Australian Open 2024

The draw is out for the AO which has a Sunday start this year. Djoko has Sinner in his half, meaning Alcaraz and Medvedev are in the other half.

Andy Murray begins against Echeverry and could meet Djoko in the third round if he gets that far. Alcaraz starts v Gasquet while Tsitsipas faces Berrettini and De Minaur takes on Raonic.

There are a couple of blockbuster first rounds in the women's, with Swiatek drawn against 2020 AO champ Kenin and last year's runner-up Rybakina facing former number one Pliskova. Emma R, assuming she's fit to play, will be up against Shelby Rogers. Osaka has a tough opener v Garcia.

Djoko, for me, is a clear favourite while Swiatek will be the player to beat in the women's. Be interesting to see how far Sinner will get. De Minaur is in form and could go deep as long as he gets past Raonic. Medvedev could, perhaps, have done with being in Djoko's half of the draw. As the seeding goes, he would have to play two stupendous matches to take the title - knocking out Alcaraz and then Djoko.

Won't have to wait to see how Sinner does as he's the first match on at the start of the tournament on Sunday.

Djoko gets the night match. Sure part of the reason for his amazing record in Melbourne is that he rarely has to play in the heat.

An opening day scare for Rublev who was taken to a final set tiebreak before beating Seyboth Wild in 3hrs 42mins.

Sinner came thru in straight sets but Taylor Fritz has just had to go into a 5th set v Diaz Acosta. Former AO finalist Cilic lost in four to Hungarian Marozsan.

2021 RG champ Krejcikova recovered from a set down to beat a Japanese WC. One of the returning mums, Wozniacki, has just taken the first set 6-2 v 20th seed Linette.

Djoko also took the first 6-2 in his night match with teenage qualifier Prizmic.

This young qualifier has given Djoko a real match, taking the second set to level the match and refusing to die quietly.

Djoko, though, should still go on to win.He's two sets to one up and was 4-0 up in the fourth before Prizmic got one of the breaks back.

Djoko finally came thru 6-4 in that 4th set to take the match, but only after the 18-yr-old saved four MPs at 3-5 and then two more in the next game.

This is par for the course for Novak who can often seem diffident, injury-prone and unconvincing in early matches in Slams before playing brilliantly at the business end of the tournament.

Djoko was full of praise for his gallant young opponent. Another 18-yr-old qualifier, Ella Seidel of Germany, who faced the defending champion, didn't do as well - winning only one game against Sabalenka.

Tiafoe's managed to avoid an ultra-late finish by seeing off Coric in four while Fritz needed five sets to beat Diaz Acosta.

As long as the organisers are insisting on TWO night matches on the show courts they are not really addressing the problem of late finishes. Fortunately today, two of the women's night matches lasted less than an hour which meant the senseless 2am/3am-style finishes were avoided - at least for the opening day.

Andy Murray is out - well beaten 4, 2 and 2 by Echeverry. You have to wonder whether this is going to be Andy's final season.

Another veteran also bit the dust - Stan the Man going down in five against Mannarino. But a third old stager, Monfils, had a straight-sets win. Goffin, who had qualified, is out, though, beaten by 21st seed Humbert.

Medvedev lost the first set to a qualifier but then his opponent cramped up in extreme heat and had to retire.

Tsitsipas also dropped the first set but recovered to win easily in four. 18th seed Jarry lost in five to a qualifier while Korda was taken the distance before winning against another qualifier.

Some of the women's seeds were beaten with the most notable loss being that of Wimbledon champ Vondrousova who only won three games v Yastremska of Ukraine.

Raonic has just taken the first set 7-6 v De Minaur.

I always keep an eye out for Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, and it’s commendable that both tried to comeback from major injuries. But there’s a reason why Father Time is undefeated.

It’s also sad when peoples memories forget how great Murray and Wawrinka once were, but I guess peoples memories fade with time…

Anyone that remembers both in the prime will know how great they were - heck both beat Djokovic in two major finals of each - that’s HoF worthy without the rest of the career achievements.

But I think time is time for both of them now.

Draper, Norrie & Boulter all safely through to round 2. Evans up by a set & Raducanu is a set & a double break up in the second set.

Raducanu wins 6/3 6/2.

Nice start to her 2024 comeback for Raducanu . Watched a bit of Boulter's match : thought she was quite impressive. Hope she can keep it up...I believe these two could meet in round three if they can get past their next opponents...

Wins for Draper, Norrie, Boulter and Raducanu so far, with Evans at one set all against Sonego.

Draper had to come from two sets to one down to beat Giron and also had to battle the conditions and his own body. He had to have his blood pressure checked at one point and then vomited after clinching the match.

