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Sport

Federer fights off Cilic to win sixth Australian Open

NAN-S-2
Final
Abuja, Jan. 28, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Roger Federer fought off a fierce challenge from Croatia’s Marin Cilic to claim a record-equaling sixth Australian Open title with 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory on Sunday.

With the Rod Laver Arena roof closed to spare the players on a witheringly hot day in Melbourne, the 36-year-old Swiss was gliding towards a 20th Grand Slam title.

He took the opening set against a nervy opponent in 24 minutes.

For a while it looked horribly reminiscent of Cilic’s heavy defeat by Federer in last year’s Wimbledon final when the 29-year-old was hampered by blisters and broke down in tears.

But the sixth seed, playing in his first Australian Open final after knocking out injured world number Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, showed great resolve.

He saved break points at 1-1, 2-2 and 4-4 in the second set before crunching some huge forehands in the tiebreaker to level the match against all the odds.

Federer won the third set with a single break of serve.

But from a position of strength in the fourth he began to fade and lost five games on the spin.

An increasingly dangerous Cilic looked to be getting back, as he dragged a slow-burning final into a decider.

Defending champion Federer regrouped though and after fighting off a break point at the start of the fifth, Cilic’s resistance crumbled as the crowd roared Federer on to victory.

“I‘m so happy , it’s unbelievable, it’s been a long day,” Federer said. “I‘m happy it’s over now. The fairytale continues for us. For me, it’s incredible,” said an emotional Federer as he cradled the Norman Brookes trophy.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Dominant Federer enters Australian Open final after Chung quits

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Tennis
Abuja, Jan. 26, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) A ruthless Roger Federer handed wounded Chung Hyeon an old-fashioned schooling before the South Korean quit with blistered feet in a damp squib of an Australian Open semi-final on Friday.

Federer was detained for only 62 minutes under the Rod Laver Arena roof as his opponent threw in the towel trailing 6-1 5-2.

The Swiss thus set up a final against Croatia’s Marin Cilic who pummeled another young gun, Kyle Edmund, on Thursday.

The 36-year-old defending champion swarmed all over the world number 58 from the first game, breaking immediately before repeating the feat twice more to grab the opening set in 33 minutes.

When Chung held serve for 1-1 in the second set, a huge cheer erupted from an Australia Day crowd who had hoped to witness a classic battle of the generations.

But the bespectacled 21-year-old, nicknamed ‘the professor’, simply had no answer to Federer’s firepower.

Federer broke for 3-1 with a dipping backhand pass, and thereafter Chung’s hopes of becoming the first South Korean to reach a grand slam final looked completely hopeless.

This was after he needed treatment on his foot blisters after losing the next game,

Chung managed to win one more game but his movement was clearly affected and he threw in the towel, departing the arena to sympathetic applause with a smattering of boos.

It was a desperately disappointing end to an epic clash.

A first meeting between 19-times Grand Slam champion Federer and the man whose stunning fourth-round victory over six-times Melbourne champion Novak Djokovic made the world sit up and take notice.

“I thought the first set was kind of normal, I couldn’t tell what was going on with my opponent,” Federer, who looked as stunned as the crowd at the sudden stoppage, said on court.

“In the second set, I could feel he was getting a bit slower, fighting with the blister. It hurts a lot.

“It’s better to stop, that’s why this one feels bittersweet. Credit to him for trying so hard again today.”

Federer, who has reached the final of a Grand Slam without dropping a set for the sixth time, will be a big favorite to claim his 20th major title on Sunday.

He beat the big-serving sixth seed in last year’s Wimbledon final when Cilic also suffered painful blisters to his feet.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Berdych sweeps past Fognini into Australian Open quarter-finals

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Quarter-finals
Abuja, Jan. 22, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Tomas Berdych belied his lowest seeding at a Grand Slam since 2010 by sweeping into his seventh Australian Open quarter-final with a convincing 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory over Fabio Fognini.

Showing great mobility, the towering Czech neutralised the potentially tricky world number 25 in a sometimes tetchy two-hour contest on Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena on Monday.

The 32-year-old 19th seed converted six-of-11 break points and matched the entertaining Italian’s 37 winners with a much lower error count.

He secured the victory with a rasping forehand which Fognini himself would have been proud of.

“I am glad to be back in the shape that I am right now, which is finally healthy and that makes the difference,” said former world number four Berdych, whose lowly ranking resulted from an injury-plagued 2017.

“I can play freely and I can have joy from the tennis. I can enjoy the time being on court. Yeah, the results are coming with that,” the Czech added.

