Novak Djokovic touched his finger to his temple after winning the Australian Open from within his own vacuumStefanos Tsitsipas has always had a Novak Djokovic problem. It was a lost-the-last-nine-matches type of problem – not the archetypal self-affirmation statistic for his bathroom mirror. Now it is 10 and he is no less of a competitor for it, merely the latest victim of a champion who, in Tsitsipas’s own post-match words, is “the greatest that has ever held a tennis racket”.At least he is not alone. A lot of people have a Djokovic problem, and the list is not limited to other players (though 22 grand slam singles titles means there are many of those). The public, the media, even Ukraine’s...
The Australian matched the former Wimbledon champion for tenacity, but not for experience and match managementSometimes chants work, sometimes they do not. And the great minds in the gallery who endeavoured to stretch the word “Kokkinakis” across the breadth of the Seven Nation Army riff had been too ambitious with their syllables. It was a bit Billy Mack, except that Christmas is All Around topped the charts – this lot had no excuse. At least back in the Lleyton era we got “Walking in a Hewitt wonderland”. Now we must endure “Let’s go, Kokky, let’s go”.Granted, it was after 10pm by the time Margaret Court Arena welcomed Thanasi Kokkinakis and Andy Murray, and with late nights come the inevitable late-night...
After his most successful year on tour, there’s a feeling the Canberra wild child has finally matured enough to win an Australian Open There have been many times in his career when attempting to get a read on Nick Kyrgios has been like taking on Rafael Nadal on clay; a task almost inevitably destined to end in failure. But something has changed in the past 12 months, a year in which he reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. Kyrgios goes into this year’s Australian Open a changed man.All players mature at different rates, on and off the court, and Kyrgios would probably admit that he has taken longer than most. But on the eve of his home Grand...
The nine-times Australian Open champion shows no sign of a hangover from last year’s controversy and is the player to beatIn the hours after Novak Djokovic was briefly freed from government custody in Melbourne last year, his visa cancellation overturned on procedural grounds, he headed straight for the tennis court to resume his suspended preparation for the Australian Open. His first hitting session was played out behind closed doors at night, but by the time he returned in the day, chaos reigned over Melbourne Park. Fans and journalists alike tried to slip inside Rod Laver Arena, drones whirled overhead just to get an unauthorised glimpse of him in action.Outside of Park Hotel,where he was being detained, Djokovic’s fans congregated to...
Along with the world No 24, Alex de Minaur will lead the local charge in Melbourne with nine other men and six women also flying the flagIn a regular lead-in to the Australian Open, Alex de Minaur would be a headline act in Melbourne’s metropolitan newspapers and a lead item on all TV news bulletins. He defeated reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal in the United Cup and US Open winner Dominic Thiem at Kooyong prior to Thursday’s outing against Andy Murray.All this after leading Australia to the Davis Cup final in Spain last November. Aged 23, the 2020 US Open quarter-finalist is in strong form and entering the golden years of his career. He will receive strong support as...