A last-16 hot date at Wimbledon? Demon's not Djok-ing
Alex de Minaur has been put on a collision course to face Novak Djokovic in the last 16 at Wimbledon after the draw threw up the intriguing prospect of the pair enjoying the duel that got away last year.
The duo were scheduled to meet in the quarter-finals in 2024, but de Minaur had to pull out with a hip injury he had suffered at the end of his last-16 match against Arthur Fils.
Friday's draw at the All England Club raised the prospect of a fourth-round meeting between the pair if they negotiate a fairly kind-looking opening week.
De Minaur, who suffered a shock early exit at the French Open, will open up against Spanish clay-court battler Roberto Carballes Baena and could meet fellow Aussie Adam Walton in the second round if the Queenslander can beat French qualifier Arthur Cazaux first-up.
De Minaur's most likely third-round opponent would be Czech 21st seed Tomas Machac, while the main early danger to seven-time champion Djokovic could be American Alex Michelsen, the 30th seed, in the last-32.
De Minaur looks the best hope among the 17-strong Australian singles battalion at Wimbledon, the biggest green-and-gold contingent at a single Championships for 30 years.
Talia Gibson, the 21-year-old from Perth who saved a match point in her final qualifying round before progressing to her maiden Wimbledon, has been handed perhaps the biggest glamour draw against Naomi Osaka, the four-time grand slam champ from Japan who in May won her first tournament since her return from a maternity break.
Priscilla Hon, another Aussie who saved match points on Thursday en route to her maiden Wimbledon appearance, also has a tough task, up against 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Maya Joint, the US-born teenager who's enjoying another breakthrough week by reaching her first grass-court semi-final at Eastbourne, has been handed a tough opener against Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the 19th seed who reached the semi-finals at the Berlin Open last week.
In her first Wimbledon representing Australia, Daria Kasatkina, the 16th seed, should beat Colombian Emiliana Arango in the opening round, while Alex Bolt's daunting reward for getting through qualifying to make his fourth main-draw appearance will be a brutal examination from American 10th seed Ben Shelton.
The battle between the two big-hitting lefties appeals to Bolt, who when asked if he felt the US Open semi-finalist was beatable on grass, told AAP: "Yeah, absolutely. On my day, I feel like my level's as good as anyone else. As long as I execute, I think there's no reason why I can't win."
One intriguing tennis "Ashes'' clash will see 20th seed Alexei Popyrin tackling British wildcard Arthur Fery.
Men's champion Carlos Alcaraz kicks off his title defence against the old Italian swashbuckler Fabio Fognini, and world No.1 Jannik Sinner plays on Tuesday against fellow Italian Luca Nardi.
Women's champion Barbora Krejcikova, currently looking an injury doubt, opens her defence on Tuesday on Centre Court against Flilipino Alexandra Eala, and top seed Aryna Sabalenka starts against confident Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine.
WHO THE AUSTRALIANS FACE IN WIMBLEDON FIRST ROUND (prefix number denotes seeding) (Q = qualifier) (WC = wildcard)
MEN
(11) Alex de Minaur v Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)
(20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR)
Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE)
Aleksandar Vukic v Chun-Hsin Tseng (TPE)
Rinky Hijikata v David Goffin (BEL)
Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
Adam Walton v (Q) Arthur Cazaux (FRA)
James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
James McCabe (Q) v Fabian Marozsan (HUN)
Alex Bolt (Q) v (10) Ben Shelton (USA)
WOMEN
(16) Daria Kasatkina v Emiliana Arango (COL)
Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO)
Maya Joint v (19) Liudmila Samsonova (RUS)
Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL)
Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Priscilla Hon (Q) v (18) Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
Alex de Minaur has been put on a collision course to face Novak Djokovic in the last 16 at Wimbledon after the draw threw up the intriguing prospect of the pair enjoying the duel that got away last year.
The duo were scheduled to meet in the quarter-finals in 2024, but de Minaur had to pull out with a hip injury he had suffered at the end of his last-16 match against Arthur Fils.
Friday's draw at the All England Club raised the prospect of a fourth-round meeting between the pair if they negotiate a fairly kind-looking opening week.
De Minaur, who suffered a shock early exit at the French Open, will open up against Spanish clay-court battler Roberto Carballes Baena and could meet fellow Aussie Adam Walton in the second round if the Queenslander can beat French qualifier Arthur Cazaux first-up.
De Minaur's most likely third-round opponent would be Czech 21st seed Tomas Machac, while the main early danger to seven-time champion Djokovic could be American Alex Michelsen, the 30th seed, in the last-32.
