Naomi Osaka joins an exclusive club of winners after her latest triumphant in Melbourne, Lucy and Eugene break it all the way down with special guest Anne-Marie Batson
The Men… Gael Monfils crashed out in the first round in five sets to Emil Ruusuvuori (the two were also quarantine hitting partners in Melbourne). Was in tears his press conference afterwards admitting that he’s struggling for confidence at the moment. GEMSlife also taking a break.
– Michael Mmoh (Lucy’s fave) won a five-set epic in the first round against Viktor Troicki and was able to have his moment on Rod Laver in the second round against Rafa Nadal.
– Frances Tiafoe gave eventual champion Novak Djokovic (Lucy & Anne-Marie’s pick) a scare in round two – took the world No1 to four sets. Some questionable line calls during that match… Hawkeye Live is discussed.
– Mikael Ymer reached the third round of a slam for the first time in his career. Took out Hubert Hurkacz in five sets in round one, the talented Spaniard Carlos Alcarez in round two before going out to Stefanos Tsitsipas – quarantine hitting partner. Big bro Elias lost in round one, but did take a set off number eight seed Diego Schwartzman.
– Felix Auger-Aliassime bounced back from his 7th ATP Tour final defeat to reach the fourth round. Played a blinder against friend and fellow countryman Denis Shapovalov in the third round and was two sets up against against Aslan Karatsev before falling in five and was very positive afterwards.
Naomi Osaka Reigns Supreme!!! The 23-year-old (Eugene’s pick) secured Grand Slam crown number four (4) and is unbeaten in all slam finals she’s played. Absurd! Supposedly had a “tough draw”, but absolutely sailed through – barring the Garbine Muguruza match where she saved match points. How good can she be?
– Serena played incredible tennis up until that semi-final against Osaka and was understandably emotional in her press conference afterwards. The 23-time Grand Slam champ is playing/moving better than she was this time last year which bodes well for Wimbledon!
– After badly twisting her ankle in the first set, a resilient Venus put up a strong fight in her second-round defeat to Sara Errani. Great to see Venus playing so well and we appreciated her “See you next year Australia” post on social media!
– Heather Watson and Coco Gauff both made it to the second round in singles. Enjoyed extended runs in doubles, as did Jasmine Paolini. (Coco & Caty McNally reached the quarters).
WTA Commentating Duties Anne-Marie talks about her WTA commentary debut during the Yarra Valley Classic, explains how the opportunity came about, her commentating style and reveals other events she’ll be working.
Upcoming events Open Sud de France (ATP 250) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2019 champ, makes his long-awaited return to the tour. Plays American Sebastian Korda in round one. M.Ymer is also in the draw, starts against Jiri Veseley.
– Singapore Tennis Open (ATP 250) Mmoh plays fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round. Qualifier Christopher Eubanks plays Alexei Popyrin in round one.
– Adelaide International (WTA 500) Gauff, Paolini and Asia Muhammad all in the qualifying draw for the Adelaide International event.
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