Daughter of Bills, Sabres owners into all-US QF in Australia
United States' Jessica Pegula celebrates after defeating Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. โIโm just happy Iโm here; she's been playing some good tennis, solidifying herself as a top player.โAdThe 61st-ranked Pegula beat No. โA lot of people were complaining, and I told myself I wasnโt going to complain,โ Brady said. Also on that half of the draw, Rafael Nadal moved closer to a men's-record 21st Grand Slam trophy by overwhelming No. โIโm super excited for her making her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Australian Open goes quiet as lockdown keeps crowds away
Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic serves to compatriot Karolina Pliskova during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Crowds were gone from the Australian Open on Saturday because of a five-day hard lockdown imposed by the state government to contain an outbreak of COVID-19 cases. And with the lack of fans, players were faced with an all-too-familiar feeling: a distinct lack of buzz. The Australian Open was allowed to continue during the lockdown โ but without fans. He struggled without a crowd in a warm-up tournament before the Australian Open.
Medvedev in 5, finally, advances to 4th round in Australia
Russia's Daniil Medvedev gestures after defeating Serbia's Filip Krajinovic in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)MELBOURNE โ Daniil Medvedev finally worked out how to a win a five-setter. The fourth-seeded Medvedev was 0-6 in Grand Slam matches that went to five sets, and his Australian Open third-round match against No. here I was really calm to finish the match," Medvedev said. Medvedev, the U.S. Open finalist last year, will next play McDonald, a player he compared with Roger Federer in style.
The Latest: Rafa into 4th round in Australia; back seems OK
Spain's Rafael Nadal waits for a serve from Britain's Cameron Norrie during their third round match a the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. He reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the 14th time in 16 trips. The top-seeded Australian beat Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia 6-2, 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the third straight year. The seventh-seeded Rublev will meet Casper Ruud of Norway in the fourth round. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Mikael Ymer of Sweden 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 in the third round.
The Latest: Nadal beats Mmoh in straight sets in Melbourne
Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating United States' Michael Mmoh during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)MELBOURNE โ The Latest from the Australian Open (all times local):11:50 p.m.Rafael Nadal shrugged off some heckling from a spectator before beating American qualifier Michael Mmoh 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of the Australian Open. The Australian Open is the first major in a year to allow sizeable crowds with the government allowing up to 50% capacity. Ad___11:20 p.m.Fabio Fognini and Salvatore Caruso clearly still hadnโt had enough of their all-Italian second-round duel at the Australian Open even after four hours and five sets. ___9:30 p.m.Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina beat 16-year-old Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the Australian Open.
Serena Williams through easily in Australian Open tuneup
United States' Serena Williams makes a backhand return to Australia's Daria Gavrilova during a tuneup tournament ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)MELBOURNE โ Serena Williams found a silver lining in the delayed start to the Australian Open, the season-opening Grand Slam tournament that is starting three weeks later than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Williams is playing in the Yarra Valley Classic, along with top-ranked Ash Barty and defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. โSo I definitely was pushing the limits, but Iโm here.โWilliams has been stalled on 23 major singles titles since the 2017 Australian Open, when she was two months pregnant with now-3-year-old daughter Olympia. AdFrances Tiafoe, an Australian Open quarterfinalist in 2019, lost to Corentin Moutet 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.