The biggest names in Aussie tennis will be battling it out in do-or-die clashes in an Australian Open extravaganza on Wednesday.
Rod Laver Arena will be host to a parochial crowd, with tickets to the day session there being made available for ground pass pricing.
First, one of Australia’s most entertaining duos will take to the stage, with Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis playing off for a spot in the doubles final, pitted against third-seeded pair Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
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The pair, particularly Kyrgios, have made headlines this week for both their success and the charged atmosphere they encourage at their matches, which has unsettled and irritated many of their opponents so far.
Following the doubles, Dylan Alcott will be vying for a fairytale finish to his remarkable tennis career.
Alcott, the top seed who announced this Australian Open would be his final event, will take on second seed Sam Schroder.
Should Alcott win, it would mark a stunning eighth Australian Open singles title and 16th Grand Slam singles title overall, going with his eight Grand Slam doubles titles.
The packed day session will then be followed by world number one Ash Barty’s bid to win through to the Australian Open final, with the two-time Grand Slam winner facing resurgent American Madison Keys.
MEDVEDEV’S BIZARRE GRUNTING ADMISSION
World No.2 Daniil Medvedev claims he wasn’t intentionally mimicking the grunt of Felix Auger-Aliassime during last night’s thrilling quarter-final.
Medvedev managed an extraordinary comeback from two sets down, but looked laboured in the opening sets of the match after lengthy exchanges.
Not usually known to grunt during shots, commentators were perplexed as to why Medvedev had begun to do so in a similar fashion to that of his opponent.
Speaking after the match, Medvedev admitted he may’ve been copying the young Canadian, but it wasn’t on purpose.
“To be honest, in life, I think that‘s my character, like when I talk to a person a lot, so when I have a best friend or wife, they get nervous because I start to be like them in many things and I do it not on purpose,” he said.
“That’s just how I am. Same, as I say, if I have a new friend and I’ll talk to him a lot, I’ll start to do some phrases like him. I’ll start to sometimes act like him and he’s going to be like, What the hell, man? Why you doing that?
“I think definitely I didn‘t do this on purpose, like not zero per cent. I think it’s just, yeah, he was putting a lot of intensity in his grunt, and when I started to like really fight for, you know, for my life, I was, like, I’m going to grunt also.
“I didn’t think about this, but now when I rethink, it’s true that some points I was like after the point, Did I just grunt kind of like him?
“So, yeah, it was not on purpose.”
LEGEND’S PLEA TO KYRGIOS
US tennis great John McEnroe has backed Nick Kyrgios’ claim that tennis has not done enough to promote personalities in the game.
Kyrgios said tennis was transfixed on the “big three” in the game, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer and as a result overlooked the future of the sport.
“I’ve been talking about the need in tennis for personalities,” McEnroe told Eurosport.
“You need to have a rooting interest in someone. Whether you think he’s the bad guy, some people think Djokovic is Darth Vader. Everyone loves Roger Federer.”
“It’s not like it is in team sports where you can root for your city or your country, so this idea of expressing yourself and showing personality is very important.
“We’re looking at these legends that are playing at the same time and doing things that are absolutely extraordinary, but at the same time I do think tennis needs to look around for other guys because the future is now.
Kyrgios and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis have become the talk of the Australian Open during their surge to the semi finals.
Their latest win over Kiwi player Michael Venus was a his partner Tim Putz was a bitter affair with the former repeatedly jeered and taunted by a volatile crowd being regularly revved up by Kyrgios.
It prompted Venus to label Kyrgios an “absolute knob”.
“You know if it’s on the other foot, old mate (Kyrgios) would have flipped his lid.
“It felt like a circus out there, and not really a tennis match.”
McEnroe, however, said he hoped Kyrgios would use the success he has found in doubles as the fuel to re-ignite his singles career.
“I hope that Nick uses this experience in the doubles in a similar way I used the experiences I had in doubles,” he said.
“I feel like it can make you a better singles player. There’s no question he’s a crowd pleaser, that goes without saying. I would love to see Nick give that type of effort on the singles court more consistently.
“He’s a great team player, I’ve had him on Laver Cup all four years, he loves to be part of a team, it’s natural for him to be good in doubles.
“Kokkinakis was one of the practice players for my team as well, he’s a great kid, he’s been unlucky with injuries. So I hope they win the whole thing.
“I think it would be great for both of them, maybe inspire them to work even harder and do something even bigger on a singles court.
“Given the excitement that it’s bringing the doubles event, and the smiles I see from Nick and Thanasi on the court, I hope it just inspires them to want it even more, work harder and stay around longer.”
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 11 – ORDER OF PLAY
Day session from 11am
Rod Laver Arena
Doubles match #1
Not before 2:30pm
Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) / Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs. [3] Marcel Granollers (ESP) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG)
Not before 3:30pm
[1] Dylan Alcott (AUS) vs. [2] Sam Schroder (NED)
Night session from 7:30pm
[1] Ashleigh Barty (AUS) vs. Madison Keys (USA)
[27] Danielle Collins (USA) vs. [7] Iga Swiatek (POL)
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