Jo-Wilfried Tsonga looked finished. The 15th seed was down 2-5 in the fifth set against Denis Shapovalov, and the #NextGenATP Canadian had all the momentum, having broken Tsonga in the second game of the final set. But from out of nowhere, Tsonga sprinted to life, coming back from 30/30, 2-5 to win the final five games of the match and advance to the third round of the Australian Open 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(4), 7-5. [ALSO LIKE] “I had to fight a lot and make him finish the match. He never did, so it's good for me,” Tsonga said. “But the most important for me, is to fight, give my best on court until the last point. That's what I did...
Pablo Carreno Busta became the first player to advance to the third round at the 2018 Australian Open when Tata Open Maharashtra champion Gilles Simon retired while trailing 2-6, 0-3. Carreno Busta reaches his fifth consecutive Grand Slam third round, after reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals at Roland Garros and the US Open, respectively last year. Simon led 2-1 in the first set and held a total of four break points in Carreno Busta’s first two service games, but the No. 10 seed won the next eight games before Simon retired. The pair entered their second-round encounter with an even 2-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head series record, with Simon winning their only previous match on hard court in straight sets (2016...
Juan Martin del Potro, newly restored to the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings, made a welcome return to the Australian Open for the first time since 2014 on Tuesday night. The Argentine star, seeded 12th, won the last match of day two at Melbourne Park 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 over #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe in two hours and 14 minutes. Del Potro rose two spots to No. 10 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, marking the first time he has been among the ATP World Tour elite since 4 August 2014 (No. 10). He finished as runner-up at the ASB Classic in Auckland (l. to Bautista Agut) last week. [ALSO LIKE] The 29-year-old Del Potro, the 2009 and 2012 quarter-finalist,...
In a meeting of Qatar ExxonMobil Open semi-finalists, Dominic Thiem got the better of Guido Pella 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to successfully launch his bid for a first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Tuesday. Thiem, appearing for the first time since withdrawing in Doha with a viral infection, booked his place in the second round for a third straight year. Having saved all six break points he faced in the two-hour, 16-minute encounter, Thiem will face Denis Kudla in the second round after the American defeated compatriot Steve Johnson 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-2 Competing at his highest ever Grand Slam seeding of No. 5, Thiem found himself down break point in his opening service game, but would navigate...
Defending champion Roger Federer started his 2018 campaign for a sixth Australian Open crown on Tuesday night with a confident performance on Rod Laver Arena. The World No. 2, who is competing in his 19th tournament at Melbourne Park, defeated Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes. The Swiss star is now 88-13 lifetime at the first Grand Slam championship of the year. Federer will next challenge Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, who hit 45 winners, including 19 aces, past wild card Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory in 77 minutes. If it is up to Federer, fans can look forward to seeing the 36-year-old play again during the evening session...
