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Tag: Australian Open

Daniil Medvedev to F1?

Posted on by Chirag

The Russian tennis star and recent finalist of the Australian Open withdrew from a couple of tournaments this month to take a short break to recover from the brutal and intense finals match against the now 21 time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.

The former US Open Champion joined a couple of stars from the Formula 1 world in a Karting event this week. The Russian was joined by former Red Bull driver Daniil Kyvat and former Red Bull and current Williams driver Alex Albon.

Daniil Medvedev probably wouldn’t shift sports considering how great he is doing in the Tennis world but he is close to fellow Russian Daniil Kyvat who has had a good career in Formula 1 and other motor racing.

Medvedev now will play in a couple of South American tournaments before heading off to the Indian Wells where he will be again playing with the likes of Nadal, Djokovic, Tsitsipas and more.

As Rafael Nadal practices back at his home courts in Manacor, Mallorca Daniil Medvedev is enjoying a week’s time at least as he recuperates from almost winning his first Australian Open title.

Medvedev said on twitter, joking about this karting event, “They broke the news early! 

@redbullracing….🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ Who goes @Max33Verstappen or @SChecoPerez?? 🤣👍 (in all seriousness. Respect for all these guys. Was tough today)”

Nadal’s Miracle in Melbourne Gets Him a record 21st Grand Slam Title

Posted on by Chirag

Last night in Melbourne, spectators witnessed one of the greatest comebacks in sports history as Rafael Nadal beat Daniil Medvedev to win his 2nd ever Australian Open and a record 21st Grand Slam.

The match started with Daniil Medvedev in full control as he took the first 2 sets at 6-2, 7-6 comparatively easily. There just seemed no way out for Nadal as he tried various ways to win a point against the Russian.

The Spaniard tried going back behind the baseline, tried coming ahead and volleying and even tried to focus on Daniil’s Forehand but just couldn’t find a way to penetrate Medvedev’s defense. However by the third set, Nadal had tried enough and started combining all of these methods to tire out Medvedev.

By the end of the set, Nadal won his first set and went on to take the fourth set with incredibly difficult points to break Medvedev’s serve. Finally, as the Melbourne crowd showed zero signs of sleepiness, they backed the Spaniard as he served for the match in the last set.

There is no doubt that Medvedev has incredible potential and could have won last night, however Nadal’s resilience and perseverance was otherworldly. The match went on for a whole 5 hours and 24 minutes with the two players very tired by the end of it.

Nadal broke a number of records with this win as he climbed up to number 5 in the rankings, got to 90 career wins, became the fourth male player to win all four grand slams at least twice and also became the first ever player in history to win a record 21 grand slams with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at 20 grand slams each. Nadal truly is the GOAT right now. 

Cameroon continues AFCON Winning Streak

Posted on by Chirag

The African Cup of Nations saw its Round of 16 continue yesterday night as Cameroon survived the Islanders in Comoros with a late strike from captain Vincent Aboubakar.

The hosts, Cameroon played in their capital city of Yaounde as Toko Ekambi opened up the scoreline in the 29th minute.

In a surprising turn of events, the Islanders started out with Chaker Alhadur in goal. A left back as the goalkeeper due to 3 previous choices all out with Covid-19. However Alhadur did perform brilliantly only letting in 1 goal in for the first 70 minutes. Alas, he did finally let in another goal as the Cameroon Captain took the win home and continued their dominance into the Quarter Final Stage.

Cameroon who won two of their last three group games have really dominated throughout this tournament with great passing and finishing skills. Now they get ready to face Gambia in the Quarter Finals on Saturday night.

The Comoros scored 1 goal in the 81st minute but it just wasn’t enough as Cameroon’s Hongla made a challenge 35 yards from the goal and gave away a free kick that resulted in M’Changama scoring a goal for the Islanders.

Rafael Nadal Hasn’t Even Hit Top Gear Yet

Posted on by cbtfhome

The 20 time grand slam winner looks like he’s on his way to winning his 21st grand slam title or at least put up a huge fight to become the first ever person in history to get to 21 grand slam championships in history.

With Djokovic out of the picture for this years’ Australian Open, it was understood Nadal will need to just go through the motions and try harder to get to another title as it might be his last chance to get to one.

So far in this year’s Australian Open, Nadal has shown only dominance winning 2 straight matches with 6 straight sets and currently warming up for his Round 3 match scheduled for today at 2:45 PM IST emanating from the Rod Laver Arena against Kachanov.

Although the fans might be gearing up for a Zverev and Nadal semi final and possibly a Nadal vs Tsitsipas finals match, the Spaniard is not looking at the bigger picture currently but instead taking it match by match in the Australian sub continent.

“Well, the positive thing is I achieved much more than I ever dreamed. I was able to spend almost 20 fantastic years on the tour. The rest of the things nothing positive because arrives in the end,” Nadal said. “When you get older, the watch never stops, no (smiling)? That’s the circus of life.”

“You need to accept that. But it’s all good with me with that. I don’t know. I am in the third round. I need to win very tough matches to be there. Is not in my mind now. I have enough work I don’t like,” the Spaniard said.

“I think playing against Khachanov now, probably Khachanov, going to be a big challenge. Always is a big challenge against Karen. In my situation today going to be even more. I never think that far. You can imagine now less than ever, no? Just staying focused on my daily work, on what’s coming, and that’s it. One moment in time, that’s it,” he added.

Murray Hunting his 47th Title as He Reaches Sydney Finals

Posted on by cbtfhome

Andy Murray, the former member of the ‘Big Four’ has reached yet another finals in his long career as he beat Reily Opelka to reach the Sydney Classic Finals just 2 days before he begins his Australian Open Campaign.

Amidst the Djokovic controversy it has become difficult for the Scot to shine and have his day in the glory but nonetheless he has beaten young up and coming stars to reach another milestone in his career. 

Murray lost the first set 6-7 in a tiebreak as Opelka reached 6 points with a 2 point gap, however did make a comeback in front of the electric crowd no matter the size. He went on to win 2 sets in a row to cement his spot in the finals with a 6-4, 6-4 set score.

Murray has kept himself busy this week though. After getting involved on twitter during the Djokovic court battle, Murray has now come out and commented on Australia cancelling Novak’s Visa for the second and last time ahead of the Australian Open, saying, “It’s unfortunate that it’s ended up in this sort of situation … [I] just want it to get resolved. I think it would be good for everyone if that was the case. It just seems like it’s dragged on for quite a long time now, and yeah, not great for tennis, not great for the Australian Open, not great for Novak.”

Post his match he also said, “It would be amazing to start the year with a trophy, but it’s already been a big week for me,”

“To string four results together like this is much more than I managed last year. I lost a tight first set and it’s not easy to come back against someone who serves like that, but I love competing.”