AUSTRALIAN OPEN
[6] Rafael Nadal almost found that out in the final of the US Open. Unfortunately, for the young Canadian, this was a painful loss. Some losses sting, and this is one of them for a variety of reasons. He had the upper hand and he relinquished it in the tiebreaker. You cannot let an unpredictable player like Medvedev regain control.
Felix Auger-Aliassime Will Grow From This
I remember one of the things that motivated Pete Sampras was a bitter loss. I think it was at the US Open and I do not remember who he lost to, but it stung. That lost changed the career of the American. So, as painful as it is right now for the Canadian, he can grow from this. Moral of the story, stop focusing on the score and focus on playing the game that won you the first two sets. Once his focus shifted, he started to check his swing, that small shift was enough to disrupt his rhythm. Sensing that his opponent was getting tense, the Russian tightened up his game.
Daniil Medvedev Proved His Fitness Once Again
It was not only physical, [2] Daniil Medvedev proved his mental fortitude as well as his emotional intelligence. Not letting the score discourage him, he went back to basics and took it one point at a time. Meanwhile, [9] Felix Auger-Aliassime got so wrapped up in the score, he forgot that he needed to win a third set. Still, one wonders what the Russian will have in the tank against [4] Stefanos Tsitsipas. There is no love lost between those two. I imagine Tsitsipas was quite enjoying the exhausting battle that Medvedev had to endure to gain the victory. It took almost five hours for the 6-7(4), 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5, 6-4 victory. Medvedev leads the head-to-heads 6:2 against Tsitsipas. This has the potential to be a blowout or another battle.
Embed from Getty ImagesDanielle Collins Is Still Going Strong
[27] Danielle Collins put an end to the run of Alizé Cornet. It was a tightly contested first set, which took the steam out of the Frenchwoman. Collins is back into her second Australian Open semifinals with the 7-5, 6-1 victory. Next up for the American will be [7] Iga Swiatek. Swiatek won their only encounter last year. However, it was due the retirement of Collins who was injured. Thus, much can’t read into that victory.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
