Kyle Edmund is a win away from celebrating the best Grand Slam tournament of his life. The 23-year-old matched his best Grand Slam showing on Friday, winning 13 of the final 18 games of his third-round match to beat Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6(0), 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5. “It was really good to win a match like that in tough conditions - mentally, physically,” said Edmund. “[There are] just lots of positives. Physically and mentally it takes a lot out of you, that type of match - just to keep fighting and chipping away. The heat [also] zaps the energy out of you.” Edmund advances to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the second time. He also made the...
Roger Federer barely put a foot wrong on Thursday night as he continued his quest for a sixth Australian Open trophy, which would represent his 20th Grand Slam championship crown. The defending champion knocked out Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4) in one hour and 56 minutes on Rod Laver Arena, in the final match of the day, completed in 30°C temperatures. "I've practised with him [Struff], and played against him in doubles and singles," said Federer, in an on-court interview with former World No. 1 Jim Courier. "You know he can serve 215 or 220 [kilometres per hour] for five hours, so that's what you have to be ready for. I had to protect my own serve and...
American Tennys Sandgren recorded the biggest win of his career on Thursday for a place in the Australian Open third round. The World No. 97 knocked out ninth seed and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in 88 minutes on Margaret Court Arena. “I was really happy just to get my first Grand Slam win, so now I’ve got a second,” said Sandgren in an on-court interview. “Let’s hope I can make it a third. I also wish Stan all the best on his road to recovery.” Sandgren lost in the first round of qualifying at the 2016 US Open, and was outside the Top 250 of the ATP Rankings. He would later watch Wawrinka win the title on...
Alexander Zverev recovered from a mid-match lapse to book his place in the Australian Open third round for the second successive year. The fourth seed knocked out fellow German Peter Gojowczyk, currently No. 62 in the ATP Rankings, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 with on-court temperatures at 40°C (104 °F). "I think I played a pretty good match," said Zverev. "I think the first two sets were very, very good. In the third set I played maybe a little bit shorter, maybe a little bit more passive. I don't think I played a very good set. I just feel like Peter played an amazing 25 minutes of tennis, then the set was gone. I felt like if I continued playing the...
Juan Martin del Potro grit his teeth Thursday and got the job done. In searing heat, and battling an apparent injury, the popular Argentine booked his place in the Australian Open third round. As Karen Khachanov took the third-set tie-break without losing a point, Del Potro appeared to fatigue. Summoning inner reserves, built up during the off-season, the 12th seed dug deep to record a 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-7(0), 6-4 victory in three hours and 45 minutes on Hisense Arena. Afterwards, on-court, the 2009 and 2012 quarter-finalist admitted, “I didn’t expect to play this kind of match, I prefer to watch on TV. I‘m so happy to be playing in Melbourne after many years. I had pain everywhere, but I‘m still...
