Tag: tennis

Roger Federer after second crazy Australian Open comeback win: ‘I don’t deserve this one’

Roger Federer pulled off another wild win at the Australian Open.

For the second time in the Australian Open, Roger Federer pulled off a wild comeback victory with a tiebreak set in the mix.

And after he beat beating American Tennys Sandgren, 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3, in the quarterfinals Tuesday in Melbourne, the 38-year-old Swiss player kept repeating over and over how lucky he felt. Lucky as in fortunate, of course, but he also felt luck was on his side at times.

Down two sets to one and on the brink of elimination, Federer, who struggled as his groin and leg muscles tightened up, saved seven match points in the fourth set, which included coming back from a 6-3 in the first-to-10 tiebreak. He ultimately won the breaker, 10-8, taking the set and later the match.

“You’ve got to get a bit lucky sometimes — I’ll tell you that,” Federer said in his post-match on-court interview. He’ll play Novak Djovokic in a must-watch semifinal match.

Federer continued:

“I think he played his match. I think I got incredibly lucky today. And then as the match went on, I started to feel better again and all the pressure went away, and I just tried to play.

“And again, got a little lucky to get the break, and I served really well, I think, for most of the match, at the end especially. So I don’t deserve this one, but I’m standing here and I’m obviously very, very happy.”

Only a few days ago in his third-round match against Australia’s John Millman, Federer was down, 8-4, in a final-set tiebreaker and rallied to win six straight points to win. It marked his 100th Australian Open match win and was his first incredibly unlikely comeback of the tournament.

After beating Sandgren, Federer further explained how his body was struggling. At one point, he received medical attention from the trainer, which he said he doesn’t like to do because he thinks it shows his opponent a “sign of weakness.”

He continued:

“I just said, ‘I believe in miracles.’ There could be rain, there could be stuff. It wasn’t bad enough where I thought I was going to get worse. It was just stiff and tight and whatever you want to call it, and just let him finish me off in style and he didn’t do that, so just incredibly lucky tonight, today, whatever. I don’t even know what time it is. …

“You do feel better in a couple of days, so you never know again. And with these lucky escapes, all of a sudden you might play without any expectations anymore because you know you should already actually be skiing in Switzerland, not on the way there. … So lucky to be here and might as well make the most of it.”

Federer and Djovokic play their semifinal match Thursday morning in Melbourne, which will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.

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Nick Kyrgios calls Australian Open chair umpire ‘stupid’ after unnecessary time violation

This time, Nick Kyrgios is absolutely right to be mad.

Nick Kyrgios is no stranger to controversial moments or arguments with chair umpires. In the last year, the 24-year-old Australian tennis player had a meltdown at the Italian Open and threw a chair on the court, he drilled Rafael Nadal with the ball at Wimbledon and he smashed two rackets and yelled at the chair umpire at the Cincinnati Open.

So the fact that he got into it with the chair umpire during his third-round match at the Australian Open on Saturday isn’t super unusual. The difference this time appears to be that Kyrgios was entirely on the correct side of the spat.

During the fourth set of his four-hour, 26-minute match against Karen Khachanov, Kyrgios dove for the ball and won the point with an incredible shot. However, he injured his hand and was slow to get up.

His hand was also bleeding a little, so rather than toss his towel with blood on it back to the ball person, Kyrgios set it aside himself. But all that apparently took too much time for umpire Renaud Lichtenstein, who dealt Kyrgios a time violation.

Understandably, Kyrgios was not happy and threw his racket on the court while explaining to the umpire that his hand was bleeding.

“My hand is bleeding. My hand is bleeding. What do you want me to do? … There’s blood all over the towel. I told the ball kid not to touch it. That’s all I said. …

“What are you, stupid? Can you not see? Well, take it back then. Why do I get a time violation? My hand’s bleeding.”

Kyrgios then showed Lichtenstein the towel and said, “Is that good enough for you?”

And, according to ESPN, he later said to the umpire: “Don’t look at me, do your job. You think I’m going to play that slow, or what?”

