The 16-year-old prodigy, who hails from Russia, has been on a spectacular spell at the first Grand Slam of 2024, and on Friday, produced a comeback that is nothing less than those in the history books.

Mirra Andreeva rallies back from 1-5 to defeat Diane Parry

Taking on Diane Parry in the third round of the women’s singles, Andreeva almost suffered a defeat when she fell 1-5 behind the Frenchwoman. But from that decider set, the World No. 47 teen produced an unbelievable rally against Parry.

The first two sets of the match were mostly one-sided, with both Andreeva and Parry securing 6-1 margins in one set each. The third one, as well as the match, went almost to the World No. 76 until Andreeva made her spectacular comeback.

In the nail-biting decider, Andreeva secured back to back games, courtesy of backhand winners as well as forcing Parry into errors to turn the set around to 6-6. From thereon, the tie-breaker ended with a 10-5 score for Andreeva, awarding her the historic win by a margin of 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(10-5) and her last 16 berth. In her next outing, Andreeva will be up against Czech 9th seeded Barbora Krejcikova from Czech Republic or and Aussie star Storm Hunter.

IT’S A MIRRA MIRACLE 😲#AusOpen • #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/YEF486ILHs

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2024

Andreeva marked her first Grand Slam after qualifying for the French Open last year, in which she made it to the third round. However, the young Russian gained more popularity at the Wimbledon, where she reached fourth.

Her second Grand Slam appearance at the US Open saw Andreeva reach round 2 where she bowed out against Coco Gauff, the World No. 4 who eventually went on to win the tournament.

ALSO READ: Danielle Collins Makes Shocking Retirement Decision Following 2024 Australian Open Exit

Mirra Andreeva defeats a top-10 player in her debut

Mirra Andreeva first burst onto the scene last year when she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon as a qualifier. In just her fourth appearance in the main draw of a major, the 47th-ranked Mirra Andreeva managed to defeat a top-10 player.

“I was really nervous before the match because I am really inspired by Ons and the way she plays,” said Andreeva. “Before I started to play on the WTA tour I always watched her matches.

“In the first set I showed amazing tennis, I honestly didn’t expect that from myself,: she added.

“I just wanted to play on this big court for the second time and just to enjoy the tennis and the time, and I did. I feel like I am a bit more mature than I was before. Over this year I think I have changed a lot of and I think you can see that on the court,” she said.

"I feel like I'm a bit more mature."
You're only 16.
"Well, last year I was 15" 😂

Mirra Andreeva • #AusOpen • #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/qrCLl8vYT3

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2024

Mirra Andreeva defeated Ons Jabeur in a one-sided affair

Mirra Andreeva just toyed with her opponent in the first round conceding only eight points and getting the set over within 20 minutes. Jabeur being the runner-up at Wimbledon in the past two years and also reaching the US Open final in 2022 tried to fight back. After a quick chat and a revised plan with her coaching staff, Jabeur got off the mark in the opening game of the second set, she celebrated the win by waving a finger high in the air. little did she know what was coming, 2-1 then 4-1  and by the time it was 5-2 Jabeur knew it was all over.

Many consider Mirra Andreeva as a young prospect but she is already standing tall against some of the best players in the world. She was ranked 405th at the start of 2023 and by the end of the year she climbed to 46. As per her recent performance, she is expected to climb even higher in the rankings in the coming months.

Read more- “We’re All The Same” – Openly Gay Tennis Star Daria Kasatkina Offers Support To LGBTQ+ Community During Pride Month

If the tough loss to Iga Swiatek at the ongoing Australian Open wasn’t already a disheartening moment for her fans, Danielle Collins made a surprising decision- announcing that she’s calling it quits from the sport.

A former World No. 7 who has been a finalist at the Austrlian Open, Collins suffered a close defeat to the 1st ranked Swiatek at Melbourne Park on Thursday. Despite taking a 4-1 lead in the decider set, Collins ultimately suffered a straight-set 6-4 3-6 6-4 loss to the four time Grand Slam champion Swiatek.

Iga Swiatek hits the Rafa Nadal one-handed backhand smash angle volley.

This shot is incredibly difficult to hit for both ATP & WTA players.

Iga made this look easy. 🇵🇱

pic.twitter.com/jHYRQfbibq

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 18, 2024

Collins clinched the second round entry at the 2024 Aus Open following a win over Angelique Kerber in the opening round. She defeated the German player by a margin of 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

Danielle Collins wants accomplishments outside of tennis

 

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A post shared by Danielle Collins (@danimalcollins)

The 30-year-old American, currently ranked 62nd in the world revealed her surprising decision to the media during the press conference after the match, stating that this will be her final season and she now wants to focus on having a family and focus on her life outside of tennis.