“I was expecting a tough one, and I was ready for it. I had a good game plan, and I was able to execute it all the way through the three sets, so I did it way better today.”

Berdych next meets Roger Federer, who beat him in the third round last year on his way to the title for a place in his third Melbourne Park semi-final.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Federer makes light of day shift to ease into last eight

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Tennis
Abuja, Jan. 22, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Roger Federer was a strictly nocturnal beast throughout the first week of the Australian Open but proved just as effective with the sun on his back on Monday.

The Swiss sauntered into the quarter-finals for the 14th time with a comfortable 6-4 7-6(3) 6-2 win over 80th-ranked Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.

The defending champion did not require his dazzling best in his first match scheduled during the day session but still emerged a winner.

After his earlier-than-usual finish, the 36-year-old world number two said he might even be able to make the most of a night off and take his wife Mirka out for dinner.

“I was considering sunglasses and a towel for the beach but, no, the only thing is the racket strings are a bit tighter. But it’s not crazy hot today,” Federer told former champion Jim Courier in a knockabout post-match chat on court.

“It’s a different rhythm playing in the day and not going to bed at 3 a.m. We might go out for dinner tonight but Mirka has left already — she must have other plans!”

Federer’s light mood matched the sunny conditions and he was even reduced to giggles during one point late in the second set when he miss-hit a forehand high into the air.

He then defended three consecutive Fucsovics smashes to win a bizarre rally.

“This one was the biggest joke of a point maybe I have ever played,” the Swiss said later.

“Thankfully it didn’t decide the outcome of that second set. That would have been too much of a joke, to be honest.”

Federer is yet to drop a set and did not even face a break point against the 25-year-old Fucsovics.

The Hungarian had arrived in Melbourne without a Grand Slam main draw victory to his name.

Yet his unheralded opponent offered an all-round display that belied his record, even if it did not surprise Federer.

He was bidding to become only the third Hungarian man to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final in the professional era.

“I practised with him for a few days in a row in Switzerland. That helped, you know, knowing his strength and weaknesses a little bit,” the defending champion said.

“He was not completely the unknown opponent that maybe people thought he was.

“He hung with me for a long time. So, it was a good match.”

Federer was in cruise control in the first set, but struck decisively when Fucsovics served at 4-5, squeezing the throttle enough to earn a set point converted with a smash.

Fucsovics kept Federer honest in the second set and played his part in some entertaining rallies to extend the 19-times Grand Slam champion to a tiebreak.

Federer rifled a running forehand pass to earn three set points and again finished the set at the net, with a smash.

The third set was all over in 31 minutes as Federer raced into the 52nd Grand Slam quarter-final of his career.

With it he booked a last eight encounter against 19th seeded Czech Tomas Berdych. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Dimitrov stays cool to subdue home favourite Kyrgios in thriller

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Tennis
Abuja, Jan. 21, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov kept cool in the Rod Laver Arena maelstrom to knock home favourite Nick Kyrgios out of the Australian Open in a fourth-round thriller on Sunday.

Third seed Dimitrov absorbed 76 winners and struck 64 of his own to edge a scintillating duel 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(4).

The loss extended Australia’s wait for a home men’s champion at the event to 43 years.

However, Dimitrov will go into the quarter-finals with unseeded British player Kyle Edmund, brimming with belief that a first Grand Slam title is within reach.

The 26 year-old showed enormous resilience and nerve to subdue a ferocious Kyrgios fightback, claiming victory after three hours and 26 minutes with a majestic forehand pass.

As the combatants embraced, Kyrgios told Dimitrov to “believe” before the defeated 22-year-old left to a standing ovation.

A year ago it was jeers for him after a second-round meltdown.

“Playing against Nick is always tricky,“ Dimitrov told former champion Jim Courier on court. “He was serving unbelievable. Playing unbelievable. Competing.

“He deserves a lot of credit. He fought really hard and it’s one of the matches you have to be locked in.”

Kyrgios did little wrong and said the match had been decided by the odd point here and there.

“I lost tonight to one of the best players in the world. Went down swinging,” he said.

The prime-time clash crackled with intensity from the get-go with Dimitrov’s elegant style contrasting with the explosive shot-making of maverick 17th seed Kyrgios.

“Oh Nicky you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind” chanted the gold and green clad fans in a Davis Cup atmosphere.

Even the seagulls perched on the roof appeared transfixed on the drama unfolding below.

While Kyrgios’s histrionics are well chronicled, all the talk this past week has been the fact that he appears ready to fulfill his vast potential.