Kyrgios’ hand after he wiped it off with a towel the first time.

No, in fact, Kyrgios doesn’t generally take his time and has been known to get annoyed when his opponents do, like in his controversial 2019 Wimbledon match against Nadal when he was mad the umpire let Nadal take as long as he did between serves. (He even mocked Nadal’s famous pre-serve movements earlier in the tournament after another time violation.)

So while Kyrgios often escalates situations and makes headlines for the wrong reasons, he’s right with this one — although it’s generally not advisable to call the chair umpire stupid. But he didn’t take an absurd amount of time to get back to the baseline, and even if he did, he had a pretty solid excuse.

He ended up beating Khachanov,  6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-6 (8), in what he called “one of the craziest matches [he’s] ever been a part of” after dropping match points in the third and fourth sets.

In his press conference after, Kyrgios said his hand was “squirting blood,” adding:

“I’m not really too sure why I got a time violation. I just made sure the ball kid wasn’t touching my towel with blood on it. And then, the umpire just had no idea what was going on apparently. My hand’s usually brown, and it was covered in blood, so something wrong there.”

Next up for Kyrgios in the fourth round of the Australian Open is Nadal. Perfect.

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Serena Williams harshly critiques own play following Australian Open loss

Serena Williams battled through a 2-hour, 41-minute third-round match before losing to Qiang Wang in what ended as the longest match Williams has played in since returning to tennis after giving birth in September 2017.

Serena Williams battled through a 2-hour, 41-minute third-round match before losing to Qiang Wang in what ended as the longest match Williams has played in since returning to tennis after giving birth in September 2017.

Roger Federer completes wild tiebreaker comeback to avoid huge Australian Open upset

Federer came back from a huge deficit in the fifth-set tiebreaker.

Who cares if Roger Federer is 38 years old when he keeps finding new ways to redefine is greatness? And he did it again at the Australian Open in a thrilling match that began Friday night in Melbourne and ended after midnight Saturday.

Federer topped Australia’s John Millman by winning a wild fifth-set tiebreaker. Unlike other tournaments — such as Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which play first-to-seven in a tiebreaker — the Australian Open has a first-to-10 format, and Federer fell behind 8-4 early on.

But he rallied with six straight points to win the tiebreaker and the third-round match, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), marking his 100th Aussie Open match win.

Not only that, but he is also the first singles player win 100 matches in two different Grand Slams, which is absolutely ridiculous. He won his 100th Wimbledon match in 2019.

In his post-match interview, Federer joked that when Millman had that huge lead in the tiebreaker and was two points away from taking the match, he was already preparing himself to offer excuses during his press conference for why he lost.

But fortunately for him, he didn’t have to.

On the court, Federer said:

“Oh god, it was tough. Thank god it’s a super tiebreaker — otherwise I would have lost this one. Where to start? John played a great match. He might as well have been out here as well making the match — doing the interview. Can’t even speak anymore. He’s a great fighter, a good guy. Like you said, it came down to the wire at the end. A bit of luck, maybe, you know, go one way. I had to stay so focused, take the right decision, and he was doing all that stuff in the beginning of the breaker.

“He kept on coming up with the goods, and I thought ‘OK, I guess I tried. I didn’t play too bad after all.’ And I was getting ready to explain myself in the press conference. The demons are always there; they’re lurking. Anyway, what a match, and John deserves over half of this one.”

Here’s a look at the highlights from Federer and Millman’s third-round match. (The intense tiebreaker clips begin just after the four-minute mark.)

No. 3 seed Federer is now set to play Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics on Sunday morning in Melbourne, but it will be Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

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Caroline Wozniacki says farewell to tennis world after Australian Open loss

“It has been everything I could ever have hoped for!”

At just 29 years old, Caroline Wozniacki is officially retired from professional tennis.

In an Instagram post last month, the 2018 Australian Open champion announced that regardless of what happened in this year’s first Grand Slam, she’d be calling it a career — one that includes 30 WTA titles and being the world No. 1 for 71 weeks. Although she’s been open about being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, she said her decision was not health-related. Instead, she wants to start a family with former Golden State Warriors star David Lee, travel the world and still raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis.

