WRAPUP 1-Tennis-Sun shines on Tsitsipas, Swiatek at Australian Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Iga Swiatek dazzled in glorious sunshine to make short work of their third-round opponents on Friday as some normalcy returned to the Australian Open after scheduling misfortunes, a time savage, headline-grabbing upsets and late finishes.
Third seed Tsitsipas, the top surviving seed in the men’s draw, checked his phone after a 6-2 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor and reflected on the great day after hours of tennis lost this week to stop-start heat and rain. “A good boost, I mean, it was awesome,” Tsitsipas said, slipping into the local vernacular.
“I think my serve placement was outstanding today, I didn’t have a lot of rallying on my serve which helped a lot. I kept things clean and enjoyed the weather today, what a great day for tennis.” it’s today, isn’t it?
Tsitsipas has still not dropped a set in the tournament as he chases his maiden Grand Slam, with his chances bolstered by the exits of incumbent Rafa Nadal and second seed Casper Ruud and a cloud of injuries hanging over him. favorite Novak Djokovic. But the 2021 French Open runner-up came close, saving a set point in the second set before doubling their advantage following a tie-break to pave the way for a comfortable victory to delight his supporters at the Rod Laver Arena .
Shouted by Greek fans, including many from Melbourne, which has the largest population of Greek speakers outside Greece and Cyprus, Tsitsipas will next face Italian Jannik Sinner in what could be a tricky test. Top seed and women’s favorite Swiatek also topped her 6-0 6-1 win over Cristina Bucsa as she tries to add to her two French Open wins and US Open crown .
“A few years ago when I was in the fourth round I was really exhausted, and now I think it’s the right place to be,” Swiatek said. “Hopefully I’ll keep playing solid and hopefully I’ll play more games here.”
Next up for Swiatek is Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina who took on last year’s Melbourne Park runner-up Danielle Collins 6-2 5-7 6-2. Jessica Pegula was also in a rush to wrap up her match, as the third-seeded American crushed Marta Kostyuk 6-0 6-2 to earn seven straight wins in 2023 after a loss to Petra Kvitova in the United Cup.
Seventh-seeded Coco Gauff was stranded on two match points then double-faulted before relieving her nerves to save a break point and send off left-hander Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-2 in a battle between Americans. Nadal’s conqueror Mackenzie McDonald was unable to continue his run, however, as the unranked American fell to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka who won 7-6(6) 6-3 6-2, although his fellow Americans Sebastian Korda and Frances Tiafoe are all in action later in the day.
No American male player has won a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open, but the country’s hopes had been rekindled with eight players in the third round. Organizers are hoping the quick wins will continue into the evening after defending their schedule following a late finish the day before after former world number one Andy Murray beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in an epic five-setter.
That match ended at 4:05 a.m. (5:05 p.m. GMT Thursday) and Murray described the late arrival as a “joke”. Tournament director Craig Tiley has ruled out immediate changes after Murray said tennis should aim to avoid late arrivals.
“At this point, there’s no need to change the schedule,” Tiley said. “We’re still going to look at it, when we do the debriefing – like we do every year. But at this stage, as it is, we have to adapt these games within 14 days, so you don’t have a lot of d ‘options.’
Sinner provided the drama on an otherwise soft day, as the Italian 15th seed overcame a poor start against Marton Fucsovics losing the first two sets before outlasting his Hungarian opponent 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-0 . The 15th seed is among the brightest names in the game having reached the quarter-finals of all four Grand Slams without going any further and showed his class in the last three sets playing superior tennis against a Fucsovics in decline.
Former French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova, a quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park in 2022, also went down to safety with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Anhelina Kalinina and meeting Pegula. Sixth-placed Felix Auger Aliassime also advanced with a 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory over Francisco Cerundolo.
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