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Match schedule
‘My best emotions’: Baghdatis recalls his Melbourne magic carpet ride
By Courtney Walsh
The wave of adulation Stefanos Tsitsipas is riding at Melbourne Park is a familiar sensation for former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, who retains great affection for the city.
The first Cypriot to reach a grand slam final when beaten by Roger Federer in the 2006 Australian Open decider, Baghdatis was an extremely popular player in Melbourne who at one stage had a souvlaki named after him in a city restaurant.
He won the Australian Open boys’ title in 2003. In his first senior appearance, he came through qualifying to reach the fourth round before running into Federer in 2005.
In 2008, he featured in a famous moment as part of the five set epic against Lleyton Hewitt which finished 4.34am, the latest ever for a grand slam tennis match.
Red flags: Inside the Open’s battle of the banners
By Noel Towell
The Open’s ban on Russian and Belarusian flags this year continues to cause headaches for the Tennis Australia foot soldiers at the entry points to Melbourne Park.
There have been, ahem, encounters, between tournament officials and Serbian fans whose national flag looks kind of, sort of like the Russian Federation standard.
Instructions to Australian Open officials for enforcement of the tournament’s ban on Russian and Belorussian flags.
To make life easier for its people, Tennis Australia has issued them an official illustrated blacklist.
So, let’s see … there’s the official three-colour flag of the Russian Federation and two variations of the flag with the old imperial Romanov two-headed eagle, and the official flag of Belarus rounds out the list of contraband.
Video: Emotional Stosur bids farewell
‘Let them doubt’: Djokovic fires back over injury speculation
By Courtney Walsh
Novak Djokovic had heard the whispers echoing through the corridors of Melbourne Park and declared enough is enough.
After handing Alex de Minaur a lesson in grand slam tennis on Rod Laver Arena on Monday night, the world’s best return of serve continued to practise in the press room afterwards.
In the English section of his press conference, the nine-time Australian Open champion bunted back his returns when explaining how he was able to play at such an astonishing level and the lengths he was going to in order to manage the problem.
But he let rip when talking to Serbian reporters.
Tsitsipas’ Aussie influence: Mark Philippoussis on the world No.4
By Marc McGowan
Australian great Mark Philippoussis believes a more mature Stefanos Tsitsipas will have an “advantage” from his three semi-final defeats at Melbourne Park as he chases maiden grand slam glory.
Philippoussis – who co-coaches Tsitsipas with the Greek star’s father, Apostolos – began working with the world No.4 at Wimbledon last year, where he lost in the fourth round to Nick Kyrgios, and formalised the relationship after that tournament.
Mark Philippoussis watches Stefanos Tsitsipas in action.Credit:Getty Images
Tsitsipas, 24, outlasted young Italian star Jannik Sinner in an epic five-setter on Sunday night and is the highest-ranked player left in the draw as he prepares for a quarter-final clash with fast-rising Czech Jiri Lehecka.
The two sets he lost against Sinner were his first of the event in what has otherwise been an emphatic run to the last eight, at what is as close to a home grand slam as he will get, given Melbourne’s large Greek community.
Match schedule
‘Pretty faultless’: Beaten de Minaur reflects on Djokovic hiding
By Marc McGowan
Alex de Minaur will console himself in the postmortem of his Australian Open fourth-round hiding from Novak Djokovic that he was beaten by a “pretty faultless” opponent.
The world No.24 walked onto Rod Laver Arena with the host nation’s hopes resting on his shoulders as the last Australian standing, but could wrest only five games off a brilliant Djokovic in a ruthless 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 result.
Alex de Minaur walks off after losing in straight sets to Novak Djokovic in their fourth round match.Credit:Getty Images
He said afterwards he had almost certainly never played anyone better than the version of Djokovic he faced on Monday night, even admitting he “didn’t really know what to do out there”.
De Minaur also stopped narrowly short of questioning the validity of Djokovic’s much-scrutinised left hamstring issue – pointing out that the Serbian was “moving pretty well” – but left little to the imagination.
Kyrgios set for March return, Djokovic vaccination ban a ‘disgrace’
By Michael Chammas
Nick Kyrgios’ manager Daniel Horsfall says the Australian star is on track to return to competitive tennis at Indian Wells in March after undergoing surgery on Monday.
Kyrgios went under the knife in Canberra to repair a small tear in his left lateral meniscus, which caused a cyst to grow in the meniscus – the piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the shin and thigh bones.
Nick Kyrgios in hospital before and after knee surgeryCredit:Instagram
Kyrgios posted a photo from his hospital bed after the surgery, and will remain in Canberra over the next few weeks in preparation for a return to the ATP tour in the United States on March 6.
“The surgery was a great success,” Horsfall told the Herald and The Age. “We couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome of it. Now we will be pushing ahead for a speedy recovery and are aiming to see everyone at Indian Wells.”
So much for Novak Djokovic being (maybe) vulnerable
By Marc McGowan
So much for Novak Djokovic, maybe, being vulnerable.
After a competitive start, the nine-time king of Melbourne Park broke Australian hearts with a devastating 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 fourth-round romp over an outmatched Alex de Minaur that should silence any doubters about his title credentials.
Novak Djokovic Credit:AP
It seems improbable, particularly after Monday night’s scintillating performance, that anyone will stop him this Australian Open fortnight from the ultimate redemption, after being booted out of the country 12 months ago.
De Minaur even suggested Djokovic was “very close to his best”, a scary proposition for his seven remaining challengers.
Good morning!
Good morning tennis fans and welcome to day nine of the Australian Open.
Sadly, there are no Australians left competing for the women’s or men’s singles title after Novak Djokovic comprehensively outmatched Alex de Minaur last night in a fourth-round romp.
But there is still plenty going on, with all eyes on the quarter-finals.
And the Wheelchair Championships are set to get under way with world No. 3 Heath Davidson among 23 Aussies in the mix.
Elena Rybakina, who knocked out world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the fourth round, is back on court against Jelena Ostapenko, who defeated young American Coco Gauff. And Karen Khachanov is up against Sebastian Korda.
Then, Jessica Pegula will face Victoria Azarenka before the headline match where Stefanos Tsitsipas will meet Jiri Lehecka for a spot in the semi-finals.
Play starts at 11am AEDT – 12.30pm for the first singles match – and will run until late tonight, please feel free to leave a comment on the blog at anytime and enjoy the day to come.
Let’s go!
