Aussie Bites: Veteran moves

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Nuts and Bolts

Day 5 Results | Day 6 Order of Play | Updated Draws

• The Upshot: The beauty of professional tennis was on full display on Day 5. Old dudes did the Michael Jordan meme, a bunch of youngsters raged against machines, and oh yeah THERE WAS BEEF.
• Bracket Busters: Ethan Quinn's straight-set win over Hubert Hurkacz didn't help anyone who was banking on the Pole to be a big factor in the second week, but the real buster has to go to 19-year-old Czech qualifier Nikola Bartunkova's 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 win over 10th seed Belinda Bencic.
• Seeds out after two rounds: 21 – Round 2 exits bolded below
  • Men: 9 – [7] Auger Aliassime, [17] Lehecka, [20] Cobolli, [23] Griekspoor, [24] Rinderknech, [27] Nakashima, [21] Shapovalov, [28] Fonseca, [31] Tsitsipas
  • Women: 12 – [10] Bencic, [11] Alexandrova, [15] Navarro, [18] Samsonova, [20] Kostyuk, [22] Fernandez, [24] Ostapenko, [25] Badosa, [27] Kenin, [28] Raducanu, [30] Joint, [32] Vondrousova
• On tap for Day 6: Round 3 begins for the top half of both draws, with Alex de Minaur and Francis Tiafoe's duel lighting up the marquee. There's a little bit of something for everyone:
  • Men's matches: Alcaraz vs. Moutet, Paul vs. Davidovich Fokina, Bublik vs. Etcheverry, Tiafoe vs. De Minaur, Zverev vs. Norrie, Cerundolo vs. Rublev, Medvedev vs. Marozsan, Tien vs. Borges.
  • Women's matches: Sabalenka vs. Potapova, Mboko vs. Tauson, Sonmez vs. Putintseva, Jovic vs. Paolini, Gauff vs. Baptiste, Muchova vs. Linette, Svitolina vs. Shnaider, Ruse vs. Andreeva.
  • Upset pick: Keep an eye on Jovic...

Day 5 Highlights: WHERE DO I EVEN START

• Having grown up in an Asian household, I have been taught from a very early age to respect my elders. So let's start with Stan the 40-year-old Man Wawrinka. Playing his last Australian Open, Stanley the Manley raged against the dying Melbourne light for over four hours to edge 21-year-old French qualifier Arthur Gea 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 [10-3].

• The final set had everything you want – sublime shot-making, excruciating choking, rapturous cheering, and in the end, it was the one who is built like an ox who crossed the line intact. Gea was outstanding to get the match to a final breaker, but his body finally gave out on him, as he immediately started cramping and struggled to put up much of a fight.

• Stan's reward? A third-round clash with No.9 Taylor Fritz, who for all the talk of being under a fitness cloud, has cruised through the first two rounds.

• Ok, so while THAT was happening, Naomi Osaka was locked in a high-quality dogfight with Sorana Cirstea, who like Wawrinka, is also making her final appearance at Melbourne Park. Deep into the third set, Cirstea got annoyed by Osaka's penchant for saying "Come on" to herself when readying for a second serve return, and she let chair umpire Kelly Thompson know.

• The who thing seemed to fire up Naomi, who played near-flawless tennis to close out the 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win. It was her best performance by far since making the US Open semifinals last fall.
• Anyway, you can guess what happened next. Cirstea gave a pointedly frosty handshake, Osaka asked her what's up, and Cirstea said she doesn't know "fair play".

• Once everyone cooled down, Sorana told reporters there was no drama and Naomi said she was sorry if she was disrespectful. All that is to say, Naomi is in the third round off what should be a confidence-boosting win and she'll play Australian qualifier Madison Inglis, who toppled Laura Siegemund in three sets.

• What if I told you there was Siegemund-Umpire drama in that match? Would you be surprised? No? Ok, well aren't you a ball-knower:

• If Naomi beats Inglis to advance to her first Round of 16 in Melbourne since winning the title in 2021, she could play No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who will play Anna Kalinskaya. The Pole eased past Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-3 with the help of wacky plays like this:

• Ring a bell?

• Nikola Bartunkova earned a legion of new fans based off the inspired performance she put together in a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 win over Bencic. The Czech teen qualified and is into the third round in her first Grand Slam appearance, and the win snapped Bencic's 12-match win streak. How did Bartunkova do it? With intelligence, showmanship, and courage. She lacks the pure power to hit through opponents, yet she struck 40 winners past Bencic, and every single one of them was earned. She also beat Daria Kasatkina in three tough sets in the first round.

• Bartunkova was was 2023 Wimbledon girls finalist but served a six-month suspension last year for an anti-doping violation due to a contaminated supplement, in which the ITIA ultimately ruled she bore no fault. She returned last year and made the semifinals at the WTA 500 in Guadalajara, and now looks well on her way to making her Top 100 debut. She's fun. Watch her if you can. She'll play 21st seed Elise Mertens next. Tough test.