“This is going to be my last season, actually, competing,” said Collins during the press conference. “I don’t really know exactly when, but this will be my last season and I’m really looking forward to that.”

 

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A post shared by Danielle Collins (@danimalcollins)

“I feel like I’ve had a pretty good career. There has certainly been ups and downs to it, and I think the travel and some of the things away from the court with scheduling and all of that, this is a really tough sport,” she went on. “I have other things that I’d kind of like to accomplish in my life outside of tennis, and would like to be able to kind of, you know, be able to have the time to be able to do that. Obviously having kids is a big priority for me.”

“I feel like I have kind of gotten to the point where obviously they matter and, you know, my career means a lot to me, but the end of the day, you know, you either win or you lose, and that’s all there is to it,” Collins added. [H/T The Washington Post]

ALSO READ: Who Is Lukas Klein? The Man Who Almost Defeated Olympics Champ Zverev In The Aus Open

Rafael Nadal scripts history

Medvedev started out well and broke Nadal in Game 5 and 7 and eventually bagged the first set 6-2 in 42 minutes. Rafel Nadal looked a bit inconsistent but the Spanish ace won  the second set. Medvedev responded by breaking Nadal back again to make it 5-5.

Eventually, after 84 minutes and a tie-breaker, Medvedev inched ahead to a 2-0 lead by closing it 7-6. The third set, till game 8, was relatively straightforward as the two players held their service games up to that point. Nadal then pulled the trigger by breaking Medvedev in the next and then consolidating on it to take third set 6-4 in 64 minutes to make it 1-2.

ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal announces the end of season due to his foot injury acting up

The 20-time Grand Slam champion Nadal bagged the fourth set 6-4 in 62 minutes to force a deciding 5th. After trading service holds till Game 4, Nadal inched ahead by breaking Medvedev’s serve in Game 5 of the final set. Medvedev broke again only to see the Spaniard break him for the second time and eventually hold to win the match and reach the milestone.

The Grand Slam King 👑#AusOpen • #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/MsrkpTXzee

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2022

Rafael Nadal encouraged and lavished praise on Medvedev, his family, and his team. “One of the most emotional matches of my career and to share it with you is an honour.” Nadal also thank the supporters for their love, talks about tough recent past.

Australia Govt. refrains Novak Djokovic from entering the country

Novak Djokovic had flown into the city’s Tullamarine Airport expecting to defend his Australian Open crown, and to bid for an unprecedented 21st Grand Slam title. He had claimed on Instagram that he had obtained an exemption to play in the tournament, which begins on January 17, without being vaccinated.

The 34-year-old has refused to reveal his vaccine status publicly, but has previously voiced opposition to being jabbed. It has been also noted that he contracted COVID-19 at least once. Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Novak Djokovic had failed to provide officials with evidence of double vaccination or an adequate medical exemption.

“Rules are rules and there are no special cases,” Morrison said. Australian border officials have raised questions on the the sports star overnight and revoked his visa citing a failure to “provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements”.

News that Djokovic had received an exemption to arrive in Australia without being vaccinated was met by public outcry. Australians have been unable to travel or welcome family from overseas for much of the last two years, thanks to tough pandemic restrictions.

Stephen Parnis, a former Australian Medical Association vice-president, said the exemption sent an “appalling message” to people trying to stop the spread of Covid-19. But the Serb’s treatment on arrival received criticism.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said the government made “no apologies” for protecting the border, despite the prime minister earlier suggesting it was up to Melbourne officials.

Tournament organisers were also criticised, with Australian Open chief Craig Tiley insisting the defending champion had been given “no special favour” and urging him to reveal why he got the exemption to soothe public anger.

All participants at the first Grand Slam of 2022 must be vaccinated against Covid-19 or have a medical exemption, which is granted only after assessment by two panels of independent experts.

And now that it finally seems that the Swiss legend is back to competitive tennis,speculations are rife about what his future targets are as well as doubts on whether Federer can be Federer again.

Ahead of Federer’s return, Bjorn Borg had stated that Federer has five main objectives for the 2021 season.

“For 2021 he has five goals: the first is to stay fit, the others are Wimbledon, the Olympics, the US Open, and the Laver Cup,” said Borg.

“The Olympics is a major goal for me” says Federer

The Swiss has not played a competitive match since his Australian Open semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic last year but is already looking ahead to Wimbledon and the Olympics.

