Daniil Medvedev beats Nick Kyrgios and the crowd, Aryna Sabalenka's service troubles - Australian Open diary
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Updated 20/01/2022 at 22:27 GMT
Medvedev, like many others, has grown tired of the incessant 'siuu' noises from the Australian Open crowd and made sure people knew about it following his win over home favourite Nick Kyrgios in four sets. Reem Abulleil looks at all the latest stories from the stars making headlines at Melbourne Park.
'People who boo me probably have a low IQ' - Medvedev after Kyrgios clash
Medvedev’s perfect response to ‘siuu-ing’ crowd
World No.2 Daniil Medvedev has become an expert at towing the line between antagonising the crowd and making them fall in love with him.
The witty Russian had the majority of Rod Laver Arena against him during his tight four-set victory over home favourite Nick Kyrgios in the second round on Thursday.
As has been the case all week, fans in the stands were yelling ‘siuu’ continuously throughout the contest, and Medvedev hit out the spectators during his on-court interview with Jim Courier, noting they took it too far when they were bellowing the Cristiano Ronaldo celebration between his first and second serves.
“Show some respect for Jim Courier, he won here. I cannot hear him, guys,” Medvedev urged the crowd as the ‘siuus’ kept raining down on him.
Before walking off court, Medvedev had the perfect message to sign on the camera lens. He wrote “siuuuuuu” of course. Classic!
Sabalenka keeps winning sans serve
It’s been a long time since a case of the yips has manifested this strongly in a top tennis player’s game and yet Aryna Sabalenka continues to find a way to win matches despite her crippling service woes.
The No.2 seed commended her second round clash against China’s 20-year-old Wang Xinyu by hitting six double faults in just the opening game to get broken. It was an uphill battle from then on as the Belarusian finished the match with a sum of 19 double faults, but still managed to get the W in three sets.
Typically one of her biggest weapons, Sabalenka’s serve has deserted her since the start of her WTA Finals campaign in Guadalajara two months ago and her agonising struggles on court have often been tough to watch.
In the four matches she has played so far in 2022, Sabalenka has hit a combined 70 double faults. She won two of those four matches somehow.
She has committed a total of 112 double faults through seven matches played since November; that’s an average of 16 double faults per match.
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Compilation: Sabalenka's struggles on serve with double faults
One has to admire Sabalenka’s ability to go 3-4 win-loss with such a crucial part of her game completely breaking down. She revealed earlier this week that she has received some help with her serve from Australia’s Mark Philippoussis but she hasn’t figured out a way yet to move past this serious case of the yips.
“I already had a lot of experience playing without the serve and I kept telling myself, ‘You have enough shots to still win the match, even if you cannot serve’. So I think this kind of mentality helped me to stay in the game and actually find my serve,” Sabalenka said following her win over Wang.
She’s not wrong. With a power game that can overwhelm the best of them when it’s clicking, Sabalenka knows she has more than just her serve to rely on. Still, the stronger the opposition, the tougher it will get for her to come out on top in these matches.
Her next opponent is Olympics silver medallist and No.31 seed Marketa Vondrousova. Can Sabalenka make the second week of a Grand Slam while firing double faults in the high double digits?
‘When the fun is here, you have to take it’
French veteran Alize Cornet gave herself an early birthday gift by upsetting No.3 seed and two-time major winner Garbine Muguruza in the second round on Thursday.
Cornet, who turns 32 on Saturday, put together a near-flawless performance to oust the reigning WTA Finals champion, and later revealed she is contemplating retiring from tennis at the end of this season.
During her on-court interview, Cornet spoke about how she’s putting a special emphasis on enjoying her time on the court, and she later explained why it hasn’t always been so easy to find that joy while competing.
“I really enjoyed it today, which doesn't mean I will enjoy it tomorrow,” Cornet said laughing. “That's why when the fun is here, you have to take it. You never know how you're going to feel the next match.
“There were definitely some tough times during my career, but I think it's the same for everybody. Like everybody, I wanted to quit tennis many times because sometimes it's just too painful to work and not to be rewarded for your work, to have some tough losses. Sometimes you lose, for example, with match point. You go back to your hotel room and you go, ‘What's the point of doing all that?’
“This is not an easy job. You're on the road basically 10 months out of 12 so you never see your family, it's really hard to have a love life. All these things around tennis make it complicated. But the love of the game has always been stronger.
“I think today the key was that I'm telling myself that I'm playing probably my last year. I'm not sure yet. When I stepped on the court, I was like, ‘You know what, just enjoy the moment because you don't know if you're going to come back’. I think that's what made the difference.”
If this is indeed her final year on tour, the fiery Cornet will be truly missed.
Iga the bookworm
No.7 seed Iga Swiatek is a bookworm and has often been spotted walking around a tournament with a tome or two.
She was asked during her press conference following her straight-sets second-round win over Rebecca Peterson on Thursday about the latest thing she read that had a meaningful impact on her.
“Since US Open, I mean, I've read 'Gone with the Wind' and I cried a lot so it had a lot of impact on my emotional being,” she said with a smile.
“After that I've read 'Little Life'. I don't know if you know this one. It's kind of hard book, kind of heavy because the topics are heavy. It had a lot of impact because it was heavy.
“I don't want to say a lot because it's going to spoil it if somebody wants to read it. I like to read some easy stuff so I can rest, but this one was an exception and I really liked it.”
We certainly appreciate Swiatek’s no-spoilers policy!
Upset of the day
Danish teenager Clara Tauson claimed the biggest victory of her young career by dispatching No.6 seed Anett Kontaveit 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
In just her second ever showdown with a top-10 player and making her Australian Open debut this week, the 39th-ranked Tauson needed just 79 minutes to claim the victory over her Estonian opponent.
Kontaveit has been one of the most in-form players on the women’s tour over the past few months, having compiled an impressive 33-5 win-loss record since the end of last summer.
Her performances at the majors however have not been as consistent with her run to the Australian Open quarter-finals two years ago being her best showing to date at the Grand Slam level.
“Of course I’m disappointed, I always want to do better than the second round of a Slam,” said Kontaveit. “If I knew what I would have to do (to perform better at the Slams), then I’d do it. I think the majors are always, there’s a little bit more pressure. I just have to find a way to consistently play good tennis, doesn’t matter what tournament it is, just find the level every time I step on the court.”
Stats of the day
- Muguruza won just 13/50 return points against Cornet on Thursday.
- Following her upset of the third-seeded Muguruza, Cornet now owns 10 top-five victories in her career.
- Poland’s Iga Swiatek is through to the third round for an eighth consecutive Grand Slam and the ninth time overall in 12 major appearances.
- It’s not easy to out-serve Kyrgios but that’s precisely what Medvedev did during their second round blockbuster. The Russian second seed struck 31 aces and won 85 percent of his first-serve points during their three-hour clash. Medvedev finished the contest with a whopping total of 68 winners.
- Andy Murray’s defeat to Japanese world No.120 Taro Daniel on Thursday was the Scot’s first-ever defeat to a player ranked outside the top 100 at a Grand Slam.
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