Australian Open: Thiem shocked as Osaka, Williams survive
Matches were played in an empty Rod Laver Arena, with fans barred on the second day of a five-day, state-wide coronavirus lockdown.
February 15, 2021 02:44 GMT
US Open champion Dominic Thiem became the first major men s casualty of the Australian Open on Sunday, as Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams survived scares to reach the quarter-finals.
A fatigued-looking Thiem, coming off a five-set win over Australia s Nick Kyrgios, slumped in straight sets to Bulgaria s Grigor Dimitrov who took it 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in just over two hours.
Serena Williams dropped her first set of the tournament against Belarus s Aryna Sabalenka Photo: AFP / David Gray
Dimitrov not taking qualifier Karatsev lightly
When you’re chasing history, as Novak Djokovic is, you do whatever it takes to put yourself in a position to compete, to win.
That often means sacrifice. For Djokovic in pursuit of career-long rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal that can mean anything from time away from family, adherence to a strict diet and, sometimes, pushing through injury.
When the Serb slipped to the court early in the third set of his third-round matchup with American Taylor Fritz on Friday night, left splayed across the MELBOURNE logo, he knew he had over-stressed, perhaps even torn, an abdominal muscle. He would somehow survive, prevailing, 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, and calling it “one of the most special wins in my life”. But no one, not even Nole himself, knew if he would recover in time to take the court against Canadian Milos Raonic in the Round of 16.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Novak Djokovic said he tore a muscle during a fall in his five-set victory in the Australian Open’s third round and might need t
The eight-time Melbourne champion, who is chasing a record-extending ninth triumph at the Rod Laver Arena, took to the court to face Canadian Milos Raonic in the fourth round on Sunday.
The final match of the Sunday night session was clouded in uncertainty however and it was uncertain if Djokovic would even turn up to play due to injury.
The 33-year-old suffered what he called a muscle tear in the previous round when he defeated American Taylor Fritz in five sets.
Djokovic needed a medical timeout in the third set but recovered in the fifth for victory to set up a showdown with Raonic.