The early leader for shot of the tournament might go to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta who did the unthinkable on Wednesday afternoon.
Day three of the Australian Open is here and locals were treated to Ash Barty lighting up Centre Court again.
The Queenslander progressed to the third round after sweeping aside Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti in straight sets on Rod Laver Arena.
Rafael Nadal is also back in action, as is Naomi Osaka and Aussie favourite John Millman.
In case you missed him last night, you can read up about Nick Kyrgios’ antics in his win over Liam Broady here, featuring all the usual tricks including underarm tweeners.
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Tennis stunned by optical illusion
The early leader for shot of the tournament might go to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta who did the unthinkable when he ran onto the opposite side of the net to play a winner.
The Spaniard’s opponent, Tallon Griekspoor, tried to play an overhead smash that crashed into the net rope, bounced straight up in the air, landed in and then bounced back towards him.
Carreno Busta rushed the net, ran around it and played one of the most unorthodox shots you’ll ever see.
The 19th seed sent the Kia Arena into a frenzy.
Day three order of play
Rod Laver Arena
Paula Badosa (ESP) [8] beat Martina Trevisan (ITA) 6-0 6-3
Ash Barty (AUS) [1] beat Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) 6-1 6-1
Rafael Nadal (ESP) [6] beat Yannick Hanfmann (GER) 6-2 6-3 6-4
From 7pm: Madison Brengle (USA) vs Naomi Osaka (JPN) [13]
Alexander Zverev (GER) [3] vs John Millman (AUS)
Margaret Court Arena
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [15] beat Harmony Tan (FRA) 6-3 5-7 5-1 (retired)
Denis Shapovalov (CAN) [14] beat Soonwoo Kwon (KOR) 7-6 6-7 6-7 7-5 6-2
Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) [4] vs Xiyu Wang (CHN)
From 7pm: Qinwen Zheng (CHN) vs Maria Sakkari (GRE) [5]
Gael Monfils (FRA) [17] vs Alexander Bublik (KAZ)
John Cain Arena
Camila Giorgi (ITA) [30] beat Tereza Martincova (CZE) 6-2 7-6
Madison Keys (USA) beat Jaqueline Cristian (ROU) 6-2 7-5
Matteo Berrettini (ITA) [7] beat Stefan Kozlov (USA) 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-1
Hubert Hurkacz (POL) [10] vs Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
Blockbuster Aussie duo cruise through to 2nd round
Nick Kyrgios and his good mate Thanasi Kokkinakis have advanced through the opening round of the doubles draw by defeating fellow Aussies Alex Bolt and James McCabe, 6-4 6-2.
The combination of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis had a lot of fun in front of a packed Court 3 which reached capacity. Long lines of eager fans were waiting outside the gates for a chance to catch the all-Aussie affair.
Nadal through to third round
Spanish phenom Rafael Nadal has secured a straight sets victory over Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann to book his spot in the top 32.
Nadal needed five match points to get the job done, but regardless, he emerged triumphant with a comfortable 6-2 6-3 6-4 victory.
The 35-year-old will next face either France’s Benjamin Bonzi or Russia’s Karen Khachanov on Friday.
‘Heartbreaking’: Star taken off in wheelchair
Harmony Tan was devastated as she retired hurt in the final set of her second round clash against Elina Svitolina.
The 15th seed looked like she was cruising after winning the first set 6-3 but Tan bounced back in the second to level things up.
Sadly, things went very wrong and she had to call it quits at 1-5 in the decider.
Tan was so determined to play on that according to reports, it took the chair umpire to encourage her to retire because her calf injury was so troubling.
“Not sure I’ve ever seen this, but the chair umpire just advised Harmony Tan to retire due to a calf injury,” The Tennis Podcast tweeted.
Barty dispels rumour about her outfit
Ash Barty has put to rest a rumour that her uniform includes a subtle nod to the ruby red slippers worn by Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz because “there’s no place like home”.
Barty has been wearing bright red shoes in both her matches to start the tournament.
“There’s no place like home, you mentioned. It has been mentioned online about the ruby slippers, the red sneakers,” a reporter told Barty in her post-match press conference.
“I haven’t seen that,” Barty replied, smiling.
“No, I mean, red shoes go faster, right? That’s the whole thing behind it.
“I love the outfit I’m in in Fila this year. The red shoes are cool. Not often am I one to wear bright shoes, but no, they’re pretty cool this year.”
‘Insane’: Barty’s latest bloodbath
Ash Barty made light work of Lucia Bronzetti, dismantling the Italian in straight sets for a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 victory.
The Aussie won her opening match 6-0 6-1 against Lesia Tsurenko, meaning she has only dropped three games across the opening two rounds at Melbourne Park this year.
Barty started impressively against Bronzetti, holding twice and breaking at the first opportunity to go up 3-0 in the first set.
The two-time major winner was using her trademark slice to her advantage early on — a stroke labelled by tennis commentator Jose Morgado as “insane” on Twitter.
Pretty soon it was 5-0 as Barty showed her opponent no mercy before Bronzetti finally got on the board. But that was the only joy for the underdog in the set as she went down 1-6 in just 26 minutes.
It was a case of more of the same in the second set, though Bronzetti was putting up some slightly stiffer resistance. But the fight was futile as Barty secured a double break to surge towards 4-1 before finishing the job.
