Sinner toughs it out as Tien crashes, Monfils retires at Melbourne Park

Published January 21, 2025
KAZAKHSTAN’S Elena Rybakina eyes a return against Madison Keys of the US during their Australian Open fourth-round match at Melbourne Park on Monday.—AFP
KAZAKHSTAN’S Elena Rybakina eyes a return against Madison Keys of the US during their Australian Open fourth-round match at Melbourne Park on Monday.—AFP

MELBOURNE: Jannik Sinner battled through illness and rea­ched the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday but the physical demands of Grand Slam tennis proved too much for French veteran Gael Monfils and American teenager Learner Tien.

Iga Swiatek was in excellent shape as she continued her bid for a maiden title at Melbourne Park and sixth major by downing lucky loser Eva Lys 6-0, 6-1, but Elena Rybakina could not shake off a back problem and fell 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to Madison Keys.

Monfils, 38, was forced to retire with his own back issue while trailing American young gun Ben Shelton 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 1-0, ending an inspired run at the year’s first Grand Slam after his Auckland triumph.

The stifling heat did not help defending champion Sinner when he started struggling physically in the second set of his fourth-round clash with Dane Holger Rune on a steamy afternoon at Rod Laver Arena.

The top seed did not want to go into detail on what was ailing him but admitted to having dizzy spells before a lengthy medical timeout in the third set that proved a turning point in his 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

“I wasn’t feeling really well,” said 23-year-old Sinner, who equalled the Italian record set by Nicky Pietrangeli by reaching his 10th Grand Slam quarter-final. “I think we saw that today, I was struggling physically.”

Sinner will next face home hope Alex de Minaur after he beat rising American Alex Michelsen 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-3 to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time.

“There is nothing I want more than to play well here in Australia. Glad I finally made it to the quarter-finals here but yeah let’s go for bigger and better things, come on!” eighth seed De Minaur said after the Rod Laver Arena night match.

Unseeded Lorenzo Sonego made it two Italians in the quarter-finals when he defeated hobbling 19-year-old American qualifier Tien 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, having also taken out Brazilian young gun Joao Fonseca.

“I’m so sad that he had a problem,” said the 29-year-old Sonego, who has never previously gone so deep at a Grand Slam and will face Shelton next. “It’s not the right way to win.”

Tien, who was bidding to become the youngest man to reach the quarters since Goran Ivanisevic did it as a 17-year-old in 1989, stretched his strapped right thigh after a double fault and never looked comfortable physically.

Ivanisevic was part of Rybakina’s team at Melbourne Park with her coach Stefano Vukov banned for the tournament by the WTA for a potential code of conduct breach.

The former Wimbledon champion said it was hardly an ideal situation and she was still feeling a back issue but was making no excuses after her loss to Keys in a roller-coaster match on Margaret Court Arena.

LEARNER Tien of the US returns a shot against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego during their fourth-round match.—Reuters
LEARNER Tien of the US returns a shot against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego during their fourth-round match.—Reuters

“I had some opportunities, but it is what it is,” the disappointed sixth seed said. “I need to work better.”

Keys was delighted to be back in the last eight at Melbourne a decade after the first of her two runs to the semi-finals.

“It’s hard to believe that it was 10 years ago,” she said. “But really proud of myself ... to be out here and still playing some good tennis all these years later, I’m happy.”

Keys will next play a familiar foe in Elina Svitolina, who downed Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1 in the opening singles match.

The 30-year-old Ukrainian was 4-1 down in the first set but rallied for a comfortable victory before writing the message “the Spirit of Ukraine” on the camera before she left the court.

Svitolina was back on Margaret Court Arena later to cheer on her husband Monfils, but there was no double delight.

That was reserved for Swiatek, who after her win got news that the World Anti-Doping Agency would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in her doping case after she tested positive for trimetazidine last year.

The Pole had accepted a one-month ban after explaining that her positive test was the result of contamination of her sleep medication melatonin.

Sinner is still facing the prospect of a ban after testing positive for the anabolic agent clostebol last year. The Italian was also cleared of wrongdoing, but WADA appealed to sport’s highest court, with a hearing starting on April 16.

A relieved Swiatek will next meet American Emma Navarro, who beat Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

DJOKOVIC ROW

Meanwhile, the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic wasn’t in action — he plays Carlos Alcaraz in a quarter-final blockbuster on Tuesday — but he was the story.

On Sunday he refused to do a routine on-court interview, his hasty exit drawing boos from the Rod Laver Arena crowd.

Afterwards he said it was in protest at Tony Jones, a top sports presenter with host broadcaster Channel Nine, who he accused of “insulting and offensive comments” towards him and Serbian fans.

Jones on Friday labelled Djokovic a “has-been”, among other things, and said: “Kick him out.”

Djokovic said he would boycott interviews with the TV station until he got an apology.

He later released a short video on X to explain his stance and it has been viewed more than 60 million times, and caught the attention of the site’s owner Elon Musk.

“It’s way better just to talk to the public directly than go through the negativity filter of legacy media,” Musk posted in response, with Djokovic replying: “Indeed.”

Tennis stars past and present and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese all waded into the row.Jones apologised on air Monday and hours later organisers Tennis Australia said: “Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested, and is now moving on and focusing on his next match.”

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2025

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