Source : ABC NEWS
There is no love lost between doubles rivals, Sinner’s power breaks the net, and the title of best rally in the Australian Open may have been decided.
Here are the five quick hits from day nine of the Australian Open.
1. Fiery doubles clash ends with handshake snub
No-one enjoys losing, but being a sore loser is never a good look.
Somebody should have told Lyudmyla Kichenok that before she stormed off the court without shaking hands with her opponent.
Kichenok and her doubles partner Chan Hao-ching lost in straight sets against Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai.
Mladenovic and Shuai fought back from 4-0 in the first set to win and then dominated the second set.
After the match, as the players met at the net to shake hands, Kichenok refused to do so with Mladenovic. In fact she waved the Frenchwoman away from her.
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Kichenok shook Shuai’s hand, then very quickly left the court.
Teammate Hao-ching did the respectable thing and shook both Mladenovic and Shuai’s hands.
Hao-ching and Shuai even hugged over the net.
It remains unclear why Kichenok refused to shake hands.
There were accusations from Mladenovic that there was unsportsmanlike behaviour going on in the match.
“If you want my real honest opinion, I think the opposition team woke me up because they were showing a little bit of unsportsmanship [sic] during my serve,” she said speaking after the match.
“I got really mad.”
Not mad enough though to not shake hands. Mladenovic left all that malarky to Kichenok.
2. Sinner and Rune play the ‘point of the tournament’
We all know a good tennis rally when we see one, right?
They’re exciting, full of skill and get you up on the edge of your seat.
Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune produced one of those rallies in their fourth-round match on Monday on Rod Laver Arena.
It was so good in fact that the Australian Open has already called it the “point of the tournament”.
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It was an insane showing of tennis tricks, skills and endurance.
Thirty-seven shots, a couple of slices, some quickfire back-and-forth at the net and one ridiculously high lob.
It had it all.
Fortunately for Sinner, he won the point with a cross-court slam.
The crowd loved it (obviously), and thanked the two players for the show they put on.
Both players bowed their heads, not to the crowd to thank them for the applause, but to catch their breath.
They’d left little in the tank during that point. Perhaps another reason to say it was the best of the Open.
3. Net damage leads to unusual delay
Jannik Sinner has a powerful serve, but even he was probably surprised when he broke the net on Rod Laver Arena.
Sinner and Holger Rune had enough time to leave the court and catch their breath as ground staff repaired the broken net at Melbourne Park’s main arena.
A compromised net causes play to be suspended, as officals and staff attempt to reattach it to the court on Rod Laver Arena. (AAP: James Ross)
Play was stopped early in the fourth set when Sinner rocketed a serve that struck the net.
The force snapped a metal bolt at the bottom of the net which keeps it in place and not fluttering in the wind.
The bolt is screwed into the court and the force led to some quick repairs before a new bolt was inserted.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley was summoned to inspect the damage.
Todd Woodbridge, a winner of 22 grand slam doubles titles, said the snapping of the bolt was an unusual thing to see.
“I’ve not seen this happen before where it’s been ripped out like that,” Todd Woodbridge said in commentary for the Nine Network.
“I have seen the latch that the hook goes into for the net strap. I have seen those break [before].
“You have to be prepared for everything.”
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a freak occurrence presents itself.
4. Ariel Behar’s fashion strikes again at Melbourne Park
Fashion has been a key talking point at this year’s grand slam.
And Uruguayan tennis player Ariel Behar has blessed us all with a funky outfit inspired by iconic Australian fauna.
The pink T-shirt has plenty of kangaroos wearing sunglasses printed all over, while the shorts have a cute, smiling crab on the back.
We’re not exactly sure what the meaning is behind the crab, but one might assume it has something to do with Ariel’s name. Possibly Sebastian the crab from the movie The Little Mermaid.
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This isn’t the first time Behar has worn clothing inspired by the country he’s playing in.
In 2024, the Uruguayan wore matching pink koala-patterned shirts with his doubles partner that were designed by his wife’s fashion brand, Lala Sportswear.
In 2023 at the US Open, they wore pink shirts with dogs wearing sunglasses.
Unfortunately, the outfits weren’t enough to see Behar and his doubles partner Robert Galloway progress through to the fourth round at the Australian Open.
5. Which Australians are playing and what quarterfinals are on day 10?
There is a massive day of tennis at Melbourne Park as the men’s and women’s singles enter the quarterfinals.
The wheelchair and quad wheelchair championships also begin.
All times in AEDT
Men’s and women’s quarterfinals
- Coco Gauff (3) vs Paula Badosa (11) not before 11:30am on Rod Laver Arena
- Tommy Paul (12) vs Alexander Zverev (2) not before 2pm on Rod Laver Arena
- Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (27) not before 7pm on Rod Laver Arena
- Novak Djokovic (7) vs Carlos Alcaraz (3) last on Rod Laver Arena
Aussies in action
Mixed doubles
- Ellen Perez/Kevin Krawietz (3) vs Kim Birrell/John-Patrick Smith (WC) last on Margaret Court Arena
Quad wheelchair
- Heath Davidson vs Jin Woodman (WC) from 11am on Court 6
- Ahmet Kaplan (4) vs Finn Broadbent (WC) second on Court 6
Men’s wheelchair
- Tokito Oda (1) vs Anderson Parker (WC) third on Court 6