De Minaur looks the best hope among the 17-strong Australian singles battalion at Wimbledon, the biggest green-and-gold contingent at a single Championships for 30 years.
Talia Gibson, the 21-year-old from Perth who saved a match point in her final qualifying round before progressing to her maiden Wimbledon, has been handed perhaps the biggest glamour draw against Naomi Osaka, the four-time grand slam champ from Japan who in May won her first tournament since her return from a maternity break.
Priscilla Hon, another Aussie who saved match points on Thursday en route to her maiden Wimbledon appearance, also has a tough task, up against 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Maya Joint, the US-born teenager who's enjoying another breakthrough week by reaching her first grass-court semi-final at Eastbourne, has been handed a tough opener against Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the 19th seed who reached the semi-finals at the Berlin Open last week.
In her first Wimbledon representing Australia, Daria Kasatkina, the 16th seed, should beat Colombian Emiliana Arango in the opening round, while Alex Bolt's daunting reward for getting through qualifying to make his fourth main-draw appearance will be a brutal examination from American 10th seed Ben Shelton.
The battle between the two big-hitting lefties appeals to Bolt, who when asked if he felt the US Open semi-finalist was beatable on grass, told AAP: "Yeah, absolutely. On my day, I feel like my level's as good as anyone else. As long as I execute, I think there's no reason why I can't win."
One intriguing tennis "Ashes'' clash will see 20th seed Alexei Popyrin tackling British wildcard Arthur Fery.
Men's champion Carlos Alcaraz kicks off his title defence against the old Italian swashbuckler Fabio Fognini, and world No.1 Jannik Sinner plays on Tuesday against fellow Italian Luca Nardi.
Women's champion Barbora Krejcikova, currently looking an injury doubt, opens her defence on Tuesday on Centre Court against Flilipino Alexandra Eala, and top seed Aryna Sabalenka starts against confident Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine.
WHO THE AUSTRALIANS FACE IN WIMBLEDON FIRST ROUND (prefix number denotes seeding) (Q = qualifier) (WC = wildcard)
MEN
(11) Alex de Minaur v Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)
(20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR)
Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE)
Aleksandar Vukic v Chun-Hsin Tseng (TPE)
Rinky Hijikata v David Goffin (BEL)
Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
Adam Walton v (Q) Arthur Cazaux (FRA)
James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
James McCabe (Q) v Fabian Marozsan (HUN)
Alex Bolt (Q) v (10) Ben Shelton (USA)
WOMEN
(16) Daria Kasatkina v Emiliana Arango (COL)
Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO)
Maya Joint v (19) Liudmila Samsonova (RUS)
Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL)
Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Priscilla Hon (Q) v (18) Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
Alex de Minaur has been put on a collision course to face Novak Djokovic in the last 16 at Wimbledon after the draw threw up the intriguing prospect of the pair enjoying the duel that got away last year.
The duo were scheduled to meet in the quarter-finals in 2024, but de Minaur had to pull out with a hip injury he had suffered at the end of his last-16 match against Arthur Fils.
Friday's draw at the All England Club raised the prospect of a fourth-round meeting between the pair if they negotiate a fairly kind-looking opening week.
De Minaur, who suffered a shock early exit at the French Open, will open up against Spanish clay-court battler Roberto Carballes Baena and could meet fellow Aussie Adam Walton in the second round if the Queenslander can beat French qualifier Arthur Cazaux first-up.
De Minaur's most likely third-round opponent would be Czech 21st seed Tomas Machac, while the main early danger to seven-time champion Djokovic could be American Alex Michelsen, the 30th seed, in the last-32.
De Minaur looks the best hope among the 17-strong Australian singles battalion at Wimbledon, the biggest green-and-gold contingent at a single Championships for 30 years.
Talia Gibson, the 21-year-old from Perth who saved a match point in her final qualifying round before progressing to her maiden Wimbledon, has been handed perhaps the biggest glamour draw against Naomi Osaka, the four-time grand slam champ from Japan who in May won her first tournament since her return from a maternity break.
Priscilla Hon, another Aussie who saved match points on Thursday en route to her maiden Wimbledon appearance, also has a tough task, up against 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Maya Joint, the US-born teenager who's enjoying another breakthrough week by reaching her first grass-court semi-final at Eastbourne, has been handed a tough opener against Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the 19th seed who reached the semi-finals at the Berlin Open last week.
In her first Wimbledon representing Australia, Daria Kasatkina, the 16th seed, should beat Colombian Emiliana Arango in the opening round, while Alex Bolt's daunting reward for getting through qualifying to make his fourth main-draw appearance will be a brutal examination from American 10th seed Ben Shelton.
