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Tennis News, Rafa Nadal became the 1st player to advance in the 2022 Australian Open Men’s Singles Final on Sunday after he defeated Matteo Berrettini

by Sports Benches

Rafa Nadal became the first player, who just punched his ticket, for the men’s singles final on Sunday night. He was brilliant as always with the strong start that gave himself time to build a decent lead at 2-0, he was challenged on a few occasions when Matteo Berrettini fought back in the 3rd set but used the early 1st half momentum to his advantage & wrapped this up in three sets accrued out of four at Rod Laver Arena. Well done to the Spaniard as he’s looking to add Grand Slam title No.21 plus his 2nd championship here on Australian soil.

And Berrettini would be gutted to lose out to Rafa with the semi-final loss, like the fight he displayed in the 3rd set where it gave some renewed momentum following a 1-2 lead. However, a poor start gave Berretini too many gaps to fill having climbed back a couple of games late before Rafa comfortably crossed the finish line. He just couldn’t be on the same page as his opponent for the entire time, in which it’s one thing how his 2nd half momentum was cut short after the 3rd set with little patience being afforded to stay in the game.

All eyes on the 2nd semi-final tie at the same venue shortly with Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece v Russian Daniil Medvedev battling it out for the 2nd and last final ticket.

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Tennis News, Rafael Nadal confirmed as the first player into the Quarter-Finals of 2022 Australian Open after he defeated Adrian Mannarino in straight sets

by Sports Benches

Wow! This is such a brilliant contest we’ve just seen at Rod Laver Arena as Rafael Nadal is the first player confirmed into the Quarter-Finals, he had to overcome a grueling and competitive opening set run against Adrian Mannarino via tiebreaker before Nadal wrapped this up quick and easy in straight sets (6-7 via 14-16 tiebreaker, 2-6, 2-6).

Not the best day out there for Mannarino in the office, he fought really hard at the beginning where the Frenchman was on the same page as Rafa that went all the way & almost got snatched the early lead. However, he just couldn’t kick on ever since having fell way behind, as these consolation games Mannarino accrued later on reflected his next run of inconsistency & eventual elimination from this main draw.

And congratulations to Rafa with the win, the Spaniard endured plenty of highs throughout this tie such as when Rafa came out unscathed after a very competitive opening set tiebreak. It boosted his confidence before he used that early lead towards bridging that other half run towards the finish line, and Rafa wrapped this up in the next two sets without a fuss as he will now face Candadian Denis Shapovalov for a Final 4 spot on Tuesday.

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Tennis News, Alex De Minaur advances to Round 4 of the 2022 Australian Open v Jannik Sinner after he defeated Pablo Andujar in straight sets

by Sports Benches

What an easy win for Alex De Minaur here at Rod Laver Arena as the Aussie nailed down Spaniard Pablo Andujar in straight sets (4-6, 4-6, 2-6), he will now advance into the 4th round which is his career-best here so far and will face 11th seed Italian Jannik Sinner on Monday for a shot towards the Final 8.

Andujar was disappointed with the loss where he showed some fight that remained so competitive against De Minaur for the majority while fighting for these stage wins, he just missed that finishing part that fell just short twice before Andujar was wiped out this quick in the 3rd and final set.

And nice to see the Aussie crowd upped the noise for their hometown hero Alex De Minaur, who is the only guy still in contention, for the Round of 16. He’s got that build-up base going that allowed him to stretch a decent lead while Andujar fought back late, it gave him time to keep the momentum as this game goes on and it worked well where he went all-in with a super-easy run to the finish line.

We’ll see if this stella campaign from “The Demon” continues on Monday and have an extended shot towards the title.

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Taylor Fritz advances to Round 4 of the 2022 Australian Open after he defeated Roberto Bautista Agut thanks to an early start & 2nd half rebound

by Sports Benches

Such a brilliant contest between Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and American Taylor Fritz in R3 of the 2022 Australian Open at Kia Arena, Fritz had an easy start before Bautista Agut began to catch up with the next two sets that puts him a games away towards the finish. However, this tie isn’t over after all when Fritz went on to level 2-2 lead through the 5th set decider & blew Bautista Agut away with the win.