In heartbreaking fashion, Wozniacki’s career ended in a three-set battle against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, losing 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 on Friday in Melbourne. During the Dane’s emotional post-match interview on court, the Australian Open showed a touching (and funny) tribute video of her peers detailing what makes her so great.

From Ashleigh Barty to Sloane Stephens, the theme of Wozniacki’s 15-year career was her extraordinary ability to return seemingly every single ball. They repeatedly called her a fighter.

Serena Williams and Wozniacki are close friends — and actually, Serena was a bridesmaid in Woz’s wedding in June of 2019 — and Williams closed the tribute video talking about how much she’ll miss her pal:

“It’s going to be really hard for me to not have Caroline on the tour. She’s literally one of my best friends. I’m really happy for her, and I know that she’s doing what she wants to do and that’s what it’s all about.”

Later on Friday from Australia, Wozniacki reflected on her career in a short Instagram post that still expressed her excitement for the future. Understandably, this experience has led to a huge range of emotions for the 2018 Aussie Open champ.

In her caption, she wrote:

Wow what a ride it’s been! From a little girl with a big dream, to this moment, standing on the court today living out my tennis dream one last time, in front of the world. It has been everything I could ever have hoped for!

The farewell I got today was absolutely incredible! Watching this video still gives me goose bumps! Thank you everyone for all the love and support over the years! Excited for what the future holds!❤️

Lee also posted a similar message to his wife after the final match of her career.

Lots of emotions today watching you play your last match. So proud to have been by your side during epic wins and emotional losses. Most of all, I’m proud of your discipline, work ethic , and the pure joy you bring to tennis and your life every single day! I’m thrilled for the next chapter together, filled with great food and wine, endless travel, and athletic babies 😜! I got your back for life, bring on the future! ❤️❤️

Here’s how fans, Jabeur and others in the tennis world reacted to her last match.

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Serena Williams harshly criticizes her play after Australian Open upset: ‘That’s unprofessional’

Serena lost to Wang Qiang in a three-set match in the third round of the Australian Open.

Serena Williams’ search for her 24th Grand Slam victory continues.

After fighting back to force a third set of her third-round match against Wang Qiang in the Australian Open on Friday in Melbourne, she ultimately lost. Want played a fantastic final set against the GOAT before winning the whole thing, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5, and handing Williams her earliest Aussie Open exit in 14 years.

The two-hour and 41- minute match was the longest one Serena has played in since returning to tennis after giving birth in September of 2017, according to ESPN, and it was the total opposite of the last time these two played. At the U.S. Open last year, Williams crushed Wang, 6-1, 6-0, in just 44 minutes.

While 38-year-old Serena gave credit to 28-year-old Wang for out-playing her, she didn’t shy away from criticizing her own performance. But she also said Wang played “a little different” than the last time they faced off.

“I was optimistic that I would be able to win,” she said after the match about forcing the third set. “I thought, ‘OK, now finish this off.’ I honestly didn’t think I was going to lose that match.”

Williams was particularly critical about all the mistakes she made, finishing with 27 unforced errors compared with Wang’s 20. About that, she said: “I just made far too many errors to be a professional athlete today.”

And she continued criticizing herself while still explaining that she believes a record-tying 24th Grand Slam victory is still within reach. Her last major win was at the 2017 Australian Open, which she did while pregnant.

She continued:

“I definitely do believe [I can win another Grand Slam] or I wouldn’t be on tour. I don’t play just to have fun and to lose is really not fun to play to lose, personally. I seem to do well at the last two slams of the year. I’ve won them all several times so each one definitely is an opportunity for me to go out there and win. It’s not even about the slams. It’s about just me playing good tennis, and I didn’t do that today. And that is more disappointing. So it’s not even about the win. It’s just more about I’m better than that. …

“[Wang] served well. I didn’t return like Serena. Honestly, if we were just honest with ourselves, it’s all on my shoulders. I lost that match, so it is what it is. Like I said, it’s not about the tournament. It’s just like, I can’t play like that. I literally can’t do that again. That’s unprofessional, and it’s not cool.”