“Participation in the Olympics is part of my plan although my main goal was everything from today until Wimbledon, the tournament that precedes the Olympics,” Federer told beIN Sports.

“I hope that I will be fully in (shape) by then and that questions about my knee will stop.

“The Olympics is a major goal for me… Unfortunately, I missed the Rio Olympics (in 2016) because of a left knee injury. I hope I will return to the Tokyo Olympics.”

Federer lost out on a singles bronze in 2000 but won the gold medal in the doubles in Beijing in 2008 along with Stan Wawrinka and a silver medal in the singles in 2012 in London.

On the NextGen-

The Swiss also gave his thoughts on why the next generation of players were unable to break through, saying the odds were never in their favour since they had to beat at least two of the ‘Big Three’ to win a Grand Slam.

Also read:Roger Federer feels that it’s not yet the end of his story

“The problem for the new generation is that Novak, Rafa (Nadal) and I were unable to play in a different way,” he said.

“One of them might defeat me but fail to defeat Novak, or beat Novak but fail to beat Rafa, or beat Rafa but fail to beat me.

“I believe we will see a major change after three years. But I know that Rafa, Novak, and I will try to stand fast for the longest time possible and will try to increase the number of our titles.“Federer concluded

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As it is already known that the top 3 men and women tennis players are spending their pre-Australian Open time in Adelaide as opposed to the rest of the field which has to live amidst harsh quarantine facilities in Melbourne. The top three are also scheduled to play an exhibition match in Adelaide on the 30th and 31st of January.

It was in regards to not that good quarantine facilities in Melbourne that Novak Djokovic had written a letter with a set of suggestions to Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia, which had caused much hue and cry.

“We all try to help each other”says Nadal

The Serbian world number one issued a list of suggestions to Tennis Australia last week on behalf of 72 players unable to leave their Melbourne hotel rooms after Covid-19 cases were detected on their planes to Australia. They reportedly included moving players into private homes with tennis courts and getting them better meals.

Also read:Australian Open: Brazilian umpire Carlos Bernardez suffers a heart attack in Melbourne

But his requests fell on deaf ears, while Australian media portrayed players as petulant and selfish and fellow star Nick Kyrgios called Djokovic a “tool”.

Sharing his thoughts about the entire episode,Spanish Great Nadal told ESPN-

“We all try to help each other. Some need to make public everything they do to help others,” he added, in remarks widely seen as referring to Djokovic.

“Others… do it in a more private way without having to publish or advertise everything we’re doing.“

Novak had even issued an open letter in which he said that his points were “suggestions and not demands” and that his intentions were misconstrued.

On the allegations of preferential treatment to top players, Nadal said-“In Adelaide, conditions have been better than most players in Melbourne.”

“But there are players in Melbourne who have larger rooms where they can develop physical activities, others have smaller rooms and can’t have contact with their coach and their physical trainer. 

“Where’s the line? It’s an ethical issue. Everyone has their own opinion and they are all respectable.” he concluded.

ATP Cup schedule announced-

The match schedule for the 2021 ATP Cup, the 12-country event being played at Melbourne Park from 2-6 February, was released Monday. The tournament dates have been pushed back 24 hours to allow quarantined players the best possible preparation and training opportunities.

See Tournament Daily Schedule.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, and Daniil Medvedev will all begin their 2021 campaigns on Day 1 of the event.

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The young guns of women’s tennis are here in Australia set to be a part of the year’s first Grand slam. The year 2020 wasn’t the best of years of sports as well as the world at large with Covid 19 as well as racial abuse triggered protests in all corners of the world.

Tennis legend Pam Shriver, who an advocate of both players, says they’ve been “great young leaders” in a time of the coronavirus pandemic and protests against racial injustice.

“Gauff has all the makings of a great leader” says Shriver

Gauff used her voice to urge people to vote and speak out against racism in an emotional speech during a protest in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida.

Also read:“Suggestions and not demands”-Djokovic confirms his stance on quarantine

On the other hand,Osaka honoured seven Black Americans who were killed in a situation of police violence or racial profiling throughout her run at US Open, using her platform to protest against the injustice.

“They’ve been great young leaders in the last eight to 10 months in a difficult time,”

said Shriver, a former US Open finalist.

“They’re both obviously of colour and they come at it at a different perspective than say I would as a person who grew up with what you might call white privilege.

“I think they’ve been able to communicate really effectively. Gauff is not yet 17 and she was asked to speak at a Black Lives Matter peaceful protest in her home state of Florida towards the beginning of the pandemic. She did so off the cuff, but beautifully.

