New breeds in tennis,and cricket,have provided a wonderful sporting opening to 2024.
Jannik Sinner produced a comeback for the ages to outlast Daniil Medvedev 3-6,3-6,6-4,6-4,6-3 in a high-quality final and win his maiden grand slam title at the Australian Open.
Until he ran into a red-hot Jannik Sinner on Friday,10-time champion Novak Djokovic had not lost at the Australian Open since his shock fourth-round defeat to Hyeon Chung in 2018.
If this were politics,not sport,there is no way Zverev,his peers and the ATP would escape scrutiny to the extent they have so far.
Alex de Minaur weathered big-hitting Andrey Rublev’s early storm to be within striking distance of the quarter-finals,but it wasn’t to be.
Alex de Minaur has never been closer to a major breakthrough at the Australian Open – but he is still not close enough.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic is the warm-up act for Australian Alex de Minaur on Rod Laver Arena,with Coco Gauff,Aryna Sabalenka,and Stefanos Tsitsipas all in action on day eight.
Alex de Minaur doesn’t have the booming serve or groundstrokes,but he’s perfectly prepared to go where he has never stepped before. All cards are on the table when you have an entire continent in your corner.
Australians have seen relatively little of the world No.2 so far in his career,but the 20-year-old Spaniard has come a long way since his last appearance at Melbourne Park.
Jannik Sinner’s long-term coach is continuing to work on his game while Australian Darren Cahill sharpens his mind.
Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko sprayed the tennis world for its ambivalence toward the Russia-Ukraine war as she exited the Australian Open on Friday,lamenting that people have lost interest in her country’s plight.