Key events
Hunter takes the game! A long rally ends with a beautiful forehand as she drives through Krejcikova who lands just inside the line in the corner. 2-2 in the second set.
Krejcikova misses a simple forehand. She established the point well, moving Hunter to the right. But she couldn’t land her forehand in the open field on the left.
But then she follows up with a crosscourt that lands.
So inconsistent. One minute she’s exceptional, the next she’s missing gifts.
Now it’s Hunter’s turn to miss an open court as she closes in on the net and overcooks a simple forehand down the line.
Devil.
Krejcikova with a sublime uphill forehand. It’s only the first point of the game, but it’s a bit of a statement shot as he lifts with the bounce of the ball and hits it.
Hunter, however, was flummoxed and took the next two points to take a 30-15 lead.
This is a good thing.
A perfect match for Krejcikova makes the score 2-1. 40-0 in that one. Strong shots from the baseline. She had Hunter on defense throughout.
Boom! Nice shot from Hunter who leans with a right into the corner. She takes a 40-15 lead.
She then takes the game with a slamming volley that makes her racket scream.
A loud roar shows what this means to her.
Krejicova holds. 1-0 and she still has a 46% chance of winning the match, according to the win predictor. I’m not sure I’d rate her that high, but she’s the 9th seed for a reason.
Two points in the second set. Good defense from Hunter. Krejcikova, looking to assert herself, tries to play a winner from a ball that wasn’t there and she goes long.
She hits a stiff serve and takes the advantage. Can she hold on?
“Hey Dan,”
Hi Jack Skelly.
“A friend pointed out that Storm Hunter must be one of the few tennis players in history whose name combines that of two Gladiators.”
Oh. Good cry. She just might be.
But keep an eye out for this young kid coming up the ranks named Wolf Saracen. He could be a future Grand Slam winner.
Adrian Mannarino defeats Ben Shelton 7(7)-6(4), 1-6, 6(2)-7(7), 6-3, 6-4
An epic! It promised to be a cracker between the Frenchman, seeded 20th, and the American, seeded 16th, and it was. After winning the first set, Mannarino lost 2-1. And he looked buried but refused to stay on the ground. A brilliant performance from the soft-touch left-hander.
Hunter wins first set 6-4. After being down two points, she came home with a booming serve that was too hot for a pinpoint return from Krejcikova and Hunter was celebrating before it even landed beyond the baseline.
Thanks Taha. Yeah, stupid decision. Glad to be back inside. If you see any typos over the next few minutes, my fingers are freezing.
Regardless, I’m happy to see that Mannarino and Shelton delivered on the promised five-set epic. The Frenchman now serves for the match.
But I watch Hunter storm (gettit?) to score three set points. Can she close it?
And that’s enough for me. Daniel Gallan returns from a walk outside (why did he do that – it’s really cold outside).
Hunter hits a winning backhand to maintain her serve and lead 5-3 in the first set against Krejcikova.
Shelton is a fighter, coming to the net to smash a volley before Mannarino received a completely wrong backhand – the 16th seed got himself three break points! He scores from the first request before Mannarino succeeds in the serve and volley. More resistance from Mannarino brings us to two before a Foster forehand down the line gives the American another breaking point. He can’t convert, but then he gets another one and Mannarino scores. It’s 5-3 for Mannarino, and this thing still works.
Shelton, trailing 4-2 in the fifth, leads 40-0 but Mannarino takes advantage of the American’s willingness to go to the net, chip and force his way to a break point. And he converts him too! Mannarino will serve for the match.
Krejcikova recovered from a difficult start to come back against Hunter, but the ninth seed then scored a volley to give the Australian another break. It’s 3-2 for the local star in the first set.
We’re tied again on Shelton’s serve, with the fifth set at 2-2. A 27-shot rally ended with Mannarino unable to convert his first break point. But the Frenchman claims his second, Shelton being long. Mannarino leads 3-2 in the last set.
Andrei Rublev, Meanwhile, he won the first set against Sebastian Korda 6-2 and leads 1-0 in the second.
Storm Hunter gets off to a good start against Barbora Krejcikova, break your opponent in the first game of the match.
It’s a real thriller. Mannarino continues to reach break point; Shelton then gets this serve from the booming southpaw to save himself. They’ve spent over four hours in this duel, and Shelton almost holds on to lead 2-1.
That’s right, so the show goes on. Adrian Mannarino and Ben Shelton are in a fifth set, currently 1-1, fighting over two with the American serve.
Hello people. I’m just listening to Djokovic’s post-match chat. He has been asked about his motivation, probably because he has won billions of times. “I have had the chance to live a very interesting life journey. Coming from Serbia in the 90s was not easy for my family, my parents had to endure a lot of adversity, economically, in every sense of the word, so that I could live my dream, playing a sport that cost a lot expensive, and still is. for our country, at that time, it was very expensive compared to some other team sports.
“My parents did everything they could to give me the conditions, the opportunities to be able to train. I didn’t travel for a few years when I was a junior because of lack of resources, the war, the embargo, and a lot of different things.
“At the end of the day, when I reflect on the whole journey that I’ve been through, that we’ve all been through as a family or as a Serbian people, it’s honestly an incredible blessing to be here and I’ am very grateful for this.
I’m going for a little break. Taha Hashim will take over. See you later.
Novak Djokovic defeats Tomás Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3, 7(7)-6(2)
The world number one continues his journey. As close to perfect as one would expect. His 100th match in Melbourne ended in inevitable victory. He was brought to work in this third set, but only in fourth gear. The first two were won in second position as he unfurled sumptuous drops, two-handed backhands and a merciless service game. Outstanding. How do you beat him?
6-2. Ace! Djokovic with four match points.
5-2. Not yet. Etcheverry keeps the lights on.
5-1. Etcheverry comes to the net and he is the favorite to win the point as Djokovic is well behind the baseline and almost plays this shot behind him. But he somehow finds a nasty setback to keep Etcheverry from moving within contact distance.
4-1. A wide serve from Djokovic forces a lunge from Etcheverry who cannot return.
3-1. Djokovic finds the net on a forehand after serving. He still has just as much control over this tie-break.
2-0 in the tie-break. A tame shot from Etcheverry after Djokovic’s return allows the Argentine to continue the match.
3-0 for Djokovic. Another brilliant return to the toes from Etcheverry after a wide serve. Djokovic read it and jumped.
Scandalous rally! 25 shots. Both players had the chance to put it away, but as it went on, the outcome became inevitable. A forehand from Djokovic on the line gives him the advantage in the tie-break.