This was evident especially after a superb victory over his idol Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in round three.

Dimitrov, who won the ATP Finals last year, had to play high-octane tennis to edge an intense opener in a tiebreak.

Kyrgios’s only lapse arrived at 3-3 in the second set when he bunted a backhand long to hand Dimitrov a break point and then casually messed up a volley.

For a few minutes it seemed Kyrgios might unravel.

But his growing maturity was evident as he re-grouped and seized on a tight service game by Dimitrov at 5-4, saving a set point.

He then broke back to huge roars from the crowd.

Dimitrov is made of stern stuff these days though and edged another tiebreak.

He constructed a beautiful point, finishing a long rally with a stealthy volley, to move 3-1 ahead.

Kyrgios belted away a backhand and then whipped away a forehand to drag it back to 4-4.

But Dimitrov replied with a punishing forehand down the line to move 5-4 ahead before a couple of Kyrgios errors gave the Bulgarian a two-set lead.

In spite of the deficit, Kyrgios’s body language bristled with intent and he took the third set after breaking at 2-2.

The comeback looked on as Kyrgios cranked up his serving power, belting down four aces to level at 2-2 in the fourth.

Yet the 22-year-old Australian’s hopes looked toast when he buried a smash into the net to hand Dimitrov a 5-3 lead.

The drama was not over though as Dimitrov wobbled when serving for victory.

He served a double fault at 15-30 and then watched a backhand fly past him as Kyrgios broke back.

Dimitrov recovered his poise with a love hold, but Kyrgios replied in kind with a 36th ace to force another tiebreak.

Once again, it was Dimitrov’s calmness under pressure that was key as he put together another clinical tiebreaker to take victory.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

2018 Australian Open: Nadal weathers blast from pocket rocket Schwartzman

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Nadal
Abuja, Jan. 21, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Top seed Rafael Nadal was rattled by a feisty challenge from Diego Schwartzman but the Spaniard held firm to fend off the diminutive Argentine 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the victory was his 10th Australian Open quarter-final.

In an often breathtaking clash laden with sumptuous shot-making, the Spaniard was rocked by the hard-hitting Schwartzman who broke him three times to claim the second set at Rod Laver Arena.

But the 16-times Grand Slam champion responded with typical grit, bolstering his defence to blanket the 24th seed’s firepower and counter-punching brilliantly to book a match with Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

After three cakewalks in the previous rounds, the three-hour 51-minute work-out was timely, said Nadal, who came into the tournament with some queries over a knee injury.

“You can’t expect easy matches when you’re playing in big tournaments,” the world number one told reporters after saving all his seven break points in the final set.

“It’s always better winning in two hours than in four. But that’s it. It was a good test for me. It was a lot of hours on court. Moments under pressure.

“A lot of positive things that I managed well.

“But being honest, too, moments like this helps to be more confident in yourself, in your body.”

The victory ensured Nadal, who lost a five-set classic to long-time rival Roger Federer in the final last year, will retain his world number one ranking.

It also put the Mallorcan joint second with Stefan Edberg on the number of quarter-final appearances in the Australian Grand Slam in the professional era.

Federer, naturally, leads with 14.

The jet-heeled Schwartzman joined the Grand Slam quarter-final club at the U.S. Open, a milestone moment during an impressive rise up the rankings in 2017.

Nadal had seen off his first three opponents without dropping a set but it was soon clear at Rod Laver Arena that Schwartzman was cut from a different cloth.

The 1.70m (5-ft 7-in) Argentine virtually needed a step-ladder to reach the bounce of Nadal’s top-spin bombs but he was all over the Spaniard’s serve from the beginning.

He grudgingly surrendered his own first, though, allowing Nadal to wrap up the first set in 45 minutes.

From there the match went stratospheric in quality, each player landing blows like bare-knuckled prize-fighters.

After six breaks of serve and a feast of glorious shot-making, the fireworks continued in a frenzied tiebreak.

Schwartzman cracked a blazing forehand down the line to lead 2-0, then outpointed the Spaniard with a backhand volley to move within two points of the set.

The pressure told as a forehand ballooned off the frame of Nadal’s racquet and another backhand sailed long to put the match on level terms.

Schwartzman was pumped, but he left the court immediately, his extended break allowing Nadal time to marshal his forces.

The lefthander resumed with renewed vigor to break Schwartzman to love and after roaring to 5-2, he claimed the third set with an ace.

The momentum was now all with Nadal.

