Winning trio get Aussie Wimbledon show back on the road
On another sweltering day in London on Tuesday, the pair raced into the second round by early afternoon and were swiftly joined by Aleksandar Vukic.
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Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Vukic hopes the touch of grass will be Sinner's undoing
On paper it is a mismatch, fortunately for Aleksandar Vukic he will be meeting Jannik Sinner, in the pick of Australia's quartet of Wimbledon day four second-round ties, on grass. An old cliché perhaps, but in this case it has relevance because of all the surfaces tennis is played on, grass is the one the Australian believes gives him the best chance of dethroning the world No.1. Vukic came into the grasscourt grand slam off the back of a terrible run of form. Since beating then 22-ranked Sebastian Korda in the second round of the Australian Open in January he played 14 tour-level matches losing all but one of them - a victory over 149-ranked Nicolas Moreno De Alboran in Rome in May. And in the following game Korda avenged that Melbourne loss. During this period the 29-year-old slipped from 67 to 93 in the rankings. By contrast, since the start of January 2024, Sinner has played 101 matches losing nine. Five of those defeats have come against Carlos Alcaraz, three of the others have been against Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, all ranked in the top 12 at the time. It is the outlier that gives Vukic hope, at Halle last month when the Italian lost to Alexander Bublik, ranked 45, at Halle on grass. "If there's a surface and a time to do it, it's probably now," he said ahead of Thursday's match (local time). "He's world No.1 for a reason. He didn't lose too many matches last year or this. If there's a surface to play him on it's probably this one, just because it's a bit more random, so more upsets can happen - hopefully I can be one of those." Vukic played Sinner in 2021 and 2022, losing in straight sets on both occasions, but they were on hard courts. "I think a hard court, when everything's in the perfect slot for him, that's where he feels at his most comfortable and you can't really get it out of his zone," added the Sydneysider. "Grass, you move so different on it. That's why I might actually have a good chance to expose him, just because it is grass and no one moves amazingly yet. "That's probably where I'll have more of an advantage than the previous times. Hopefully I can recognise that, but I'm going to have to play very well." Vukic has been here before. He's faced a world No.1, losing to Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells last year, and played a Wimbledon show court when he faced Carlos Alcaraz in the same round on Court No.1 last year. Vukic lost in straight sets, but took the first to a tie-break and feels that experience could be invaluable. "That definitely helps. I remember last year going onto the court for the first time. It's a little bit surreal, but it's also a little bit more peaceful, less distracting, because the outside courts are quite chaotic with a lot going on around. "The fans are very close, there's a lot going on from other matches as well. You hear kind of all the voices around." "Maybe," he joked, "I'll ask to play him on Court 18, see how he gets on out there." In reality the All England Club have scheduled the tie for prime time on Centre Court. Quite the stage for an upset. "Things will have to go my way. I'm going to have to serve very well for sure. I'll have to take my chances but I've got nothing to lose. The pressure's on him." The same applies to Ben Shelton, the US No.10 seed who Rinky Hijikata takes on, but also to Australia's No.1 man and woman, Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina. They will each be expected to progress against Arthur Cazaux and Irina-Camelia Begu respectively, who are both, co-incidentally, ranked 115th in the world. AUSSIES IN ACTION ON DAY FOUR AT WIMBLEDON (prefix denotes seeding):Men's singles, second round Aleksandar Vukic v 1-Jannik Sinner (ITA) 11-Alex de Minaur v Arthur Cazaux (FRA) Rinky Hijikata v 10-Ben Shelton (USA) Women's singles, second round 16-Daria Kasatkina v Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM)
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Vukic hopes the touch of grass will be Sinner's undoing
On paper it is a mismatch, fortunately for Aleksandar Vukic he will be meeting Jannik Sinner, in the pick of Australia's quartet of Wimbledon day four second-round ties, on grass. An old cliché perhaps, but in this case it has relevance because of all the surfaces tennis is played on, grass is the one the Australian believes gives him the best chance of dethroning the world No.1. Vukic came into the grasscourt grand slam off the back of a terrible run of form. Since beating then 22-ranked Sebastian Korda in the second round of the Australian Open in January he played 14 tour-level matches losing all but one of them - a victory over 149-ranked Nicolas Moreno De Alboran in Rome in May. And in the following game Korda avenged that Melbourne loss. During this period the 29-year-old slipped from 67 to 93 in the rankings. By contrast, since the start of January 2024, Sinner has played 101 matches losing nine. Five of those defeats have come against Carlos Alcaraz, three of the others have been against Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, all ranked in the top 12 at the time. It is the outlier that gives Vukic hope, at Halle last month when the Italian lost to Alexander Bublik, ranked 45, at Halle on grass. "If there's a surface and a time to do it, it's probably now," he said ahead of Thursday's match (local time). "He's world No.1 for a reason. He didn't lose too many matches last year or this. If there's a surface to play him on it's probably this one, just because it's a bit more random, so more upsets can happen - hopefully I can be one of those." Vukic played Sinner