EMMA RADUCANU SAYS LATE-NIGHT OPENER 'MAKES NO SENSE' IN SWIPE AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Emma Raducanu will face Mananchaya Sawangkaew late on Sunday night, after just one practice session since arriving fron .Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images (Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images)

Emma Raducanu has criticised the Australian Open’s “very difficult” scheduling but remains focused on her game after being lined up to compete in a late-night slot on the opening day.

Raducanu will play her first-round match against Mananchaya Sawangkaew on Sunday night, leaving the British No 1 with minimal time to adjust to the conditions at Melbourne Park after competing in Hobart. With the Sunday start, the Australian Open’s first round is now split across three days, so Raducanu’s first match could have been played on Monday.

“It’s very difficult,” she said. “You would love to have more time in the environment, more time practising, but I guess I was pretty much handed the schedule to try and turn it around and make the most out of what is in front of me. I think it’s easy to get down and complain about it, but it’s not going to help. So I’m just trying to focus and turn it around for tomorrow.”

On Thursday, Raducanu lost to the world No 204, Taylah Preston, in the quarter-finals of the Hobart International. A delayed flight meant she only arrived in Melbourne late on Friday. She will have just one training session in Melbourne before her first round match.

Coming after a best-of five-sets men’s match, Alexander Bublik against Jenson Brooksby, Raducanu’s match is due to start at a late hour against Sawangkaew, a talented 23-year-old Thai who broke into the top 100 last June. Sawangkaew is ranked No 195 owing to a six-month injury layoff.

“I think it’s very difficult to be scheduling women’s matches after a potential five-set match,” said Raducanu. “To me, it doesn’t really make as much sense, but I think after seeing it, the initial reaction is probably, like: ‘Oh, it’s a late one.’ Then you deal with it, and you try and shift your day and adjust.

“Today I’m going to practise and see what it’s like. I don’t think I have been in that situation. Only once before maybe when I played the semis of the US Open. I played second night match, but other than that, I haven’t played that late. So for me, it’s a new experience, something that I need to learn to do. Hopefully if I’m playing this game for a long time, I’ll probably be in this situation again, so it’s a good learning step to try and adjust and deal with that day, as well.”

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic cited the Professional Tennis Players’ Association’s lawsuit against the governing bodies as a significant reason behind his surprise decision to sever ties with the organisation. Djokovic, who co-founded the PTPA alongside the former player Vasek Pospisil, announced at the beginning of the year that he would be stepping away.

“It was a tough call for me to exit the PTPA, but I had to do that, because I felt like my name was overused in pretty much every single article or communication channel,” he said. “I felt like people, whenever they think about PTPA, they think it’s my organisation, which is a wrong idea from the very beginning. So this was supposed to be everyone, every player’s organisation across the board, men and women.

“And I also didn’t like the way the leadership was taking the direction of the PTPA, and so I decided to step out. Does that mean that I’m not supporting PTPA? No, I am. I am still wishing them all the best, because I think that there is room and there is a need for 100% players-only representation existing in our ecosystem.

“Going back to the lawsuit, as well, back in Miami, March last year, it was partly I exited because of that, because I didn’t agree with everything that was in there, and I decided not to be one of the player plaintiffs. So that was also one of the big reasons.”

- Tumaini Carayol in Melbourne

VENUS WILLIAMS ON BECOMING THE OLDEST PLAYER TO PLAY THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN: 'YAY, YAY FOR ME'

Venus Williams, who received a wildcard to play at this year’s tournament, will become the oldest player to compete at the Australian Open at the age of 45.

Williams admitted that she needed to be kind to herself, adding that she was playing well on the court, in the way she was setting up and controlling the points. (AP Photo)

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams may have won an Australian Open singles title in her career, but that has not reduced her zest towards competing at the slam, starting on Sunday. Williams, who received a wildcard to play at this year’s tournament, will become the oldest player to compete at the Australian Open at the age of 45.

“This is the greatest place on Earth to play. I have had amazing memories here. I love challenges, so I’m up for the challenge.”

Williams, who will be making her 22nd main draw appearance, admitted that she had not thought of becoming the oldest player to play at Melbourne Park until it came out in the news.

“I hadn’t thought about it till it came out in the press, so yay, yay for me. Let’s do this,” she said.

Williams last played in the Australian Open five years ago and admitted that she was “grateful” to have received a wildcard for the 2026 edition, adding that the place around Melbourne Park felt the same, even though it had undergone a transformation.