“Coco Gauff has all the makings of a great leader for women’s tennis for a long time.”

“Find moments of relaxation” Osaka’s lockdown routine

Japanese tennis diva Naomi Osaka has opened up on her lockdown experience and how much the time away from the game helped her reboot ahead of the new season.

“You’ve to find moments of relaxation no matter what your profession is. Finding a way to decompress really helps keep balance,” the current World Number 3 said.

“I also have a group FaceTime with my friends almost every day. We always rip on and tease each other but there’s nothing like banter with your friends to add some levity to your life,” said the two-time US Open champion.

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Brazilian tennis umpire Carlos Bernardes has suffered a heart attack in Melbourne ahead of February’s Australian Open and is recovering in hospital.

Brazilian website TenisNews reported he was doing well and was expected to be released from the hospital on Saturday, and was conscious in photos seen on social media of him being wheeled into an ambulance. The year’s first grand slam has already had its fair share of problems with corona chaos and the quarantine woes.

Bernardes not to be a part of the Australian Open?

The expert umpire left the View Melbourne hotel in an ambulance. However, it shouldn’t be a COVID-19 related preblema, as doctors didn’t put on personal protective equipment. Perhaps an illness or other health problem yet to be determined.

Bernardes has been an ATP Tour official since 1990 and has taken charge of the 2006 and 2008 US Open men’s finals as well as the 2011 Wimbledon men’s title decider.

Photos of Bernardes being wheeled from his hotel accommodation into an ambulance were posted on social media.

“Following admittance to hospital (non-COVID related) on Wednesday in Melbourne, we are pleased to report that ATP umpire Carlos Bernardes is recovering well,” said the men’s tennis association.

“Carlos passes on his gratitude for all the well wishes he’s received, and we wish him all the best for a full recovery.“

Also Read:Australian Open: No change of dates, format amidst “jail” like quarantine

However, even if Carlos makes a full recovery, chances of him being a part of the umpiring team at the Australian Open are effectively nil, with him expected to return to Brazil as soon as possible.

Another day, another covid19 case-

The Victoria state government on Friday confirmed one new case of COVID-19 in the group of people in quarantine in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, a few hours after Spanish player Paula Badosa said she had tested positive for the virus.

Badosa was the first player entered for next month’s Grand Slam to confirm a positive test, although four were among the 10 cases announced earlier this week.

It is almost certain, given the skyrocketing infection rates in countries like Britain and the United States, that others will test positive after arriving here. Tennis Australia and the Victoria State government have responded by announcing what they say is a watertight hotel quarantine system.

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After complaints from players in the first days of their hotel confinement in Melbourne, Djokovic addressed his peers in their WhatsApp group before sending a list of suggestions to Tennis Australia’s CEO, Craig Tiley.

The suggestions in the leaked list ranged from more exercise equipment for players unable to practice to houses with tennis courts. The list led to widespread condemnation, including from Nick Kyrgios, who branded him a “tool”.

“My intentions have been misconstrued, “says Djokovic

Novak took to twitter to clear his stance on his previous demands.

In Wednesday’s tweet, Djokovic said his letter to Australian Open director Craig Tiley had been taken the wrong way.

“My good intentions for my fellow competitors in Melbourne have been misconstrued as being selfish, difficult and ungrateful,” said Djokovic. 

“This couldn’t be farther from the truth.“

Djokovic said he was merely speaking up for fellow players who were not being treated as well as him.

“I genuinely care about my fellow players and I also understand very well how the world is run and who gets bigger and better and why,” said the 33-year-old Serb.

There were a few suggestions and ideas that I gathered from other players from our chat group and there was no harm intended to try and help. Things in the media escalated and there was a general impression that the players (including myself) are ungrateful, weak, and selfish because of their unpleasant feelings in quarantine,” he wrote.

“I am very sorry that it has come to that because I do know how grateful many are,” he concluded.

Also read:No Special treatment-Quarantine rules to be strictly applied at the Australian open

Corona chaos at the Australian Open

Two more Australian Open players have tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities revealed Wednesday, taking to the number of cases linked to the tennis tournament to 10.

It is the latest blow to preparations for the year’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne — which has already been delayed by three weeks due to the pandemic. A string of infections detected by Australian authorities has forced 72 players to be confined to their hotel rooms 24 hours a day for two weeks.

More than 1,000 players and staff arrived in largely coronavirus -free Australia on 17 charter planes last week, with the first cases detected on those flights.

The entire contingent is spending 14 days in hotel quarantine, with players not considered close contacts of positive cases allowed outside to train for up to five hours a day in a biosecurity bubble.

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