets win in front of a captivated late-night crowd on Margaret Court Arena.

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• Michelsen beats No 11 seed in four sets
• Tiafoe grinds out five-set victory despite illness

Alex Michelsen produced the biggest win so far of his fledgling career to upset 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Australian Open, and he knew instinctively where credit was due.

The 20-year-old American overcame nerves on his serve in the fourth set before clinching a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win on Monday over Tsitsipas, the No 11 seed at this year’s tournament.

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Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, and Alexander Zverev, the no 2 seed, both won in straight sets to move into round two

Talking of Andreeeva, here she is talking to Tumaini Carayol.

I can’t wait to see how she develops but, seeded to meet Saba in round four, she might be on borrowed time. That, contest, though, would be a treat – and most likely a lot closer than our current one. Sabalenka breaks again for 4-0, but Stephens quickly earns 15-40…

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Russian world No 9 has become as well-known for hurting himself on court as for his tennis but feels he has turned a corner

‘I’m definitely feeling much better,” Andrey Rublev says as, with disarming honesty, he offers fresh insight into his long struggle with depression and physically hurting himself on court. “I’m still not in a place where I would like to be but, finally, I have a base. I have something to step on because, half a year ago, I arrived at the worst moment of my life in terms of how I feel about myself.”

We are talking just days away from the Australian Open and Rublev, the No 9 seed who has reached the quarter-finals in three out of the past four years in Melbourne, is charming, interesting and just a little tortured as he tries to understand the reasons for his psychological complexities in a manner as friendly as it is forensic. He turns a sports interview into a free-flowing conversation in which he is not afraid to share revealing personal truths.

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Elena Rybakina has backed her former coach Stefano Vukov and expressed her disagreement with the Women’s Tennis Association as the governing body continued its investigation into the Croat on the eve of the Australian Open. 'I don’t agree with a lot of things the WTA do in the sense of my relationship with Stefano,' said Rybakina, the sixth seed in Melbourne. 'As I said before, I have never made any complaints or any of these things. I always said that he never mistreated me.' Earlier this week, the WTA confirmed it had opened an investigation into Vukov owing to an alleged breach of its code of conduct. He is provisionally suspended from the tour, meaning he cannot receive accreditation and access the private player areas despite his original intent to attend the Australian Open.

• Elena Rybakina slams WTA probe into Vukov as Australian Open nears

• Rybakina defends former coach as WTA investigates claims of misconduct

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Britain’s Cameron Norrie apologised and avoided disqualification when a racket he threw in the air struck a spectator at the ATP Tour tournament in Auckland on Tuesday. Norrie was facing match point against Facundo Díaz Acosta of Argentina when he lightly tossed his racket, which struck a woman in a court-side box who was unhurt. Norrie received a warning from the chair umpire and went on to lose 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the tournament. He reached the final in Auckland in 2023. “I wasn’t meaning to do that but it’s still not ideal to be doing that and I’ve never done something like that,” Norrie said. “[The spectator] was laughing and I just said: ‘So sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.’ And she said: ‘Yeah, I’m completely OK.’ Footage courtesy of ATP Tour.

• Cameron Norrie accidentally hits spectator with racket in Auckland loss

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• Player receives warning during defeat to Díaz Acosta
• ‘I’m not happy with how I behaved,’ admits Briton

Britain’s Cameron Norrie apologised and avoided disqualification when a racket he threw in the air struck a spectator at the ATP Tour tournament in Auckland on Tuesday.

Norrie was facing match point against Facundo Díaz Acosta of Argentina when he lightly tossed his racket, which struck a woman in a court-side box who was unhurt. Norrie received a warning from the chair umpire and went on to lose 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the tournament. He reached the final in Auckland in 2023.

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• Osaka shares relationship update on social media
• She and Cordae became parents to a daughter in 2023

Four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka says she and her partner, rapper Cordae, “are no longer in a relationship”.

Osaka posted the news on social media Monday, less than a week before the Australian Open tennis tournament begins. Osaka won that event in 2019 and 2021. She also owns two titles from the US Open.

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• Former world No 13 to face Sweden in qualifying tie from 31 January
• De Minaur, Thompson and Kokkinakis also selected in squad

Nick Kyrgios is in line to make a sensational return to Australia’s Davis Cup team for the first time in more than five years. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist, who’s been taking the first tentative steps on the comeback road after long-standing injuries, is a shock selection by captain Lleyton Hewitt for the qualifying tie in Sweden in Stockholm starting on 31 January.

In the team nominations unveiled on Monday, the 29-year-old’s name in Australia’s four-man outfit raised eyebrows as he’s shown no interest in the men’s “World Cup of tennis” ever since he last played against Belgium in November 2019.

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• Gauff defeats world No 2 Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 in Sydney
• Fritz clinches title with 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 victory over Hurkacz

In her short time as a professional tennis player, even as her career flourished and she established herself as one of the best in the world, Coco Gauff’s great progress was often overshadowed by the match-up she just could not solve. By last June, Gauff had lost 11 of her first 12 matches against Iga Swiatek, an opponent she is likely to play for many more years.

What was once a painfully one-sided non-rivalry may have finally turned into one of the best match-ups in professional tennis. On Sunday evening at the United Cup in Sydney, Gauff registered her second consecutive win over Swiatek, toppling the five-time grand slam champion 6-4, 6-4 after two hours of sublime tennis from both champions.

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• Stefano Vukov is under investigation by the WTA
• 2022 Wimbledon champion was ‘never mistreated’

Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, has insisted that her former coach Stefano Vukov did not mistreat her during their coaching partnership after it was revealed that Vukov is under investigation by the Women’s Tennis Association.

A WTA spokesperson confirmed this week that Vukov is being investigated for allegedly breaking the WTA’s code of conduct and he is provisionally suspended from the tour until the investigation has been concluded.

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The United Cup attracted a healthy field of top players and this dynamic and intense event appears to be thriving

Towards the end of the frantic, tension-filled mixed doubles tussle between Poland and Norway at the United Cup in Sydney, Casper Ruud took a deep breath as he stood on top of the baseline alongside his partner Ulrikke Eikeri and prepared to serve. With just a narrow 4-3 lead in the third set match tie-break, the following minutes would determine Norway’s fate in the competition.

Ruud fired down a heavy topspin serve and then he traded forceful crosscourt groundstrokes with Poland’s Jan Zielinski from the left side of the court. But then, all of a sudden, his focus shifted. Ruud sharply changed directions, instead opting to hammer forehands down the line towards Iga Swiatek on the baseline in an attempt to overpower her and break her down. Not only did Swiatek firmly hold her ground, though, she maintained immaculate depth under pressure and methodically wrestled the initiative back from Ruud. By the end of the point, it was Swiatek who pounced on a short backhand from Ruud and curled a crosscourt forehand winner past Eikeri at the net.

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• US beat Czechs, Poland defeat Kazakhstan in Sydney
• Aryna Sabalenka powers past Andreeva in Brisbane
• Naomi Osaka close to ending trophy wait in Auckland

Former champions the United States returned to the final of the United Cup mixed team tournament with a fortuitous victory over the Czech Republic on Saturday and set up a title clash with Poland, who hammered Kazakhstan.

Tomas Machac looked set to draw the Czechs level at 1-1 in their semi-final and was serving for the contest against Taylor Fritz, but an apparent cramp took its toll and he lost three straight games before throwing in the towel at 7-6 (4), 5-6.

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