“I’m super, super grateful for the opportunity from Tennis Australia. Grateful for the opportunity to play in front of the fans. I have just received so much support in the tournaments leading up, walking around the city and everything. My hope is to play my best,” she said.

“I don’t know my way around. I can hear the ghosts of the old footprint, but I’m lost. Definitely took a lot of wrong turns, but it’s great to see the expansion and the investment in tennis,” Williams added.

Williams admitted that she needed to be kind to herself, adding that she was playing well on the court, in the way she was setting up and controlling the points.

“At this point, I need to be kind to myself, because I’m getting so many things right, but, you know, there had been a lack of playing matches. So, you know, I’m playing well. I’m setting myself up each point to win points and controlling the points. That’s exactly how I’d want to play, and I’m playing the tennis I need to play.”

Williams will take on Serbia’s Olga Danilovic in the first round clash at the John Cain Arena on Sunday. She is a two-time runner-up in the singles event, having last reached the final in 2017.

She has, however, won four women’s doubles titles and one mixed doubles title, the last of the former coming in 2010.

- Express News Service

JANNIK SINNER BEATS ALEXANDER ZVEREV IN 3 SETS

Jannik Sinner of Italy gestures as he carries the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

MELBOURNE, Australia — There’s all sorts of ways beyond merely the score to measure just how dominant Jannik Sinner was while outplaying and frustrating Alexander Zverev during the 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory Sunday that earned the 23-year-old Italian a second consecutive Australian Open championship.

The zero break points Sinner faced. Or the 10 he accumulated. The 27-13 advantage in points that lasted at least nine strokes. Or the way Sinner accumulated more winners, 32 to 25, and fewer unforced errors, 27 to 45. The way Sinner won 10 of 13 points that ended with him at the net. Or the way he only let Zverev go 14 of 27 in that category, frequently zipping passing shots out of reach.

And here is one more bit of evidence: Listen to what Zverev told Sinner during the on-court trophy ceremony: “You’re the best player in the world, by far. I was hoping that I could be more of a competitor today, but you’re just too good. It’s as simple as that.”

That’s coming from the guy who is ranked No. 2 behind Sinner, who has held the No. 1 spot since last June and is not showing any signs of relinquishing it. This was the first Australian Open final between the men at No. 1 and No. 2 since 2019, when No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal — also in straight sets.

“It’s amazing,” Sinner said, “to achieve these things.”

That includes being the youngest man to leave Melbourne Park with the trophy two years in a row since Jim Courier in 1992-93 and the first man since Nadal at the French Open in 2005 and 2006 to follow up his first Grand Slam title by repeating as the champion at the same tournament a year later.

Since the start of 2024, Sinner has won three of the five major tournaments, including the U.S. Open in September, and his record in that span is 80-6 with a total of nine tournament titles. His current unbeaten run covers 21 matches.

The only thing that’s clouded the past 12 months for Sinner, it seems, is a doping case in which he was cleared by a ruling that was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He tested positive for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid twice last March but blamed it on an accidental exposure involving two members of his team who have since been fired. Sinner initially was exonerated in August; a hearing in the WADA appeal is scheduled for April.

While Sinner became the eighth man in the Open era (which began in 1968) to start his career 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, Zverev is the seventh to be 0-3, adding this loss to those at the 2020 U.S. Open and the 2024 French Open.

Those earlier setbacks both came in five sets. This contest was not that close. Not at all.

“We’re trying to do all the right work,” Zverev said. “I’m just not good enough.”

Just before Zverev began speaking into a microphone during the trophy ceremony, a voice cried out from the stands, making reference to two of the player’s ex-girlfriends who accused him of physical abuse.

During the match, there truly was only one moment that felt as if it contained a hint of tension. It came when Zverev was two points from owning the second set, leading it 5-4 and at love-30 on Sinner’s serve. But a break point — and a set point — never arrived.

Zverev dropped the next four points, making it 5-all, and Sinner emerged with the ensuing tiebreaker. No surprise there: He went 4-0 in those set-deciders over the past two weeks and has grabbed 16 of his past 18.

A year ago, Sinner went through a lot more trouble to earn his first Slam, needing to get past Novak Djokovic — who quit one set into his semifinal against Zverev on Friday because of a torn hamstring — first, before erasing a two-set deficit in the final against 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev.

This time, the 6-foot-3 (1.91-meter) Sinner applied pressure with an all-around style that does not really appear to have any holes as his sneakers squeak from a sprint to a slide that often nearly ends in the splits and he uses his long limbs to deliver deep groundstrokes.