Final Score: 0-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6

Bautista Agut disappointed to leave early from the main draw, having not made it past the third round since 2019 when he last played in the Final 8 back then. He battled so hard after an uneasy opening set run & almost pulled off a stunning comeback with a 2-1 lead in set No.4, he was just unable to stop Fritz’s 2nd half rebound that went on and on until the Spaniard eventually ran out of ideas in the end after match point.

And Fritz played amazing tennis where he fired off well with a quick and easy opening set lead, now he may have been inconsistent a couple of times as it almost put Fritz on the brink of elimination but the American improved his 2nd half momentum when it comes to the executions and that helped play a big part of his comeback today.

We’ll see if Fritz can knock down another higher seed player in the 4th Round on Monday for a spot in the Final 8, this time it’s coming from the Top 5 in Greek Stefanos Tsitipas, who was a semi-finalist here last year.

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Tennis News, Matteo Berrettini wrapped up a gruelling four-hour duel against Carlos Alcaraz with the win at Rod Laver Arena

by Sports Benches

Just saw an entertaining four-hour showdown at Rod Laver Arena where Matteo Berrettini took the first two sets before Carlos Alcaraz came out of nowhere and tied a 2-2 lead that went to a 5th set decider, but it’s Berrettini, who rejuvenated himself, during the best of ten tiebreaks & came out on top with three sets pocketed out of the best of five.

Final Score: 2-6, 6-7 via 3-7 tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 via 5-10 tiebreaker

Well done to Berrettini with the hard-fought win as he will face Pablo Carreno Busta from Spain for Round 4, it wasn’t hard for the Italian to get the ground running when he was close to wrap up the game at the first attempt in straight sets. Although he had some tough moments where he lost the next two sets that included a fall along the way, but he later backed up his early lead advantage that gave him enough time to escape & prevented Alcaraz from plotting an upset.

And unlucky with the 3rd Round elimination from Alcaraz, who has plenty of potential of becoming the next Grand Slam superstar, at just 18 years old, having made it to the US Open Quarter-Final last year & sure this close loss will help him bounce back next time. Like the way how he stopped Berrettini from an early finish in the 3rd set & began to catch up with a 2-2 lead, he almost pulled off an upset, unfortunately, Alcarez just ran out of fire via the deciding tiebreak that saw Berrettini as the winner instead.

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Tennis News, John Millman lights up last night for the Aussies in Round 1 of 2022 Australian Open v Spain’s Feliciano Lopez

by Sports Benches

It’s great to see another Aussie advance into Round 2 of this year’s Australian Open when John Millman nailed down Feliciano Lopez from Spain last night at Margaret Court Arena, he fired off well with an nice and easy first two sets.

It may not have gotten easier as this opening match-up goes on when Millman lost the 3rd set, but he already had a decent lead in front of him where he rebound after the break in the 4th set that is enough to secure the win (1-6, 3-6, 6-4, 5-7).

His next opponent in Round 2 tomorrow will be 3rd seed Alexander Zverev from Germany, it won’t be a easy again for sure but he has the whole country’s backing to extend his run in this tournament.

He played very well when Millman built an early lead with the first two sets bagged to his name, yes this tie gets challenging as it gets but Millman held his shape before he found the hometretch first which is all but done.

And Lopez would be disappointed wth the early elimination in Melbourne, he saw that 2nd set as his fresh start and began showed some fight against the Millman along the way that includes the 3rd set stage win. However, he didn’t have a good start & him being two sets down saw Lopez fell even further in the race, as his rebound later during this Opening Round tie was just backfired against such a difficult opponent like Millman.

#AustralianOpen #MargaretCourtArena #FelicianoLopez #JohnMillman #Australia #Spain #MelbournePark #Tennis #ATPTour

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2021 Australian Open Tennis, 4th Quarter-Final Men’s Singles Game: Stefanos Tsitsipas v Rafa Nadal

by Sports Benches

Both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal fired off with a couple of first points on the board. They tied 2-2 apiece. As they are looking for different strategies that would help win the 1st stage. This is the 4th & final Quarter Final Game at Rod Laver Arena. With the winner will get to face Daniil Medvedev from Russia for the 2nd semi-final on Friday.

