Tomas Berdych’s search for a first Grand Slam title goes on after losing to Roger Federer for the third consecutive year at the Australian Open. The two-time semi-finalist at Melbourne Park looked in great form as he led the 19-time major championship winner 5-2 in the first set, twice holding set point, but could not convert as he watched his lead, and grip on the match, slip away. Shorty after the match, the Czech No. 1 revealed his thoughts on a critical first set and the affect it had on the result. “It was a good start,” said Berdych. “I had good chances, a couple of set points. I think he just got more confident after he saved the first...
Roger Federer admitted that he sent a text message to Rafael Nadal on Tuesday night following the Spanish superstar’s quarter-final exit to Marin Cilic at the Australian Open. World No. 1 Nadal retired due to a right leg injury at 0-2 in the fifth set and later said he would undergo an MRI scan in Melbourne on Wednesday. [ALSO LIKE] Federer, speaking after his 7-6(1), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tomas Berdych for a place in the semi-finals on Wednesday night, told Jim Courier in an on-court interview, "I wrote to Rafa late last night before I went to bed. It was the last thing I did, to make sure he was okay. It was not nice to see a rival...
Tennys Sandgren arrived in Melbourne having never won a match at a Grand Slam championship. Today, following his 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-3 quarter-final loss to South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, the American enjoys a higher profile. “The net felt like it was about 12-feet high today,” said Sandgren. “[I was] just struggling to serve the way that I wanted to. But I also knew that I had to serve well and serve to my spots correctly, because he returns so well. “It was amazing. He's a fantastic player. This is the second time I played him now in two weeks [also ASB Classic]. It's such a fun challenge because he does so many cool things, with how he moves and how he...
It may be early in the season, but Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic are garnering the headlines for their exceptional start. Now 12 matches unbeaten in 2018, the Austrian-Croatian team is through to the Australian Open semi-finals. Seventh seeds Marach and Pavic grit their teeth and held their nerves to knock out Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Great Britain’s Dominic Inglot 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(5) in two hours and 40 minutes on Tuesday. The in-form pair recovered from an 0/5 deficit in the second set tie-break by winning six straight points, but was unable to convert match point opportunities at 6/5, 8/7 and 10/9. With no service breaks in the deciding set, both teams swung freely in the tie-break before...
