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Post by Admin on Feb 5, 2021 6:24:06 GMT
Reilly Opelka says he didn’t realise until he got to Australia that it “didn’t make sense” for international tennis players to be in the country during the COVID-19 situation. The American became the latest tennis star to cop a serve from fans for venting his pre-Australian Open frustrations on Friday, saying “nobody feels welcome” in Melbourne. Opelka wasn’t even among the 72 players forced into two weeks of hard quarantine and was allowed to train for up to five hours for the Open and the week-long Melbourne Summer Series preceding the season’s first grand slam. But that didn’t stop the World No.40 from taking to social media for a moan on Friday. “Nobody here feels welcome,” he tweeted. “But it’s too late, I have flown across the world. Would be pointless for me to go home now three days before the AO,” he said when reminded he was under no obligation to compete. "Well I’m not going to go home after all this. “I didn't realise how it didn't make sense for us to be in Australia in the first place, till after I got here. Never fun being somewhere you aren’t welcome.” Despite copping some public backlash, Opelka did receive support from Nick Kyrgios's coach Matt Reid.
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Post by Admin on Feb 5, 2021 21:11:03 GMT
Sofia Kenin appeared to be in tears as she exited the Yarra Valley Classic after Garbine Muguruza crushed the American 6-2, 6-2 in an Aus Open final rematch. Kenin has been talking about the pressure she has felt defending her Australian Open crown and her loss to Muguruza at the Yarra Valley Classic appeared to much. A year ago, Kenin was able to overcome the Spaniard to grab her first Grand Slam title. But this time the World No.4 had no answer to Muguruza after making 28 unforced errors. Muguruza has been in imperious form after only dropping four games in total in the two matches prior to the Kenin clash. However, fans were saddened to see Kenin in tears as she left the court after talking about the pressure she has been feeling.
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Post by Admin on Feb 6, 2021 4:20:15 GMT
World No.3 Naomi Osaka kept an unblemished run going to book her spot in the Gippsland Trophy semifinals on Friday, after the three-time Grand Slam champion eased past Irina-Camelia Begu 7-5, 6-1. "My opponent today, she was really tricky for me," Osaka said in her on-court post-match interview. "I’ve never played her before, so just to be able to not have to play that 10-point tiebreaker, for me, I’m really relieved." The weather threw a wrench into the schedule as on-and-off rain caused the Margaret Court Arena roof to be closed, but that did not prevent Osaka from attaining a 73-minute victory, where she hit 22 winners to just 11 unforced errors. "I feel like it’s more interesting that it’s different," Osaka said. "If I were to come out and for every day to be the same, I’m the type that gets bored, so a new challenge every day is definitely more interesting."
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Post by Admin on Feb 6, 2021 22:24:32 GMT
D. Collins vs. S. Williams | Yarra Valley Classic Quarterfinals | WTA Match Highlights Feb 5, 2021
Watch the Match Highlights from D. Collins vs. S. Williams, 02/05/2021
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Post by Admin on Feb 7, 2021 21:05:46 GMT
Elise Mertens defeated Kaia Kanepi in the final of the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne on Sunday. The seventh seed won in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. After the win, Mertens said, “The first tournament I played this year, so I'm very happy about the result, the way I played. [Kanepi is] definitely a big hitter. When the first serves go in, you have to make the returns to let her play. That's what I did. I didn't give a lot of free points, so that's always good against her. You know, get that one ball back, let her play the game, get the balls back, but also try to if you have the chance, attack”. Mertens converted all four break points she had on Kanepi’s serve. She also finished the one-hour-eight-minute-long match with 18 winners. This is Mertens’ sixth WTA title and her first since the 2019 Qatar Open. At the Australian Open, Mertens, who’s seeded 18th in the draw, has a tough opener against Canadian Leylah Fernandez. Mertens and Fernandez will play the first round on Tuesday. The men's top half and the women's bottom half open play on Monday, 8th February. Gippsland Trophy: It's Czech-mate for the Chans The women’s doubles title was won by the top-seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. The Czech duo defeated the second seeds Latisha and Hao-Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei 6-3, 7-6(4) in an hour and 32 minutes. Post-match, after the Gippsland Trophy title run, Krejcikova said, “We're just very happy we've been able to play well, beat everybody, and get a title. So, I hope we're going to continue well next week”. Then, speaking about her opponents, she added, “They’re just very good. They just came in really good shape, and I wish them all the best for next week too”.
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