He broke again quickly, leaving Schwartzman to curse loudly in Spanish and bicker with the chair umpire at the change of ends.

The 25-year-old kept swinging for the fences to the finish and saved a second match point by ripping a backhand winner down the line.

Nadal simply bided his time before pouncing on the third, a second serve dismissed with a sizzling return winner to keep his bid for a 17th Grand Slam title firmly on track. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

2018 Australian Open: Djokovic shrugs off injury scare to reach fourth round

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Djokovic
Abuja, Jan. 20, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Novak Djokovic allayed fears over a muscle strain in his lower back after overpowering Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 6-3 6-3 to reach the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday.

After holding serve to lead 2-1 in the second set, the 14th seed took a medical time-out at the Margaret Court Arena as a trainer worked feverishly on his lower back.

The injury did little to restrict the six-times Australian Open champion as the Serb returned to break the 21st seed in the next game before claiming victory in two hours and 21 minutes.

“Nothing major,” Djokovic told reporters after setting up an intriguing inter-generational battle with South Korea’s young gun Chung Hyeon, 21, for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I knew I wanted to use the medical timeout because I needed it, but at the same time I knew it was nothing major that can potentially raise the question mark on whether I can continue playing or not,” he added.

“I haven’t played for six months. We have to take that into consideration. I‘m kind of forced to be very cautious of what happens day-to-day. I deal with it. It’s fine. I finished the match. I‘m very pleased with that.”

After arriving without a competitive match in six months, the 12-times Grand Slam champion has had three impressive wins.

This included a tasking four-set scrap in broiling 40 degree Celsius heat against Frenchman Gael Monfils in the last round.

The 30-year-old’s recovery from a serious elbow problem has meant fashioning a modified service action but the Serb has still proven very hard to break.

He landed just over 60 percent of his first serves against Ramos-Vinales, but held firm against the lefthander through six break points.

“Obviously for me, it’s taking one match at a time,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview.

“I have to be more humble this time with my expectations because I haven’t played in six months. But I‘m very pleased with where my game is at.”

Djokovic gave Chung a Grand Slam lesson in the first round in 2016 on the way to the last of his Melbourne Park titles. So, the re-match may say a lot about the trajectories of both players.

Chung showed another sign of his promise by coolly closing out a five-set win over German fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

The German is a player many pundits have widely tipped as a future Grand Slam winner.

“I‘m really pleased with where my game is at the moment. I‘m looking forward to the next challenge,” said Djokovic.

“He (Chung) is playing great. He’s fit. He doesn’t have too many holes in his game. He’s a very nice guy. You can see he’s a hard worker. It pays off.

“Into the second week, it’s going to be a game of small margins. So let’s see what happens.” (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Ruthless Nadal storms past Dzumhur

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Nadal
Abuja, Jan. 19, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Top seed Rafael Nadal stormed into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a bludgeoning 6-1 6-3 6-1 defeat of Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur on Friday.

Melbourne’s heat wave had relented by the time the 31-year-old Nadal walked on Margaret Court Arena, but the Spaniard was on fire as he battered the 28th seed into submission.

The sole blemish was a dropped service game early in the second set but it only briefly slowed his charge.

“I am in the fourth round. That’s because I am doing the right things. Let’s see how far I can go,” Nadal, beaten in the final by Roger Federer last year, told reporters.

Nadal arrived in Australia with question marks over the state of his knees after he was forced to withdraw mid-tournament from the ATP Finals in November.

Yet, back in the kind of sleeveless top in which he launched his spectacular assault on the Grand Slams in 2005, doubts about Nadal’s title prospects have quickly been cast aside.

“I needed hours on court, hours of practice, hours of playing sets with different players,” Nadal said of his build-up to the year’s first Grand Slam, where he has wielded his trusty forehand like a lethal weapon.

“I think I did a good preparation. I feel I‘m playing well.”

The 25-year-old from Sarajevo had actually walked off court a winner against Nadal in 2016 when the Mallorcan retired from their match at the Miami Masters with an illness.

This time it was Dzumhur who might have sought a quick way out after being allowed two points in the first four games as Nadal started like a scorching wind.

It was the sort of wind which had blown through Melbourne Park earlier in the day.

Nadal was 5-0 up in no time before Dzumhur managed to hold serve, prompting a sympathetic cheer from the crowd.

