Murray Withdraws from Australian Open While Djokovic Overcomes his Injury
The hot favorite Novak Djokovic battled into the Australian Open last 16 on Saturday, but Andy Murray‘s valiant run is gone. His hamstring just about held up.
Hard-hitting In the meantime, Aryna Sabalenka strengthened her case for the title when she advanced along with several other women’s seeds. Before overcoming Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena, a sick Djokovic had extensive strapping and twice needed treatment on his problematic left hamstring. The Serb, who is closing in on a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam victory and a 10th Melbourne Park victory, will play home favorite Alex de Minaur for a spot in the quarterfinals. Djokovic stated, “Obviously, I didn’t sure how I was going to feel physically; it was going up and down.
It was a fierce match that lasted three hours and three sets. Let’s get some rest and get ready for the next one.
Murray, a 35-year-old British player who finished at 4:05 am, will not be joining Djokovic in the next round, though.
After his heroic five-setter in round two, which began on Thursday and lasted in the wee hours of Friday, the former world number one Murray was obviously feeling the affects.
Roberto Bautista Agut, a Spaniard and the 24th seed, defeated an unseeded American player named Tommy Paul.
Murray stated, “I gave everything I had in the past three matches, and I’m very proud of that.
I was playing well enough to have a really nice run, a deep run, but I’m also upset because I put a lot of work into the beginning of this year.
The fifth seed Andrey Rublev advanced to a match against Holger Rune in the men’s draw, and after losing, he complimented Dan Evans for feeding him a banana mid-match. With a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over the Brit, the Russian advanced to the fourth round for the third time.
He will play Danish teenager Rune for a spot in the quarterfinals after the ninth seed defeated unseeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), surviving a hard tumble in the process.
At a changeover, Evans, his friend and the 25th seed, gave a banana to Rublev when he rushed out.
When Danny asked for bananas earlier, the ball guy had two, so he simply responded, “Take it,” and I caught it, according to Rublev.
In two all-American matchups, Jeffrey Wolf easily defeated Michael Mmoh in three sets, and Paul defeated Jenson Brooksby in the same amount of time.
Ominous Sabalenka
As she works toward winning her maiden Grand Slam championship, Sabalenka is gaining momentum.
With a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the 26th-seeded Elise Mertens, the fifth-seeded Belarusian advanced to face Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
On day six at Melbourne Park, the 23rd seed Zhang Shuai and the 30th seed Karolina Pliskova both advanced in straight sets and will face off.
Sabalenka makes an effort to control her enthusiasm.
The 24-year-old Minsk native made fun of the Margaret Court Arena fans for picking Belgium’s Mertens over her but claimed she was having fun as the race entered its second week.
“Regarding the favorite, I’m on the favorite list… The Belarusian, who has not yet lost a set, added, “I mean, it’s extremely nice that I’m there.
But I need to concentrate on myself and my game to ensure that my ambition comes true.
Bencic hasn’t lost a set in Melbourne either. The 12th seed from Switzerland defeated Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-2, 7-5, easily.
The 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova, who defeated fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova in three sets, has advanced to the fourth round as well. Donna Vekic of Croatia is her opponent.
The teen told reporters, “It feels very strange.”
“It’s a fantastic sensation. I’m just overjoyed and eager to greet the second week.
After a dismal first set, Caroline Garcia, the fourth seed from France, rallied to defeat Laura Siegemund, the 158th-ranked player in the world, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