Norrie, Boulter and Raducanu had straight-set wins. Dimi got off to a slow start before winning in four. Swiatek and Rybakina, both facing tricky openers, managed to win in straight sets.

Dan lost to Sonego in four. He had a chance to go two sets to love up but after that it was a close-fought but ultimately disappointing match for the Briton.

Emma R has a very winnable match next as her lowly-ranked opponent knocked out 22nd-seeded Cirstea. Boulter, though, could be up against it - facing 12th seed Zheng.

sirfredperry wrote:Dan lost to Sonego in four. He had a chance to go two sets to love up but after that it was a close-fought but ultimately disappointing match for the Briton.

Emma R has a very winnable match next as her lowly-ranked opponent knocked out 22nd-seeded Cirstea. Boulter, though, could be up against it - facing 12th seed Zheng.

Glad Emma won yesterday, not expecting anything from her at this GS - for me it's all about spending time on the court.

Highly-ranked Ons Jabeur was thrashed by 16-yr-old Andreeva, while another seed, Caroline Garcia, crashed out to Poland's Magdalena Frech.

Sinner, De Minaur and Fritz breezed thru, while Shelton won in four. Two other men's seeds, though, are in trouble. Tsitsipas has lost the first set to Jordan Thompson while Tiafoe is two sets down to Tomas Machac of the Czech Rep who has had some good results of late.*

Djoko plays later and his 3rd round opponent looks like being Murray's conqueror Echeverry, who is two sets to love up on Monfils.

Other winners today included Sabalenka and Gauff who would appear to be on a semi-final collision course.

*Tsitsipas is now one set all, but Tiafoe is OUT, beaten in straight sets by Machac.

Djoko loses the second set v Popyrin, so it's one set all. Popyrin got a break to enable him to serve for the second set, mucked it up, but then broke Novak again to finally take it.

Djoko, they say, is looking a little out of sorts. But it would be a huge shock if we were to go out at this stage. He'll win in the end.

Popyrin had 3 set points to win the 3rd when he was 0-40 on Djoko's serve but Novak brings it back to deuce.

Djoko goes two sets to one up after that escape, taking it in the tiebreak.

The women get the short straw tonight, with Sakkari's match starting after 11pm following the long four-set Tsitsipas win over Jordan Thompson.

Djoko has break points now to move to 4/2 in the 4th.

Popyrin is still alive - just. He saved three MPs at 2-5. But now Djoko will serve for the match.

Finally Djoko gets over the line taking the 4th set 6-3 and the match. Always ominous for the contenders when Djoko struggles but is victorious. They know he's saving his best tennis for them later in the Slam.

Raducanu is on court now against Wang Yafan.

Fairly dramatic day at the AO. Draper, Raducanu and Boulter all went out, while Norrie battled back from two sets down to win.

Swiatek was a double break down at 4-1 in the final set v Collins and looked to be heading out, only to win the last five games to go thru.

Rybakina, though, is out, losing a marathon 22-20 final set tiebreak to Blinkova, with both having numerous MPs. Alcaraz, Zverev and Hurkacz all had tough matches but all came thru. Not so Rune who lost in four to a qualifier.

At 3.30am local time they are still playing - a mixture of rain delays and the, still, ludicrous scheduling. Medvedev has come back from two sets down to take it to a 5th and is leading 3-0 in that final set v Ruusuvuori.

Medvedev took that final set 6-0 to stay alive on what was a remarkable day.

No doubt organisers will point to the rain delays to explain away the late finish. But as long as they schedule TWO night matches on the show courts these things will happen.

Convincing wins today by Sinner and Tsitsipas, while Fritz and Khachanov won in four.

16-yr-old Mirra Andreeva was 5-1 down in the final set against Parry of France before rallying, saving an MP and then taking the tiebreak to go thru to the 4th round.

Gauff dropped just two games in her win, while Sabalenka double bageled Tsurenko. There was better luck for Tsurenko's Ukrainian compatriot Kostyuk who, no doubt, was gleeful to beat a Russian - Avanesyan.

Sinner is looking in very good form and arguably the slight favourite. The only thing though is he has had a much easier draw so far, lets see how he gets on when the quality of opponent really goes up. Djokovic has been in very average form but he was better today against a strong opponent and you feel he will continue to improve with each round.

Great to see Mannarino take down Shelton, that lad really needs to reign it in, so cocky and this slamming of the phone down celebration, delighted to see him taken down a notch or two again but an experienced player. I recall him being very cocky and smug going into his match against Djokovic at the US open and Novak absolutely destroyed him. I appreciate he is young but you dont see Alcaraz and Sinner acting the tool like that. I find Rune and Shelton to be my least favourite players.