in 2021 and 2022, losing in straight sets on both occasions, but they were on hard courts. "I think a hard court, when everything's in the perfect slot for him, that's where he feels at his most comfortable and you can't really get it out of his zone," added the Sydneysider. "Grass, you move so different on it. That's why I might actually have a good chance to expose him, just because it is grass and no one moves amazingly yet. "That's probably where I'll have more of an advantage than the previous times. Hopefully I can recognise that, but I'm going to have to play very well." Vukic has been here before. He's faced a world No.1, losing to Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells last year, and played a Wimbledon show court when he faced Carlos Alcaraz in the same round on Court No.1 last year. Vukic lost in straight sets, but took the first to a tie-break and feels that experience could be invaluable. "That definitely helps. I remember last year going onto the court for the first time. It's a little bit surreal, but it's also a little bit more peaceful, less distracting, because the outside courts are quite chaotic with a lot going on around. "The fans are very close, there's a lot going on from other matches as well. You hear kind of all the voices around." "Maybe," he joked, "I'll ask to play him on Court 18, see how he gets on out there." In reality the All England Club have scheduled the tie for prime time on Centre Court. Quite the stage for an upset. "Things will have to go my way. I'm going to have to serve very well for sure. I'll have to take my chances but I've got nothing to lose. The pressure's on him." The same applies to Ben Shelton, the US No.10 seed who Rinky Hijikata takes on, but also to Australia's No.1 man and woman, Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina. They will each be expected to progress against Arthur Cazaux and Irina-Camelia Begu respectively, who are both, co-incidentally, ranked 115th in the world. AUSSIES IN ACTION ON DAY FOUR AT WIMBLEDON (prefix denotes seeding):Men's singles, second round Aleksandar Vukic v 1-Jannik Sinner (ITA) 11-Alex de Minaur v Arthur Cazaux (FRA) Rinky Hijikata v 10-Ben Shelton (USA) Women's singles, second round 16-Daria Kasatkina v Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM)
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Alcaraz ends Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure, Sabalenka advances
Carlos Alcaraz spoiled Oliver Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure as the defending champion moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over the British amateur on Wednesday after Aryna Sabalenka stemmed the tide of shock exits. A record-breaking number of seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round, but Alcaraz and women's world number one Sabalenka avoided seismic shocks on Centre Court. Second-seeded Alcaraz needed two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd. "First of all I have to give big praise to Oliver. In his second match on the tour, I just loved his game to be honest," Alcaraz said. "I knew I had to play my best tennis. I was really happy with my performance but big praise to him as well." Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club. The 22-year-old Spaniard, who fought back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, has won 31 of his 34 Tour-level matches on grass. His last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons. The world number two hopes to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after seven-time champion Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. In stark contrast to Alcaraz's fame and fortune, the unheralded Tarvet is just starting his tennis career and cannot even collect all of his Wimbledon prize money. As a student of the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old has to maintain amateur status and will have to give up most of his earnings. While Alcaraz is a five-time Grand Slam champion, Tarvet was playing just his second major main draw match after coming through three qualifiers and beating Leandro Riedi in the opening round. - 'I hope it's no upsets anymore' - Sabalenka had opened proceedings on Centre Court on Wednesday, out-duelling 48th-ranked Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a heavy-hitting contest. The Belarusian, who suffered painful defeats in the finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year, lashed an impressive 41 winners in a match lasting one hour and 35 minutes. It meant she avoided the fate of several top stars including second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, who crashed out in the first round. "Honestly it's very sad to see so many top players losing in the first round but you better focus on yourself and stay away from the results," said the three-time Grand Slam winner in her on-court interview. "I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!" Sabalenka was joined in the third round by sixth seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who made short work of Serbia's Olga Danilovic, winning 6-4, 6-2. In the first two days, eight of the top 10 seeded players across the men's and women's singles draws were eliminated, a Grand Slam record in the Open era. On the men's side, 13 seeded players lost in the first round, breaking the previous tournament record of 11 and tying the 2004 Australian Open for the most at a Grand Slam. Third seed Alexander Zverev was the highest-ranked man to fall, losing on Tuesday to France's Arthur Rinderknech. Italian seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti also lost against Nikoloz Basilashvili, while Rune and Daniil Medvedev, both seeded in the top 10, were defeated on Monday. American 12th seed Frances Tiafoe was the latest leading player to endure a surprise defeat, losing to British world number 61 Cameron Norrie 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 in the second round.