The battle between the two big-hitting lefties appeals to Bolt, who when asked if he felt the US Open semi-finalist was beatable on grass, told AAP: "Yeah, absolutely. On my day, I feel like my level's as good as anyone else. As long as I execute, I think there's no reason why I can't win."
One intriguing tennis "Ashes'' clash will see 20th seed Alexei Popyrin tackling British wildcard Arthur Fery.
Men's champion Carlos Alcaraz kicks off his title defence against the old Italian swashbuckler Fabio Fognini, and world No.1 Jannik Sinner plays on Tuesday against fellow Italian Luca Nardi.
Women's champion Barbora Krejcikova, currently looking an injury doubt, opens her defence on Tuesday on Centre Court against Flilipino Alexandra Eala, and top seed Aryna Sabalenka starts against confident Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine.
WHO THE AUSTRALIANS FACE IN WIMBLEDON FIRST ROUND (prefix number denotes seeding) (Q = qualifier) (WC = wildcard)
MEN
(11) Alex de Minaur v Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)
(20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR)
Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE)
Aleksandar Vukic v Chun-Hsin Tseng (TPE)
Rinky Hijikata v David Goffin (BEL)
Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
Adam Walton v (Q) Arthur Cazaux (FRA)
James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
James McCabe (Q) v Fabian Marozsan (HUN)
Alex Bolt (Q) v (10) Ben Shelton (USA)
WOMEN
(16) Daria Kasatkina v Emiliana Arango (COL)
Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO)
Maya Joint v (19) Liudmila Samsonova (RUS)
Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL)
Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Priscilla Hon (Q) v (18) Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
Alex de Minaur has been put on a collision course to face Novak Djokovic in the last 16 at Wimbledon after the draw threw up the intriguing prospect of the pair enjoying the duel that got away last year.
The duo were scheduled to meet in the quarter-finals in 2024, but de Minaur had to pull out with a hip injury he had suffered at the end of his last-16 match against Arthur Fils.
Friday's draw at the All England Club raised the prospect of a fourth-round meeting between the pair if they negotiate a fairly kind-looking opening week.
De Minaur, who suffered a shock early exit at the French Open, will open up against Spanish clay-court battler Roberto Carballes Baena and could meet fellow Aussie Adam Walton in the second round if the Queenslander can beat French qualifier Arthur Cazaux first-up.
De Minaur's most likely third-round opponent would be Czech 21st seed Tomas Machac, while the main early danger to seven-time champion Djokovic could be American Alex Michelsen, the 30th seed, in the last-32.
De Minaur looks the best hope among the 17-strong Australian singles battalion at Wimbledon, the biggest green-and-gold contingent at a single Championships for 30 years.
Talia Gibson, the 21-year-old from Perth who saved a match point in her final qualifying round before progressing to her maiden Wimbledon, has been handed perhaps the biggest glamour draw against Naomi Osaka, the four-time grand slam champ from Japan who in May won her first tournament since her return from a maternity break.
Priscilla Hon, another Aussie who saved match points on Thursday en route to her maiden Wimbledon appearance, also has a tough task, up against 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Maya Joint, the US-born teenager who's enjoying another breakthrough week by reaching her first grass-court semi-final at Eastbourne, has been handed a tough opener against Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the 19th seed who reached the semi-finals at the Berlin Open last week.
In her first Wimbledon representing Australia, Daria Kasatkina, the 16th seed, should beat Colombian Emiliana Arango in the opening round, while Alex Bolt's daunting reward for getting through qualifying to make his fourth main-draw appearance will be a brutal examination from American 10th seed Ben Shelton.
The battle between the two big-hitting lefties appeals to Bolt, who when asked if he felt the US Open semi-finalist was beatable on grass, told AAP: "Yeah, absolutely. On my day, I feel like my level's as good as anyone else. As long as I execute, I think there's no reason why I can't win."
One intriguing tennis "Ashes'' clash will see 20th seed Alexei Popyrin tackling British wildcard Arthur Fery.
Men's champion Carlos Alcaraz kicks off his title defence against the old Italian swashbuckler Fabio Fognini, and world No.1 Jannik Sinner plays on Tuesday against fellow Italian Luca Nardi.
Women's champion Barbora Krejcikova, currently looking an injury doubt, opens her defence on Tuesday on Centre Court against Flilipino Alexandra Eala, and top seed Aryna Sabalenka starts against confident Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine.