I wonder can Korda give Rublev some trouble, Rublev a set up but I like watching Kordas game. Medvedev battled back very well yesterday against an inspired opponent who played really well until end of 4th set. Medvedev always so dangerous on hard courts and Alcaraz will be there in the final stages too no doubt

Slasher - Rublev managed to win in straights. At least your two least-liked players have bitten the dust.

Djoko's dominance in Melbourne means that the tourney won't get REALLY interesting until he finally packs it in. However, this year Sinner stands in his way - a player who beat him twice at the end of 2023.

I thought maybe Tsitsipas might go out early but he could be dangerous now.

slightly surprised that Rublev took down Korda in straight sets, I thought Korda would be better than that and at least take him to 4 sets. Sinner is definitely the form player right now since and since the end of 2023. Looking forward to seeing how he does when he eventually gets challenged properly in a tough match.

Tsitsipas going well alright, could be a close one for him vs Fritz but he should have the slight edge in that one but could go the distance

Alcaraz and Medvedev safely thru but Tommy Paul out and also the consistently inconsistent Dimi who was beaten in four by Portugal's Nuno Borges.

Pretty much sums up Dimi's career. In good form one minute and then losing to someone he should beat. Norrie, somewhat surprisingly to me, was able to keep the British flag flying with a good win in four over Ruud.

Norrie lost the second set that he should have won and then won the third that he could have lost, having been a break down. It's a rare appearance in the second week of a Slam for Cam.

Big news today was Swiatek being dumped out by 19-yr-old Czech Linda Noskova. The women's top 10 has been nearly wiped out, meaning that whoever emerges from the bottom half of the draw is likely to win the whole thing. All will probably hinge on the outcome of the likely semi final pairing of Sabalenka and Gauff.

By all accounts Norrie was far more aggressive today and said it was one of his best Slam performances.

There was, apparently, a lot of volleying. This all makes sense. Cam is very fit and very competitive but lacks a big game ie. big serve and huge ground strokes. So getting to the net more, from where he was quite successful today, is a good tactic.

He may not be able to go much further, though, as he'll now face Zverev who came thru in straights today. There are 13 seeds in the men's last 16, with only Rune missing from the current top 10.

Tsitsipas's encouraging start to the tourney was in vain as he lost in four today to Fritz who will now go on to meet Djoko.

I thought Mannarino might give Novak something of a contest but the Frenchman won only three games. Khachanov had plenty of BP chances against Sinner but went down in straight sets.

As I type, Rublev has just taken the first set 6-4 v De Minaur, with the winner going on to play Sinner.

Sabalenka and Gauff had dominant wins today, while Andy Murray-admiring teenager Andreeva is out, beaten by 2021 RG champ Krejcikova.

Rublev and De Minaur have just gone into a 5th set in what sounds like an exhausting match.

Sinner, all done and dusted and awaiting the winner, will no doubt be hoping that it goes to a final set tiebreak.

No need for a tiebreak ! Rublev simply blew the local hero away ... 6-0 and he stunned both De Minaur and the home crowd with an astonishing display in that last set. Keep that up he can go further , no ?

Rublev, fighting cramp, came thru 6-0 in that final set. De Minaur couldn't spin it out enough to capitalise on the Russian's condition.

Rublev, apparently, was going for winners to try to save his legs....and it worked.

Just been watching a few clips from the Rublev match. There were some incredible retrieves by De Minaur who must be one of the quickest guys on the tour.

If guys are up against these golden retrievers, I'd like to see them trying the wrong-footing shot more. Players like De Minaur and Alcaraz close the gaps so quickly that whacking the ball into what appears at first to be an empty court sometimes ain't the best option.

You have to fancy Medvedev, Alcaraz and, probably, Hurkacz to go thru tomorrow. If Norrie plays like he did against Ruud he will certainly have a chance against Zverev. But I'm tipping the German to win.

Wins today for Medvedev and Hurkacz. Zverev is two sets to one up on Norrie.

Noskova, who beat Swiatek, got thru after Svitolina had to retire after just three games. She'll next play Yastremska who beat Azarenka.

Norrie couldn't quite get over the line against Zverev. He took it to a final-set tiebreak which the German rather ran away with 10-3.

By all accounts Cam played well but his poor record against top 10 players continued.

Alcaraz breezed through in straights and will now meet Zverev. This will be much more of a test for Carlos but you'd expect him to win.

It all means the men's quarters will be contested by the top six seeds which may not have happened at a Slam for a while. With the other two being seeds number 9 and 12 this is a high-quality last eight.

