Australian Open tennis

[K]

"World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz’s Australian Open withdrawal due to a right leg injury means nine-time champion Novak Djokovic will avoid Rafael Nadal until at least the semi-finals.
...

“When I was at my best in pre-season, I picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training. This time it’s the semimembranosus muscle in my right leg,” he wrote on Twitter.
...

Djokovic still enjoyed his usual outstanding results when he did compete, but slid to an unfamiliar No.5 in the rankings...

But Alcaraz’s absence means the 35-year-old climbs into the fourth seeding...
...

The other big winner from Alcaraz’s withdrawal is Taylor Fritz, who becomes the No.8 seed and avoids a higher-ranked opponent until the last eight...
...

Alcaraz, Reilly Opelka, Gael Monfils and Kamil Majchrzak are the missing men from this year’s Australian Open, with Venus Williams, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Qiang Wang out on the women’s side."

(M. McGowan, The Age)

[K]

sb Mens Australian Open 2023

Djokovic 1.91
Medvedev 6.00
Kyrgios, Nadal 13.00
Auger Aliassime 15.00
Zverev 17.00
Tsitsipas 19.00
Rune, Sinner 21.00
Ruud 23.00
...
De Minaur, Thiem, Korda 126.00

[Donny]

Kyrios 12/1 ? Got my $20.

Will also put a lazy $5 on De Minaur. 100+/1 is way good value, for a bloke who recently beat Raffa.

[K]

The women's field is now missing:

Simona Halep (provisional suspension)
Venus Williams
Naomi Osaka
...

Osaka's withdrawal was reported to be no surprise. She hasn't played in four months. There are fears she'll never play again.


And Iga Swiatek has a right shoulder injury. She withdrew from Adelaide Int. 2.

[K]

sb Women's Australian Open 2023

Swiatek 2.90
Sabalenka 8.50
Pegula 10.00
Garcia 11.00
Gauff 12.00
Jabeur 13.00
...
Azarenka 41.00
...
Kvitova 67.00
Tomljanovic 81.00
...
Muguruza 101.00
...

[Jezza]

[K]

Yep, Jezza. Def sounds better news than the alternative.

Back to tennis next year, she says.

Meanwhile...

Tomljanovic has also withdrawn, injured.

[K]

Kyrgios has withdrawn.



'“There’s a parameniscal cyst growing in his left meniscus, which is the result of a small tear in his lateral meniscus. Even at that stage it was still worth persevering to see if we could do anything to get him back on court. To Nick’s credit, he did try everything, to the point even last week he was having a procedure called a fenestration and drainage where they use a syringe to try and drain the cyst, which Nick has some pretty gruesome photos of.

“Any amount of injections that he could try to get into his knee without causing long-term damage. We came to Melbourne with the hope there might be some pressure relieved from that procedure and he’d have some relief and be able to get up to a level he was comfortable to compete.'

[K]

[Jezza]

Nadal (#1) and Ruud (#2) both went out of the Aus Open in the 2nd round.

The last time the top 2 seeds were out by the 2nd round at the AO was in 2002.

[Jezza]

What a match between Murray vs Kokkinakis.

The last finish reminded me of Hewitt vs Baghdatis back in 2008.

[Donny]

How's Alex de Minaur going, Jezza ?

[Jezza]

[Donny]

Alexei Popyrin. World ranking: 113. Beat the #8, Tseng Chun-hsin, in 5 sets.

[K]