Fourth seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers were pushed to the limit on Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, requiring three tie-breaks to advance into the quarter-finals. Joining them in the last eight are third seeds Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, ninth seeds Ivan Dodig/Marcel Granollers and Aussies Sam Groth/Chris Guccione. Kontinen/Peers scored an epic 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 7-6(1) win over No. 14 seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah. There was nothing separating the two teams in the match, but the reigning ATP Finals champions won the final six points in the third-set tie-break to secure the win. Both Kontinen and Peers are now into their first quarter-final in Melbourne. Next up for them are Groth/Guccione, who delighted the local crowd with a 7-6(9), 6-3...
David Goffin, the No. 11 seed, moved into his first Australian Open quarter-final on Monday, scoring a hard-fought 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2 win in Melbourne over eighth seed Dominic Thiem. The win marked a repeat victory for the Belgian, who also defeated Thiem in the third-round of the 2016 Australian Open. Goffin improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Thiem to 5-3. “I’m tired, but feeling so happy. It was a really good match,” said Goffin. “I’m so happy that I found my way to find a solution in the second set. I served really well and then played two really good sets in the third and fourth.” Next up for Goffin is No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov, who beat...
The fairytale run continued for Mischa Zverev as he produced a bold display of tennis on Sunday to shock top seed Andy Murray 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. It was an inspired serve-and-volley performance from Zverev, who had watched from the player box as his younger brother, Alexander Zverev, pushed Rafael Nadal to five sets on Saturday. With the win, Mischa Zverev moves into his first Grand Slam quarter-final. He now plays the winner between No. 17 seed Roger Federer and fifth seed Kei Nishikori. Zverev has never played Nishikori, but Federer leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0. [ALSO LIKE] Competing in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for...
Roger Federer dug in his heels to stop Kei Nishikori on Sunday at the Australian Open, rallying past the fifth seed 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in three hours and 23 minutes. Federer secured a milestone 200th win over a Top 10 opponent, becoming the first active player to achieve the feat. "He played his heart out and I thought he played a great match, I'm happy to be a part of it," said Federer. "He was hanging tough and playing really well on the big points. I was telling myself to stay calm and this is what I trained for in the offseason. This is a big moment for me in my career." The four-time champion exhibited great resolve...
No. 12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga continued his love affair with the Australian Open on Sunday, not dropping serve as he thrilled the Melbourne crowd with a tight 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 fourth-round win over Daniel Evans on Hisense Arena. The 2008 runner-up is into the quarter-finals here for the first time since 2013. Tsonga now plays fourth seed Stan Wawrinka for a place in the last four. The Swiss star leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 4-3 and has won their past three matches. "It's going to be a tough match," said Tsonga. "I know he's playing really good. It's going to be important for me to be good in this match and play my best level. "I think I...