Tsitsipas however began to lose some ground in his 2nd half run of this opening stage. With two points lost against Nadal after the halfway point. Before Nadal clinched the mini win 6-3. As Tsitsipas needs to combine that 1st & 2nd half play consistently. If he wants to catch up with Nadal and win Stage 2 to tie the overall lead 1-1.

Nadal continues his strong Stage 1 with an easy headstart 2-0 v Tsitsipas. Before the Spaniard was able to bridge a dominant 2nd half run. When he pulled off a big lead with the Stage 2 win 6-2 ahead of the 3rd stage. For Tsitsipas he continued to struggle on all fronts to catch up his opponent. The only progress Tsitsipas made was holding him back during the deuces. But not enough with the finishing. Despite the late point grabbed against Nadal 2-5. 

Tsitsipas will desperately need a Stage 3 win to keep his semi-finals berth alive. And come back out of nowhere with at least another two stage wins. This is the only route he has to take now. As it is one hour & 21 minutes into the game so far tonight. With 2-0 down in the overall lead. The 4th seed from Greece had a headstart this time.

As well as the build up base in this crucial stage where Tsitsipas touched the halfway line 1st 3-2. Having won a series of duels v Nadal. Including the deuces in which it was not easy. Tsitsipas desperately scrambled to save the game by going into Stage 4. 

There is 2nd half progress at least from the Greek 5-4 ahead of Nadal. But Nadal held him back to deny Tsitsipas a Stage 3 win at the first attempt 6-6. As the Spaniard brought this into mini overtime.Tsitsipas fortunately able to close out Rafa Nadal in the end for the Stage 3 win on overtime 7-6. This game is not over just yet. It is still Nadal who has the overall lead 2-1. With Tsitsipas now needs two more Stage wins to overtime him & stage a huge comeback.

The start of Stage 4 looked very competitive with Tsitsipas and Nadal battling side by side for the lead. Nadal still needs one more Stage win to book a semis spot. Despite fallen so short behind the Greek on the mini overtime during Stage 3. The Spaniard had the first opportunity to flip towards a great 2nd half run. After Nadal touched the halfway point first 3-2. Desperately needed to close out Tsitsipas once more as it was in the first two stages to wrap it up.

Tsitsipas did not give up without a fight when he began to close in on Nadal 4-4. Having snatched this lead 5-4 when Nadal unable to overcome a few duels with the advantage. Before the 4th seed from Greece tied Nadal with the overall lead. As he wins Stage 4 6-4. It all comes down to the 5th & final stage. Where one of them will have to cross this victory line first. Both big rewards up for grabs.

It has gone right to the wire with Nadal upfront ahead of Tsitsipas earlier on. The game has already crossed the 3 1/2 hours mark when the 4th seed from Greek tied 2-2. Before Nadal began to regain the executed feel that was sorely missed in Stages 3 & 4. When he was one point away from winning Stage 5 & overall win 5-4. But Tsitsipas took advantage of Nadal’s missed conversions 5-5. In the end Tsitsipas emerged from 0-2 after Stage 2. And came back the hard way to upsurp Rafa Nadal with three straight wins. Which means he is in the semi-final now v Daniil Medvedev. The final score was done in 4 hours & 5 minutes: 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4 tie), 6-4 & 7-5.

What a comeback from Stefanos Tsitsipas. He did not have the best first two sets. Where his 1st run feel only worked alone. But began to have his executions up to speed from the 3rd set. And able to match his foundations Tsitsipas wanted to build. Where he just closed out Rafa via tiebreaker to keep himself in the game. Before he repeated the same thing again and again. Even though it is not an easy battle against such an opponent who won grand slams before. And that became the No.1 strength as to why win harder is stronger & better.

And on Rafa oh so close where he was buggered not to make it into the semis. Dominated a very easy 1st half of the match against Tsitsipas with two sets in the bag. Looked like the game would end under his watch within two hours. Rafa unfortunately did not make up these missed changes. When he began to falter with the executions. Before it was too late to fix by the time Tsitsipas emerged out from almost eliminated to eventual winner. Not just his night tonight. But best of luck as Rafa still has class to prove.

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