Print this article

Aus Open PICS: Tsitsipas cruises; Medvedev digs deep

Last updated on: February 13, 2021 15:49 IST

Images from Saturday's action at the Australian Open.

IMAGE: Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas plays a backhand during his men's
singles third round match against Sweden's Mikael Ymer at the Australian
Open on Saturday. Photograph: Matt King/Getty Images
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas put in a dominant performance to thrash
Swede Mikael Ymer 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 and canter into the fourth round of the
Australian Open on Saturday.

The 22-year-olds were hitting partners during their mandatory 14-day

quarantine after arriving Down Under. Conditions were not much different
on Saturday, with no spectators allowed due to the five-day lockdown in
Melbourne.
"Clean game. I think I kept things simple, didn't complicate whatever tactics
or whatever use of my game I wanted to execute today," Tsitsipas told
reporters.
After a closely contested opening set when Tsitsipas could manage only a
single break of the 95th-ranked Ymer's serve, the Greek raised his level to
turn the match into a one-sided affair at John Cain Arena.
Ymer did not help his own cause with 36 unforced errors in the match but
he managed to hit 14 winners, most from his heavy forehand.
In reply, Tsitsipas stayed clinical, hit 27 winners and kept his unforced errors
to 20 while winning 78% points on his first serve. He broke Ymer's serve
twice in the second set and four times in the third, while suffering just a
single break on his own serve.

"I'd say I entered a little bit stressed in the match," the Greek said.
"I don't know why, for which reasons, but over time I got used to the conditions, to the big court, and I think I managed to sustain my level and even raise my level once I got a few breaks ahead.
"That gave me a lot of confidence, and I felt like I was on top of my game at that point."
Tsitsipas, a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park in 2019, will next meet the winner of the match between Italian ninth seed Matteo Berrettini and Russian Karen Khachanov, who is seeded 19th.
IMAGE: Russia's Daniil Medvedev celebrates victory as he sits down
following his third round match against Serbia's Filip Krajinovic. Photograph:
Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
Daniil Medvedev was forced to dig deep to fight off a charging Filip
Krajinovic on Saturday but came through 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0 to extend
his winning streak to 17 matches and join the Russian charge into the fourth
round.
The frustrated fourth seed forced his coach Gilles Cervara from the
otherwise empty stands at Rod Laver Arena with a couple of verbal volleys
after dropping his first set of the tournament and going a break down in the
fourth.
Krajinovic, who spent his pre-tournament quarantine practising with world
number one Novak Djokovic, found success preying on Medvedev's
forehand and rode the momentum to send the contest into a fifth set.
A second trip to the toilets did the trick for Medvedev, however, and he
broke the Serbian for 2-0 in the decider with a crunching forehand winner
before sealing a last-16 date with American Mackenzie McDonald.
The 25-year-old, who had lost his six previous five-setters, joined
compatriot Aslan Karatsev in the fourth round after the qualifier
manufactured a stunning straight sets upset of Diego Schwartzman on
Friday.
With seventh seed Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov also in action on
Saturday, Russia could end up with an open era record four men in the last
16 of a Grand Slam.

Pliskova stunned by Czech compatriot Muchova

IMAGE: The Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova, left, hugs compatriot
Karolina Pliskova at the net following victory in their women's singles third
round match at the Australian Open on Saturday. Photograph: Quinn
Rooney/Getty Images
Karolina Pliskova said she never got into her comfort zone on Saturday as the sixth seed exited the Australian Open following a 7-5, 7-5 third-round defeat by Czech compatriot Karolina Muchova at Rod
Laver Arena.
Pliskova’s frustrations boiled over in the first set as she received a code violation for racket abuse and was then handed a point deduction for smashing another racket in the tunnel between sets.

Pliskova told a news conference she had been a little bit surprised at the second warning but that it had had a positive impact on her game.
“I think actually it helped me in the second set because I was (annoyed) so I started to play well,” she said.

IMAGE: Karolina Muchova celebrates after winning a point against Karolina Pliskova. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
After losing the opening set Pliskova raced to a 5-0 lead in the second before the wheels came off, allowing Muchova to complete the victory and reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time.
“There was long game for 5-1 and 6-0. I thought she just played little bit better at this moment,” Pliskova added. “Of course, I played quite amazing to 5-0, but then it’s quite tough to hold this level.

“I had chances ... on my serve, I just could do so many things better today. I don’t think my game is the top for sure. I don’t want to be too sarcastic and too negative because I just lost.
“The feeling was not great from any of my matches here. I think overall, too many mistakes, too much panic in the rallies. I don’t know if it’s just not having any matches much lately. I don’t feel like safe
with anything I was doing on the court.”

Muchova, the world number 27, next faces either Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic or Elise Mertens of Belgium for a place in the quarter-finals.

Barty overcomes Alexandrova scare

IMAGE: Australia's Ashleigh Barty plays a forehand during her third round match against Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova. Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
World number one Ash Barty overcame a stumbling start to reach the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova at an empty Margaret Court Arena.
The top seeded Australian was broken in her first service game but quickly rallied to take the first set when the Russian slapped the ball into the net for her 16th unforced error.
Showing no signs of being hampered by her heavily strapped left thigh, Barty battled back after being broken again in the second set and secured the victory with a fifth and final break of serve.

The 2019 French Open champion, who is looking to become the first homegrown Australian Open singles champion since 1978, will play American Shelby Rogers for a place in the quarter-finals.

Source:
© Copyright 2021 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of
Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.