• Oh, and not only is the Czech pipeline continuing to thrive – Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova are still lurking and 18-year-old Tereza Valentova is into the third round – they also have a former No. 1 as chaperone. Karolina Pliskova bested Janice Tjen and is into Round 3 where she'll play Madison Keys. Those two have had some epic tussles back in Kaja's heyday. Noskova will face Wang Xinyu, who toppled Jelena Ostapenko in three sets. Valentova gets Elena Rybakina.
• Before the tournament, Ethan Quinn got stuck with the bill at Nobu at a Team America dinner and the man has been lip-syncing for his life ever since. The 21-year-old bounced Tallon Griekspoor in the first round and then knocked out Hurkacz in the second. He hasn't lost a set and will play 16th seed Jakub Mensik next. (The Second Serve)

• Stan wasn't the only oldie who rolled on Thursday. Along with Stan, Novak Djokovic blitzed past Francesco Maestrelli and Marin Cilic rocked 21st seed Denis Shapovalov, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Novak will face Botic van de Zandschulp next, and Marin will play Casper Ruud. (ATP)
• Down goes Sebastian Baez! Luca Dardieri handed the Argentine his first loss of the season. He'll play Karen Khachanov.

• But other than all THAT drama, it was a pretty cruisey day for the folks you expect to cruise: Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova, Elise Mertens all moved through in straight sets.

Daily Reads

• Coco Gauff has donated $250,000 to historically black colleges or universities over the last two years. (Tennis.com)

It's super important to me. I think if I didn't play tennis, I would have loved to attend an HBCU. I have families members on both sides, both my grandmothers went to HBCUs, uncle and aunt went to HBCU, and growing up just attending, going to HBCU Classic games and things like that.

Yeah, I think, for me, it was just important to support that cause, especially in tennis. I feel like HBCU tennis a lot of times doesn't get the funding that they need. So for me, I would just always try to uplift, like I said in the previous question, marginalized communities and, you know, put things, support where I can.

• Jon Wertheim has been asking around about the rumors of Craig Tiley going to the USTA. (SI.com)

Here in Melbourne, the mystery persists, and the plot thickens. Friends employed by Tennis Australia have asked us (Americans, U.S. tennis media and U.S. coaches) what we are hearing about Tiley’s potential departure. When Tiley was asked about his plans this week, he was coy saying, “Everything has an end.” 

Informed speculation: Tiley wants to avoid being a distraction. He will wait for the tournament to play out before announcing any potential plans. This time seems different from past overtures. Today? The tournament is humming. There isn’t necessarily a pipeline of future Aussie major champions. His family situation is different from what it was in the past. He’s been here for two decades. He’d leave on top.

• Simon Briggs reports the PTPA is shopping around a premium tour idea to investors. (The Telegraph via Yahoo)

On the face of things, the “Pinnacle Tour” idea is not dissimilar from the “Premium Tour” concept put forward by Tennis Australia at this same stage of the 2024 season.

But there is one big difference: the PTPA has sent the blueprint to more than 20 international banking firms, seeking “expressions of interest” from potential investors.

• Possibly relevant: Golf's LIV tour kinda failed fyi. You can read about the how and the why here, here, and here. (Golf Digest, Slate, and Bloomberg)
• Today, in JFC WTF GTFO: Simon Cambers looked into the AI-generated tennis books that are flooding Amazon. (Second Serve)

Some of these clearly AI-generated books are comical. Chapter 1 of Newberry’s Federer book is all about…Serena Williams. Ahem. Some are even laugh-out-loud, like the books by Charles B. Prints (or Charles A. Prints), which reimagine Petra Kvitova and Ons Jabeur—and Jake [sic] Draper—as famous table tennis stars, but use all their tennis and life backstories to do so.

Some books are downright weird, like Harrison F. Cole’s biography of Carlos Alcaraz, the cover of which is definitely not a photo of Alcaraz; it’s no tennis player I’ve ever seen and looks vaguely like an actor or a singer in a boy band, wearing a collared, sleeveless top. His biography of Jannik Sinner carries a cover photo that does not even try to make it look like the Italian, instead showing a woman.

• Carole Bouchard caught up with Nikola Bartunkova before the tournament. Some really nice tidbits in her last newsletter. (Tennis Sweet Spot)

“I always liked to go to the net, to have more creativity, to use drop shots and be aggressive. To go for it. I like this game and I want to be different from the other girls, because I know that these games aren’t really usual on the women’s tour. So it’s just Niki Bartinkova. And it’s really great to see this game, and different games in general. I enjoy every shot of my game.”

I actually laughed when she told me, “Petra Kvitova was my idol since I was a kid,” because of course it was. That tracks. “I also loved the game of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, nowadays I like Sinner and Alcaraz. But at the end of the day, I want to be the Niki Bartunkova.” She didn’t blink while saying that, so I asked her, “You mean people saying one day they want to play like you?” And she smiled the smile of teenagers thinking nothing is impossible. “Yes, to play like me.”

• On the heels of the Emirates announcement, Aryna Sabalenka has secured a deal with Gucci. (Gulf News)
• Gone but not forgotten: The ATP had some nice getting to know features on 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, who plays at the University of Virginia, and Italy's Francesco Maestrelli, who played and won his first Grand Slam main-draw match in the first round. (ATP)

• Midnight Snack Review: Boring, but I've been doing overnight oats and yeah, they're great. 8/10 way to start your day.
• Separately, I'm going to try this tomorrow:

• Oscar nominations are out. It was a great year for movies because everyone here is deserving except F1. But I'm just going to say it: absolutely zero nominations for NO OTHER CHOICE is just racist af.
• David Ehrlich's annual 25 BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR COUNTDOWN video is always an event and he crushes it once again. How can you not love movies:

• Bop of the Day: This one goes out to the olds, may we forever reign.