On this night, he proved superior in just about every meaningful way, other than aces.

Returning serves from Zverev that reached 138 mph (223 kph), Sinner got the lone break of the opening set with a passing shot for a 5-4 lead. Zverev walked back behind the baseline, shaking his head while talking to his father and brother, who were seated in the front row of their courtside coaches’ box.

There was more negative body language after Sinner served out that set at love to continue his crescendo, the final note an ace at 120 mph (194 kph). Zverev trudged to his bench, shoulders sagging, and dropped his racket on an equipment bag, a gesture that conveyed annoyance more than anger. Later, it became the latter: Zverev cracked one racket on the court and used a racket to hit another on the sideline.

Understandable, given what Sinner was doing on the other side of the net.

- Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press

DANIELLE COLLINS IS JEERED OFF THE COURT AS SHE CRASHES OUT OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN - BUT TENNIS STAR DUBBED A 'BRAT' FOR ON-COURT ANTICS CLAIMS SHE HAS RECEIVED SIX SPONSORSHIP OFFERS AFTER TAKING ON HECKLERS

Collins flashed a gesture toward the crowd after being heckled as she left the court

•  The American pantomime villain lost to her compatriot in straight sets

• Collins was booed after sarcastically thanking spectators for 'paying my bills'

• She also insisted she wouldn't let the persistent heckling get under her skin 

Danielle Collins was booed off the court after being knocked out of the Australian Open following her defeat to fellow American Madison Keys on Saturday.

Collins, 31, became a pantomime villain at Melbourne Park after sarcastically hitting back at her hecklers, having defeated home favourite Destanee Aiava in the second round on Thursday before bragging about earning a 'big fat cheque'.

She also blew kisses at the crowd, cupped her ear and even slapped her backside. 

Collins had sarcastically cupped her ear after being jeered by the crowd on Thursday

One critic took exception to her behaviour, scathingly labelling her a 'brat', and there was no love lost when she returned to the court for her third round tie.

Collins, the 10th seed in the women's singles, smiled after being given a mixed reception when she walked out on centre court at Rod Laver Arena.

But cheers soon went up when she made her first double fault and despite showing glimpses of a fightback in the second set, Collins was downed 6-4 6-4. 

At the end of the first set, the chair umpire told the crowd to respect both players.

Collins endured a miserable display and also required a medical timeout at 4-3 down in the second set, with heavy strapping then applied to her left leg.

After crashing out, she hobbled off the court to more audible jeers and made a gesture to fans as she headed for the exit.

Speaking in her post-match press conference, Collins admitted she 'expected' to be booed by the crowd, but claimed it was a 'blessing' having received six sponsorship offers during the Grand Slam.

‘Like I said, I really do enjoy playing in these types of environments,' Collins said. 'It's what you work so hard for your entire life as a kid. I embraced it.

Obviously, I'm towards the end of my career, it's wonderful that I can capitalise on these opportunities.

‘I think that six different sponsorship opportunities come up this tournament alone, that's a great signal for me. Obviously, like I said, every fan contributes to that. It's been a real blessing.'

Collins was asked whether she could one day win back the Australian public, with the American claiming it was 'up to them' and suggested the crowd may have taken things too seriously.

'Someone was telling me the average age of people watching tennis is 65,' said Collins, who laughed off being labelled a 'brat'.

She believes she was primarily heckled because she was facing the last Australian standing

I think we need to bring some entertainment to the game and make jokes and laugh, I don't have a big ego when it comes to this, I don't care what is written about me.

'I don't care what some guy living in his basement is writing on the internet. You know what I mean? 

'I'm just trying to have fun. I'm just try to enjoy my life and have fun with it.’ 

A beaten finalist to Ash Barty in Melbourne in 2022, Collins had yelled at the crowd to 'shut up' after a fault during her pulsating victory over Aiava.

Later, however, she said she used the 'hostile atmosphere' as motivation.

'One of the greatest things about being a professional athlete is that the people that don't like you and the people that hate you, they actually pay your bills,' Collins said.

'My professional career is not going to last forever so I just remind myself every day when I have that kind of stuff [negative crowd reactions] they're paying my bills.

'Every person that has bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me or do what they do, it's all going towards the Danielle Collins fund.

'I think they really wanted for her to win badly. I think there were a lot of people that were super drunk and had a hard time controlling themselves and were really excited.

Keys won in straight sets two days on from Collins' dramatic victory over Destanee Aiava

'I'm from a different country, here competing against someone that's from here. Ultimately it wasà a pretty cool environment I thought. 

