Two young Russians caused massive upsets under the roofs to beat Ons Jabeur and Caroline Wozniacki on Day Four of the Australian Open – and showed they can be future superstars. The Aussie No.1 kept the dream alive of a first male home winner here since 1976 with a revenge win over an Italian.
And Jannick Sinner claims he fears no-one in pursuit of his first Grand Slam title though he wants a “Baywatch” body.
The start of play on the outside courts was delayed in the morning because of heavy rain after a dramatic change in temperature from Tuesday. There are no Brits in action today with Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Cam Norrie and Jack Draper playing in the second round on Thursday
Another Grand Slam heartbreak for Jabeur
The popular Tunisian has lost in the last two Wimbledon finals and the 2022 US Open final. But the world No.6’s wait for her maiden Grand Slam title goes on as she was thrashed in only 54 minutes by 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva. The first set took only 20 minutes in the Rod Laver Arena.
The Russian reached the junior title here last year and made even more headlines by claiming Andy Murray is “so beautiful in life” when she saw the Scot at the Madrid Masters.
Now Andreeva, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, has shocked the world No.6 who she grew up idolising. “I was really nervous before the match because I’m really inspired by Ons and the way she plays,” she said. “Before I started on the WTA Tour, I always watched her matches and was always so inspired by the way she played. Now I had the chance to play against her. Today I played amazing tennis in the first set. Honestly I didn’t expect that of myself.”
It is the second successive year that Jabeur has lost in the second round in Melbourne.
Another super mum is out
After Naomi Osaka lost in the first round, the 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki was shocked by Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva 1-6 6-4 6-1 in the John Cain Arena.
Timofeeva is world No.170 and playing her first Grand Slam. But after losing the first set and trailing 0-2, she played fearless tennis and hit 40 winners for the biggest win of her career.
“I’m really a bit speechless now,” Tomafeeva said. “It was an honour to play here against Caroline today. I was going into the match without any expectations. I enjoyed every second of it.”
Wozniacki, who was playing here for the first time since 2020 after giving birth to two children, had looked impressive in her first round win over No.20 seed Magda Linette. “She played at a very high level today,” said the Dane. “I don’t know what she normally plays like, but I think she played very well. I did my best. I was out there fighting.”
Alex De Minaur loves winning – and his Mini
Katie Boulter’s boyfriend was in ruthless form as the No.10 seed beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 6-0 6-3. The Aussie No.1 won 11 consecutive games from 4-3 in the first set to take control of the match.
And then he explained he had extra motivation in front of the home crowd after as Arnaldi was part of Italy’s victorious Davis Cup team and beat Aussie Alexei Popyrin the final. De Minaur then lost to Jannick Sinner
“It is no secret – it was heartbreaking at the end of the year to lose to Italy in the Davis Cup final,” said the Aussie. “Today was a little bit of revenge for Australia and I am happy to be in the next round.”
After the win, Channel 9 interviewer Jim Courier showed pictures of De Minaur’s 1973 Mini on the big screen in the Rod Laver Arena.
“It just turned 50 years old last December and we had a big party for it,” said the Sydney-born star. “Normally it is pretty good in the morning but that is part of the fun. It is still my baby and I love it.”
Another win for Sinner
The Italian beat Novak Djokovic three times in November in the group stages of the ATP Nitto Finals and then twice at the Davis Cup in singles and doubles
And the world No.4 is one of the few men who can stop the Serbian superstar winning an 11th title here.
“It doesn’t matter who you play against,” Sinner said . “You fear against nobody, but a lot of respect for everyone. That is what I try to show everyone.”
The Italian then joked about his conditioning with the Aussie crowd in his post-match interview after beating Dutchman Jeser de Jong 6-2 6-2 6-2 in the Margaret Court Arena. “Of course, it’s the dream to have the Baywatch physicality, but it’s ok,” he laughed.