Since her return in 2018 after nearly dying after giving birth, Serena has reached four Grand Slam finals but lost them all. Most recently, she lost to Simona Halep at Wimbledon and then Bianca Andreescu at the U.S. Open.

However, coming into the Aussie Open, she did win the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this month. Though not a Grand Slam, it was her first tournament win since having a baby.

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Coco Gauff gave a delightful post-match interview after Australian Open upset of Naomi Osaka

“Honestly, like, what is my life?”

Seven months after 15-year-old American tennis sensation Coco Gauff made an incredible run at Wimbledon that included a win over Venus Williams, she delivered a stunner of an upset at the 2020 Australian Open.

She defeated third-seeded Naomi Osaka in the third round in straight sets. Osaka, you’ll recall, invited Gauff up to join her for the post-match interview after she took down Gauff at the 2019 U.S. Open, an incredibly classy moment for the ages.

After this upset, Gauff gave the best post-match interview — “Honestly, like, what is my life?” — and saying she needed to get a selfie with the legendary Rod Laver, for whom Rod Laver Arena is named:

Laver later said he’d oblige:

What an upset! Gauff made some history with the win:

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Tennis star Coco Gauff is excited to get her driver’s license so she can go to Chick-fil-A alone

Normal teenager goals.

While rising international tennis star Coco Gauff continues making headlines for her remarkable accomplishments at just 15 years old, it’s easy to forget that she has regular teenage moments too. But the American reminded everyone of that during a press conference at the Australian Open.

Following her stunning second-round comeback victory over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea on Wednesday — she won 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 after falling behind, 3-0, in the third set — Gauff was asked if she’s made any progress on her goal of getting her driver’s license.

She explained she has her learner’s permit but has to convince one of her parents to let practice, so she can go to Chick-fil-A by herself someday.

Gauff, who turns 16 in March, said:

“I have my permit now, so I finally did that. Actually, I would show you, but I don’t have it on me. My mom has it ’cause I almost lost it here. I don’t know why I brought it to Australia with me, but yeah, I have my permit.

“My dad lets me drive more than my mom. With my mom, I try to force her to let me drive because I need practice, so then when I’m 16 and I get my license, I’m going to be going to Chick-fil-A and everywhere every day without my parents.”

Fair and normal teenager goals.

Gauff added that she got her permit during tennis’ offseason in the fall and said her first time on a Florida highway was “really nerve-racking.” However, she also admitted she got a little practice behind the wheel before getting her permit in October or November (she wasn’t sure).

“I was already technically driving then, but it was on back roads, you know, getting a feel for it.”

Here’s Gauff’s full press conference following her second-round win.

After making it to the fourth round at Wimbledon and the third round at the U.S. Open in 2019, Gauff exploded into the spotlight. In addition to Cirstea, she also beat Venus Williams — who she upset at Wimbledon too — in the first round of the Aussie Open.

She’ll play No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka in the third round Friday morning in Melbourne (but it’s Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET) in a rematch from the U.S. Open when Osaka won in straight sets.

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Air quality at Australian Open ‘totally fine,’ per players

Air quality has been a major concern around the Australian Open in Melbourne, but conditions have improved as the tournament officially got underway on Monday from Melbourne Park.

Air quality has been a major concern around the Australian Open in Melbourne, but conditions have improved as the tournament officially got underway on Monday from Melbourne Park.

Canadian tennis player Brayden Schnur calls Federer and Nadal ‘a little bit selfish’ for not using t

Brayden Schnur from Canada called Federer and Nadal ‘a little bit selfish’ for not using their influence to protest playing conditions as the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open continues this week in Melbourne.

Brayden Schnur from Canada called Federer and Nadal ‘a little bit selfish’ for not using their influence to protest playing conditions as the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open continues this week in Melbourne.