'Even though it was pretty rowdy, this girl loves it, so...

'All I have to say is good luck pissing somebody off or getting under the skin of somebody that really doesn't care.'

Speaking after her fourth round loss, Collins joked her friends on tour had asked whether they would be invited on the yacht after her on court vow to go on a luxury holiday. 

- DANIEL DAVIS

ARYNA SABALENKA THROUGH TO FOURTH ROUND OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN AFTER TOUGH BATTLE

MELBOURNE, VIC - JANUARY 12: Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates during Round 1 of the 2025 Australian Open on January 12 2025, at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka shrugged off a shaky display to fight her way into the fourth round of the Australian Open.

The Belarusian had a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over Denmark's Clara Tauson.

The day's first match on the Rod Laver Arena at the start of the sixth day of the championships was hardly vintage tennis, but Sabalenka was pleased to come away unscathed after a little over two hours in bright sunshine and challenging conditions.

"She played some unbelievable tennis," Sabalenka said.

"I'm super happy that I was able to close out this match and be in the fourth round."

Aryna Sabalenka is chasing a third straight Australian Open title at the 2025 tournament. Photo: Photosport

Sabalenka has been far from her devastating best in the first two rounds and against Tauson she dropped serve four times in a wobbly opening set, but her opponent was equally profligate as both players struggled with the sun and breeze.

"Conditions are really tough for serving, the balls are heavy and the surface slow so with the breaks," said Sabalenka, who conceded four breaks in the opening set of a match for the first time since San Diego in 2022.

"I was just thinking, just keep pushing through."

The first hold in the eighth game was greeted with a big round of applause as world number 42 Tauson surged to a 5-3 lead, but Sabalenka bounced back.

The top seed stabilised her own delivery and then drew level at 5-5 before Tauson recovered to save four set points and force a tiebreak, where she matched the big-hitting Belarusian punch for punch in the first 10 points.

Novak Djokovic continues his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title. Photo: AFP

Sabalenka shifted up a gear, however, and earned a set point with a stinging backhand winner before closing it out with a big forehand to leave Auckland champion Tauson a tad deflated after 63 minutes of toil.

The Dane gifted her opponent a break early in the second set but continued to carve out chances and made it to 4-4, only to fade away after a marathon game that had seven deuces as the momentum shifted one last time.

Sabalenka completed the win on serve to keep alive her bid to become the first woman to capture three successive titles at Melbourne Park since Martina Hingis from 1997-99.

Novak Djokovic resumes his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam title and 11th at Melbourne Park later in the day and Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff will also be in action on the main showcourts.

Meanwhile, Kiwi Erin Routliffe has progressed to third round with doubles partner Gaby Dabrowski.

The second seeds dropped the first set against Anna Sisková and Maia Lumsden, before coming back to claim the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

It was another tough battle for the pair, who were also made to come back from a precarious position in the opening round.

- Reuters

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: CLUTCH NAOMI OSAKA COMPLETES REVENGE MISSION AGAINST CAROLINE GARCIA

© Australian Open/X - Fair Use

Naomi Osaka has gotten her revenge over Caroline Garcia and clinched her first Australian Open win since 2022 after beating the Frenchwoman 6-3 3-6 6-3 in a match that finished 20 minutes past midnight in Melbourne. 

Last year, the Japanese returned to Melbourne Park as a mom and suffered a first-round loss to the former world No. 4.

Later in her press, Osaka didn't hide that she was very frustrated with the defeat.

This year, she drew the same opponent - in the same stage - again. 

But this time, Osaka was the one who ended on the winning side after firing seven aces and 25 winners, as well as converting four of her six break point chances. 

Naomi Osaka
© Australian Open/X - Fair Use

Throughout the match, it was an even battle. Even in the third set, there wasn't much separating the two but the only difference was that the former world No. 1 came up big in the key moments and realized her chances.

Now, the four-time Grand Slam champion is set for a very tough test as she plays next against 2023 French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova.

How Osaka beat Garcia?

In the first set, the two-time Australian Open champion went 2-of-2 on her break points in the fifth and ninth games and that was enough for her to seal the opener. 

After winning the first set, the Japanese had two consecutive game points in the first game of the second set but then hit a double fault - made some errors - and ended up losing her serve for the first time. 

That changed the rhythm of the match as Garcia stabilized and went on to force a decider after collecting another break in the ninth game.

However, Osaka was able to respond and prevent the Frenchwoman from completing a comeback win after breaking the 31-year-old twice in the third set.

