SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER!
 
 
Facebook Social Button Twitter Social Button Follow Us on InstagramYouTube Social Button
NewsScoresRankingsLucky Letcord PodcastShopPro GearPickleballGear Sale


By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday February 13, 2021


The ambiance shifted dramatically at the Australian Open on Day 6, as the tournament began a five-day lockdown along with the state of Victoria that kept fans away from the site and left players in empty stadiums.

Tennis Express

But that didn’t change things for a lot of the top players on the men’s side, as top seeds like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and Andrey Rublev powered into the second week to ratchet up the heat on the predominant powers of the game, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Tsitsipas put the screws to his quarantine practice partner, Mikael Ymer of Sweden, as he notched a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 victory in a cool 92 minutes.

That was good news for the Greek, who needed four and a half hours to get past Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis on Day 4, and will need all his energy if he is to push further than ever before in a Grand Slam.

“Clean game,” Tsitsipas told reporters after the match. “I think I kept things simple, didn't complicate whatever tactics or whatever use of my game I wanted to execute today. I'd say I entered a little bit stressed in the match. I don't know why, for which reasons, but over time I got used to the conditions, to the big court, and I think I managed to sustain my level and even raise my level once I got a few breaks ahead. That gave me a lot of confidence, and I felt like I was on top of my game at that point.”

One of the matchups that many pundits have been drooling over since the draw came out has come to fruition as Berrettini defeated Karen Khachanov in straight sets, 7-6(1), 7-6(5), 7-6(5), but the victory was not without its consequences. Berrettini injured his left side during the third set and looked to be hobbled, but he recovered and was able to finish off the Russian in 2:59.

Berrettini and Tsitsipas were two of the most impressive players at last week’s ATP Cup and the matchup could be epic, if Berrettini is healthy enough to play his brand of tennis.

Rublev Rolls On

Andrey Rublev is another player that has been turning heads for a while now and the Russian has continued his torrid tennis this week in Melbourne. He improved to 7-0 on the season with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 victory over 39-year-old Feliciano Lopez.

The Russian joins compatriots Daniil Medvedev and Aslan Karatsev in the round of 16, which marks the first time in Australian Open history that three Russian men have made the second week.

Rublev has not been broken in his last two matches and he’ll take in a boatload of momentum into his fourth-round match with Norway’s Casper Ruud.

“It's going to be tough,” Rublev said. “It's going to be physical match because he have really great physical power. He can run a lot. He's using forehand really hard. And then it's going to be really tough match.”


 

Latest News