Strong Quarter Final line up:

Djokovic vs Fritz
Sinner vs Rublev
Medvedev vs Hurkasz
Alcaraz vs Zverev

Odds would be on Djokovic vs Sinner and Medvedev vs Alcaraz but as we know in sport, things rarely pan out exactly as you expect. Who do we think are most likely to cause an upset? Zverev has a winning record vs Alcaraz but I think am not sure I see it happening this time, particularly as Zverev has spent way too much time on court, he has gone to a championship 5th set tie break in two of his four matches and went to 4 sets in the other two. Alcaraz will be much fresher and is playing well.

Djokovic has an 8-0 H2H vs Fritz so is clearly a very tough match up. Maybe Fritz will break through this time but it would seem unlikely. I think Rublev with his power is always a threat but the problem for him is Sinner has massive firepower too and for me he has much more variety in his game vs Rublev.

I would love to see Hurkasz win as I think he is such an under rated player and his serve is absolutely lethal. I just feel Medvedev will be too solid for him and will outlast him but hope I am wrong. Hurkasz however does have a 3-2 H2H over Medvedev and he won their only slam meeting at Wimbledon but that was back in 2021

Djoko and Fritz now one set all, with the night schedule already in tatters following the 3hr Gauff match.

If the organisers had any ounce of common sense they would postpone the Sinner match until tomorrow. Will they? Will they, heck.

Djoko took it in four. A gallant effort by Fritz who saved numerous BPs and even got a break back towards the end. It was all in vain, but not for want of trying.

It's now 9pm in Melbourne and we still have two matches to come thanks to the increasingly lunatic scheduling.

sirfredperry wrote:Djoko took it in four. A gallant effort by Fritz who saved numerous BPs and even got a break back towards the end. It was all in vain, but not for want of trying.

It's now 9pm in Melbourne and we still have two matches to come thanks to the increasingly lunatic scheduling.

Yep, he saved 14 before finally succumbing to the Serb on the 15th break point.

Sinner has beaten Rublev in straight sets. The Italian took the first set 6-4, was close to a break late in the second set, didn't get it and then trailed 5-1 in the ensuing tiebreak.

But Sinner won six points in a row to sneak the set and went on to win the third 6-3.

I think this is Sinner's time. I had a feeling from the start that he would win it and I am even more convinced now. He has been the most in form player and to be fair he was so strong at the end of last year too. I had the feeling the one time he might lose was an early round when he might be rusty but he has played himself into great form. You can simply never write off Djokovic but for me his form hasnt been close to his best. I think Sinner might well inflict a first loss at the Oz open for Novak since 2018. I cannot believe he is unbeaten that long, just remarkable consistency

Slasher - I'd love to see Sinner beat Djoko and, in some ways, it would not be as huge an upset as normal, given the Italian's stellar form of late.

But if I had to put money on it I would still back Djoko who will be smarting for revenge after his two reverses v Sinner at the end of last season.

Just who the winner of this semi meets will become clearer after the two q-fs tomorrow. I'm expecting Medvedev and Alcaraz to come thru and meet in the semi. If so, although I would lean towards Alcaraz, it should be remembered that Medvedev played brilliantly to beat Carlos in New York so cannot be counted out.

Agree, Sinner has a huge chance. When you look at the four meetings of Djoko vs Sinner in 2023

1 slam meeting with Djoko winning Wimbledon QF in straight sets. Sinner then winning epic round robin match in final set tie break. Djokovic comfortably beating Sinner in the final of Tour finals. Then in Davis cup semis Djokovic really should have won but lost after having match points, can't think of many times that has happened to novak. The two Sinner wins were very close matches whereas Djokovic two wins were much more comfortable in straight sets.

I see this one being a close battle

Guest wrote:I always keep an eye out for Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, and it’s commendable that both tried to comeback from major injuries. But there’s a reason why Father Time is undefeated.

It’s also sad when peoples memories forget how great Murray and Wawrinka once were, but I guess peoples memories fade with time…

Anyone that remembers both in the prime will know how great they were - heck both beat Djokovic in two major finals of each - that’s HoF worthy without the rest of the career achievements.

But I think time is time for both of them now.

Hi strangers!!

Agree here. it's now getting a bit upsetting to watch both. Maybe Andy could have one last 'hurrah' at Wimbledon and bow out there.

Zverev breaks Alcaraz at the first attempt & has moved to 3-0 in the first set.

Zverev races away with the first set, winning it 6-1.

And he takes the second, 6-3.

Zverev breaks early in the 3rd, 3-1 up.