While the Japanese claimed two breaks and didn't lose any of her service games in the decider, it should be noted that Garcia had a total of four break points across two games but the four-time Grand Slam winner saved it.

SABALENKA CRAVING SUCCESS IN DUBAI ON HEELS OF MELBOURNE TRIUMPH

Reuters 

 Aryna Sabalenka said it is in her nature to keep striving for success and that she has become addicted to that winning feeling as the Australian Open champion returns to action at the Dubai Championships this week.

The Belarusian won her second Grand Slam title with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Zheng Qinwen last month, becoming the first woman in 11 years to retain the Melbourne Park crown, and the 25-year-old said there is no chance she will rest on her laurels.

"My mindset is to keep doing what I'm doing, keep fighting, keep working. After my career, to look back and think, 'whoa, I was able to achieve that. That's crazy,'" said Sabalenka, who begins her Dubai campaign on Tuesday against Donna Vekic.

"I'm not the type person that's going to win something and stop. I'm addicted to wins.

"I feel like it's just something in my blood and I keep doing, keep working and hopefully keep winning."

SENSATIONAL SINNER DETHRONES DJOKOVIČ TO REACH AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL

Reuters 

 Jannik Sinner downed defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 at the Australian Open on Friday to hand the top seed a first defeat at his Melbourne Park fortress in six years and power into his maiden Grand Slam final.

Sinner's masterclass in the opening two sets set the wheels in motion for Djokovic's only defeat in the semi-finals of his favourite major. The youngster also became the first Italian player to reach an Australian Open singles final.

"It was a very, very tough match," said Sinner, who did not face a single break point in the match.

"I started out very well, for two sets I felt that he was not feeling too good on court so I just tried to keep pushing and then in the third set I had match point and I missed the forehand, but you know, this is tennis.

"I just tried to be ready for the next set, which I started off really well, and of course the atmosphere was so great. It's so great to play here."

Fourth seed Sinner stunned Djokovic twice in three matches at the end of last season and he made a rollicking start on Rod Laver Arena by targeting his 36-year-old opponent's shaky serve and error-prone backhand to comfortably win the opening set.

NO HANDSHAKES AS SABALENKA DOWNS UKRAINE'S TSURENKO IN THIRD ROUND

Reuters 

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka blocked out the political overtones of her third-round match against Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko at the Australian Open on Friday to ease into the second week of the Grand Slam with an easy 6-0 6-0 victory.

Sabalenka was last scheduled to face the Ukrainian at Indian Wells last year but Tsurenko withdrew after suffering a panic attack when talking with officials about the response of tennis to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for which Belarus was used as a staging ground.

Reigning champion and second seed Sabalenka is playing at Melbourne Park without official national affiliation under conditions imposed on Russian and Belarusian players by tournament organisers since the invasion.

The match itself was a one-sided affair played out in a muted atmosphere on Rod Laver Arena as Sabalenka ruthlessly handed 28th seed Tsurenko the dreaded "double bagel" in 52 minutes.

There was no traditional handshake over the net at the end of the match with the players merely acknowledging each other with a wave before heading off court.

SWIATEK, ZVEREV SURVIVES SCARE AS ALCARAZ MASTERS MELBOURNE WIND

Reuters 

 Iga Swiatek and Alexander Zverev both had to fight their way back from the brink of defeat to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday, a day of close shaves and tight matches at Melbourne Park.

Carlos Alcaraz had a less fraught outing on Rod Laver Arena but the 20-year-old was certainly tested as he matched his best previous performance at the year's opening Grand Slam by getting past the second round.

Women's top seed Swiatek had earlier shown all the fight of a four-times Grand Slam champion as she rallied from two breaks down in the final set to beat Danielle Collins 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Swiatek knew she was in for a potentially tricky contest in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena as Collins had beaten her in the Melbourne Park semi-finals in 2022.

The 30-year-old American, who said after the match that she would be retiring this season, came out firing after losing the opening set and Swiatek needed her best tennis to overhaul a 4-1 deficit by rattling off the last five games in the third set.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN UPS PRIZE MONEY BY 13% FOR TOTAL POOL OF $58.4M

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australian Open tennis officials have announced an increase in prize money by 10 million Australian dollars ($6.8 million) for the upcoming tournament which begins on Jan. 14 at Melbourne Park.

Tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement Friday that the Grand Slam tournament will now offer 86.5 Australian dollars ($58.4 million) in total prize money.

The U.S. Open announced in August that it was increasing its total prize money and player compensation to a record $65 million, which is the highest among the four Grand Slam tournaments.

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