However, Argentina’s 24th seeded Diego Schwartzman, who Nadal plays next, might prove a tougher obstacle than Dzumhur.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Sharapova too hot for Sevastova, reaches third round

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Sharapova
Abuja, Jan. 18, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Maria Sharapova fended off Anastasija Sevastova 6-1 7-6(4) to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

For Sharapova, it was a case of revenge being served hot as she defeated her U.S. Open conqueror Sevastova under a blazing sun at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

The crafty Latvian had knocked Sharapova out of the fourth round at Flushing Meadows last year during the Russian’s return to Grand Slam action after a 15-month doping ban.

So, prior to their Melbourne Park rematch, former champion Sharapova said she was primed and ready for another drawn-out dog-fight against the 14th seed.

Centre court was already a sizzling frying pan by the time the players started hitting up in the first morning match at Rod Laver Arena.

So the 35 degree Celsius (95F) heat may have quickly forced a rethink as Sharapova burst out of the blocks in a hail of winners to roar through the first set in 23 minutes.

Although the next set was a “little dicey”, as she wobbled when serving for the match at 5-4, Sharapova was glad to beat a hasty retreat from the broiling conditions.

“It’s a warm day. I did my job in two sets against someone that’s been troubling in the past for me,” she told reporters.

“So, third round of the Australian Open, I don’t know, I think I deserve to smile out there after that victory.”

Sharapova has often been likened to an “ice queen” by her tour rivals.

Former Australian professional Jelena Dokic penned a column in a local tabloid on Thursday that said the Russian had little interest in making friends with on-court foes.

Sharapova’s delivery of the women’s trophy at the draw ceremony in the lead-up to the tournament caused a minor controversy.

Many pundits criticised organisers for teeing it up in spite of her doping suspension.

The former world number one said she had learned to be comfortable with all the attention.

“I think I‘m just very well aware that I think in this world everyone has an opinion and that no matter what you do, or no matter how you play tennis, or what you say, or how you go about your life, not everyone will like the way you do it,” she said.

“I think I have learned that from a very young age, and I have come to understand it and appreciate it. I take it as it is.”

Her last trip to Melbourne Park two years ago was the catalyst for her doping ban, as she tested positive for meldonium following her quarter-final defeat to Serena Williams.

But on her return to Rod Laver Arena, there was nothing frosty about the centre court crowd.

She waved to the terraces following her one hour and 20-minute win over Sevastova.

“I love Australia. I love the summertime. I was watching this tournament with a box of Kleenex next to me sick (last year),” said Sharapova, who next faces 2016 champion Angelique Kerber or Donna Vekic.

“So, you know, I feel like I transported myself into the TV this year and I‘m finding myself on Rod Laver Arena competing. A lot of things to smile about.” (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Sharapova finds her groove on Melbourne return

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Tennis
By Dorcas Jonah
Melbourne, Jan. 16, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Maria Sharapova on Tuesday resumed her career at the Australian Open in bright sunshine with a performance that went some way to banishing those demons.

The 30-year-old former champion returned a positive doping test after a quarter-final defeat by Serena Williams in 2016, resulting in a 15-month ban from the sport.

Sharapova was in dominant mood as she beat Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-1 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena.

There would be tougher tests to come for the five-times Grand Slam champion.

But the relish with which she pummelled 22 winners suggests that in her second Grand Slam event since returning from exile, she could do damage, despite not being seeded.

Sharapova, who fell foul of the anti-doping regulations after failing to realise that heart drug meldonium had been added to the WADA prohibited list, attracted more unwanted headlines last week.

That was when she was selected for the draw ceremony.

That decision by tournament director Craig Tiley raised a few disapproving eyebrows.

But there was plenty of support for the 2008 champion on Tuesday with regular shouts of “C‘mon Masha, we’ve missed you”.

After ending fellow 30-year-old Maria’s dogged second-set resistance with an ace, Sharapova admitted she had “shivers” walking on to court.

Later, when addressing the media, it was very much business as usual with Sharapova reluctant to talk about the past.

Asked if her return to Melbourne had produced flashbacks to that fateful day two years ago, she said: “No. It’s not the way I look at things moving forward.”

Sharapova struck the ball with venom in the first set in which the only blemish was dropping serve to give Maria a game.

The second set threatened to get a little tricky as Sharapova was broken to love to trail 1-3.

But a forehand winner gave her break point in the next game and she converted it when Maria went wide.

Sharapova broke again at 3-3 as her opponent, actually ranked a place higher at 47, double-faulted and Sharapova moved into a 5-3 lead as Maria began to feel the strain.

The German managed to prolong the contest for another game but Sharapova finished off the match in style.

She belted a forehand winner at 30-30 and then aimed a searing first serve bang on the line.(Reuters/NAN)

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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)