Awkward Barty mention in post-match interview
Spanish rising star Paula Badosa delivered one of the more awkward post match interview responses when she revealed just how much she relished beating Australian golden girl, Ash Barty.
Badosa, ranked 71 in the world at the time, stunned Barty at the WTA quarterfinals last April with a 6-4 6-3 win. It was a day most Aussies would happily forget.
Now ranked No. 6 in the world, Badosa cruised through her second round match against Italy’s Martina Trevison on Tuesday, winning 6-0 6-3 in just over an hour.
Speaking after the match, she said it was the Barty win that propelled her into the upper echelon of women’s tennis.
“I’m going to say right now it was after winning against Ash Barty,” Badosa said.
“She is the best player in the world, the number says it. She is an amazing player and beating her was amazing.
“After that moment I thought anything was possible and I could win against any player.”
There were some chuckles mixed with groans in the crowd, upon being reminded of the result.
Early results roll in
Eighth seed Paula Badosa cruised into the third round with a clinical 6-0 6-3 win over Martina Trevisan and Victoria Azarenka beat Jil Teichmann in straight sets.
Camila Giorgi also defeated Tereza Martincova 6-2 7-6 and will face Ash Barty in the third round if the Aussie wins today.
Marta Kostyuk upset 32nd seed Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 6-3.
Murray clips Channel 9
After a gruelling five-set win over Nikoloz Basilashvili, all Andy Murray wanted to do was sit down and watch one the emerging superstars of tennis — even if it was getting late.
British teenager Emma Raducanu — who made her mark by winning last year’s US Open — faced Sloane Stephens on Margaret Court Arena but Murray wasn’t sure he’d be able to watch the young gun.
“Come on Channel 9 let’s get raducanu stephens on one of the channels instead of 2x Rod Laver!” he tweeted late on Tuesday night.
The broadcaster listened to the two-time Wimbledon champion, replying by saying: “FTFY Andy. Raducanu vs Stephens is now available to watch on @9Gem.”
Raducanu won her match in three sets to advance to the second round.
Classy gesture in Kyrgios match
A raucous crowd was cheering for Nick Kyrgios on Tuesday night but Liam Broady will have won plenty of fans with a classy gesture on John Cain Arena.
The Brit took to the court with rainbow laces in support of the LGBTQI+ community.
Asked about his fashion choice after the match, Broady said: “I know obviously within men’s tennis — is it a taboo? I don’t think it’s really a taboo, but I’ve seen questions before about why there aren’t any openly gay men on the tour, and I just wanted to kind of voice my support in that general area.
“And the LGBTQI community, I mean, a lot of those guys have given me a lot of support throughout my career and have been there since day one, so I kind of wanted to give a thank you in my own sort of way.”
Day three preview
Rafael Nadal steps up his march towards a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Wednesday, with Ash Barty and Naomi Osaka also taking centre stage.
Defending champion Osaka and Wimbledon winner Barty will be one victory away from colliding if both come through their second-round encounters unscathed.
Japan’s Osaka, who has won two Australian and two US Opens, faces American Madison Brengle in the night session on Rod Laver Arena.
Red-hot Barty, the top seed and home hope, comes up against Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti in an early afternoon encounter.
Nadal, who recently won his first tournament after five months out battling a foot injury, was highly impressive in racing past American Marcos Giron in straight sets on Monday to open his campaign.
“I am super-happy about all the work that we have done to try to be back. We are here enjoying the tennis,” said the Spanish sixth seed, who will face German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann after Barty’s match ends.
Nadal’s half of the draw was made easier when the unvaccinated nine-time champion Novak Djokovic was thrown out of Australia.
– In the mood –
The ultra-consistent Barty, who won a warm-up tournament in Adelaide, hasn’t dropped her serve for 41 straight games over four matches and destroyed Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-1 on Monday.
“I think obviously the last five or six matches I felt like I found a really good rhythm on my service games,” said the Australian, who is chasing a first home Grand Slam.
Osaka beat American Jennifer Brady in last year’s Melbourne Park final, but then withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon over mental health issues. She took an indefinite break after the US Open in September.
But the 24-year-old said she felt much more positive after her first-round win over Colombia’s Camila Osorio.
“I just want to have fun, first of all,” said the 13th seed. “I can’t expect myself to win every match, but I do expect myself to have fun and challenge myself.” Men’s third seed Alexander Zverev is looking to follow his Olympic gold in Tokyo last year with a first Grand Slam title.
He safely came through a tricky late-night first-round clash against fellow German Daniel Altmaier despite not being at his best.
“It’s the first round of hopefully a very long Grand Slam, you are not always going to play your best tennis,” said the 24-year-old.
He will play Australia’s John Millman, who will garner plenty of partisan vocal support in another late-night encounter on Rod Laver Arena.
French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova was ruthless in her dismissal of German veteran Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-0 in the first round, and a repeat of that form should see her past China’s world number 100 Wang Xiyu.
Spanish eighth seed Paula Badosa, who beat Krejcikova in a three-set thriller to win the Sydney warm-up tournament, opens proceedings at 11:00am (0000 GMT) against Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.
On the men’s side, seventh seed Matteo Berrettini, who endured frequent toilet trips in a gutsy four-set win on Monday, will hope he doesn’t need to reach for the Imodium again when he comes up against American qualifier Stefan Kozlov.
AFP