WHO THE AUSTRALIANS FACE IN WIMBLEDON FIRST ROUND (prefix number denotes seeding) (Q = qualifier) (WC = wildcard)
MEN
(11) Alex de Minaur v Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)
(20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR)
Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE)
Aleksandar Vukic v Chun-Hsin Tseng (TPE)
Rinky Hijikata v David Goffin (BEL)
Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
Adam Walton v (Q) Arthur Cazaux (FRA)
James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
James McCabe (Q) v Fabian Marozsan (HUN)
Alex Bolt (Q) v (10) Ben Shelton (USA)
WOMEN
(16) Daria Kasatkina v Emiliana Arango (COL)
Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO)
Maya Joint v (19) Liudmila Samsonova (RUS)
Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL)
Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Priscilla Hon (Q) v (18) Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
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F1 practice makes perfect as Norris pips Piastri
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We were quite competitive until the end, and then you can see really it goes above a certain threshold of temperature and we lose performance," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports television. "The McLarens in high-speed (corners) are going to be very difficult to match. "We changed the balance a bit yesterday and that was in a direction that wasn't so perfect. It came back more today, but then the track temperature developed so drastically during the session, we went from 33 degrees to 42 and that makes a big difference." Mercedes had Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli seventh, ahead of Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10. Norris was also fastest in Friday's second session and is looking determined after drawing a blank in Canada two weeks ago when he collided with Piastri. 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F1 practice makes perfect as Norris pips Piastri
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British and Irish Lions produce classy showing to beat Western Force 54-7 after hosts put up first half fight
A classy British and Irish Lions display has helped them begin their first Australian tour in 12 years with a bang as they downed Western Force 54-7 at Optus Stadium. But in front of a club record 46,656 fans, the Force hardly disgraced themselves as they fought tooth and nail and more than matched their star-studded opponents in an engrossing opening stanza. In the most important exhibition match this version of the Force will ever play, they refused to let the occasion over-awe them in the first half as they met fire with fire. But in a game of moments, it was the visitors who showed their class, taking a mile when granted an inch by the Force, who had more possession and territory by half-time, but found themselves 21-7 down at the break. Pretty passing patterns mesmerised the Force, and then rapid-fire offloads opened up channels the Lions all too happily exploited, and three tries in the 15 minutes after half-time killed off the contest. Young Lions whizz Henry Pollock justified the hype and the back-rower was at the centre of everything as he set-up two tries, was the centre of a full-team melee and was yellow carded on the stroke of half-time. But while the likes of Pollock, fly-half Finn Russell, full-back Elliot Daly and Aussie Irishman Mack Hansen would have given Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt food for thought ahead of the looming three-Test series. However, Schmidt would have also been encouraged by the performance of several players he released from his squad to link up with their Force teammates — none more so than Dylan Pietsch. Pietsch played like a man on fire and had plenty of support from fellow winger Mac Grealy as the game went on, the pair driving through contact and gaining metres through sheer will power, while Wallabies squad members Tom Robertson and Nick Champion de Crespigny also impressed. Once the Lions fans had spilled out of the watering holes and turned the Burswood peninsula red, it took less than two minutes for the tourists to stamp their credentials as rugby's answer to the Harlem Globetrotters. Russell's precise cross-field kick picked out his captain Dan Sheehan, and the front-rower flipped the ball inside to James Lowe before accepting the off-load and scoring. The Force had barely touched the ball by that point, but the outstanding Pietsch scooped the resultant kick-off out of the sky to rescue possession. After 19 phases of Force pressure and close calls on the try-line to Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Darcy Swain and Ben Donaldson, Nic White scrambled over and Donaldson converted to level the scores. The Lions infringed frequently early, and in a sign of the Force's intent, they opted for touch rather than the posts, although they could not turn their set-piece supremacy into points. Pollock helped restore the Lions' advantage in the 17th minute when his sharp pass found Josh van der Flier and the English back-rower almost took the offload to the house with a barnstorming run, before his clever pass allowed Tomos Williams to score. The Force continued to knock on the door, but the Lions refused to let them in, and they put some distance between the two sides when Russell's quick tap-and-go caught the hosts napping. After Daly had plunged over, Nick Champion de Crespigny found himself at odds with Pollock and the pair tangled, triggering a full-team pushing and shoving match. Lightning struck not once, not twice, but thrice after the break as the Lions ripped the life out of the game with violent ferocity. A stinging counter-attack saw the Lions roar down the right edge and Williams acrobatically touched down for his second try of the night although immediately clutched at a hamstring afterwards. Once more down the right wing did the Lions go in the 52nd minute and some lovely passing from Russell and Daly ended in a Garry Ringrose try. Three minutes later, Pollock showed his class as the forward ran down his own chip and chase inside the 22 and Joe McCarthy lumbered over to make it 40-7. As the Force tired late and their bench entered the game, the Lions played with their food and Daly ran in his second try of the night before Hansen set up Alex Mitchell for their eighth try as time expired.
