Naomi Osaka comeback spoiled by early loss at Australian Open
Daniil Medvedev advances at Australian Open after opponent retires
Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 and 2022 finalist at Melbourne Park, advanced to the second round of the Australian Open when his opponent, Terence Atmane, retired early in the fourth set suffering from cramps.
Medvedev had dropped the first set at Margaret Court Arena but was leading 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0 on Monday when the 22-year-old Atmane withdrew.
"It's quite funny because when I was feeling tired in the third set, I looked up the other end and saw he was cramping," Medvedev said. "The conditions were fine, but it has not been hot these seven days and then it was hot today, so you get more stressed."
Atmane was holding his own in the third set when he started suffering severe cramps in his thigh. Atmane received a time penalty as he struggled to get to the service line and another violation for smashing his racket in frustration, but he played on and even broke Medvedev's service after a courtside massage.
"Tough match, he played pretty well," said Medvedev, who elected to skip the tune-up tournaments in Australia this year. "I played badly at the start of the first set. When I started feeling better physically, he started cramping."
Ben Shelton, a quarterfinalist here 12 months ago, beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6 (2), 7-5.
Another American, 25th-seeded Sebastian Korda, defeated Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2.
No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece rallied from a set down to beat lucky loser Zizou Bergs 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
Bergs was a late replacement for the injured Matteo Berrettini, and Tsitsipas said the change of opponent had thrown him off his game early on.
"Things like this are dangerous when you are preparing many days in a row for a specific kind of player or opponent," said Tsitsipas, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year's final. "Zizou did a great job today to try and make it as difficult as he could for me. It wasn't an easy out here."
The late change of opponent was not the only factor that contributed to Tsitsipas' poor start; he also tried out a new stance when serving. While some pundits suggested the move from a legs-apart to a legs-together stance was to protect his injury-prone back, Tsitsipas said it was entirely tactical.
"A lot of players follow that serving technique, so I've been trying it out in the last few days," he said. "It didn't work that well in the first set, but I did find that rhythm, that balance in the second and third sets."
Also on the men's side, three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka exited in the first round after losing 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 to France's Adrian Mannarino.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Coco Gauff clarifies she 'wasn't mad' at cartoon depiction
MELBOURNE, Australia -- World No. 4 Coco Gauff has said she "wasn't mad" about a cartoon posted by the United States Tennis Association, after her negative reaction to the hype post went viral overnight.
The cartoon, which was posted on Sunday (local time) in the lead-up to the first day of the Australian Open, depicted Gauff and her fellow seeded Americans as characters in the animated television show "The Wild Thornberrys," which aired from 1998 to 2004. It was later deleted by the USTA after Gauff highlighted the cartoon on both X and Instagram, saying it was "foul" and had made her and her compatriots "look so ugly."
But in her news conference following her straight-sets first-round win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Gauff clarified she "wasn't mad" at the post and the reaction to her comments was overblown.
"Oh, people thought I was being serious, that I was actually mad with it?" she asked. "I realize TikTok humor is very different than Twitter. I saw somebody posted, like, there's no way she's that [upset] over it.
"I was like, no, I wasn't mad. We looked awful. And actually, I saw Ben [Shelton] post first on his story. Then I DM'd Ben immediately and I was like, 'What is this?' Then Jess [Pegula] started texting me. We were just, like, laughing at each person, we were laughing at [Sebastian Korda's depiction], I think Ben and Sebi had the worst ones."
The post featured Gauff, Pegula, Shelton, Korda, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Emma Navarro. Gauff said the artists "did great with the cartoon" but added that she doesn't know if she wants herself "drawn as that art style."
The 19-year-old said she also messaged the USTA privately to jokingly ask what the thought process behind the Thornberrys-style artwork was, but the organization never got back to her.
"They never responded. I got left on read by USTA, which sucks," she said.
Gauff entered the 2024 Australian Open as the most recent women's Grand Slam champion, having won the US Open title last year. She faces compatriot Caroline Dolehide in the second round on Tuesday.
Coco Gauff cruises in Aussie opener; Marketa Vondrousova ousted
MELBOURNE, Australia -- With increased confidence in her serve thanks to some advice from former No. 1 Andy Roddick, Coco Gauff began her quest for back-to-back Grand Slam singles titles with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia at the Australian Open on Monday.
The 19-year-old American, who won her first major at the US Open in September, wrapped up the victory in exactly one hour.
"I was a little nervous the first set," fourth-seeded Gauff said. "I think I did well returning, then I found my serve toward the end [of the set]. When I was nervous at 3-3, I told myself: 'I feel good, I look good, so just have fun.' That was able to relax me a little bit."
Gauff dropped just one point on her serve in the second set and said that Roddick had recently given her some serving tips.
"It was really cool," she said. "He's a really chill guy. I met him before but never to that level. I went to Charlotte [North Carolina] for two days. It was a really good two days. I think that my serve has improved. He's probably one of the best servers in history."
Gauff will face fellow American player Caroline Dolehide in the next round.
Earlier, there was a surprising defeat for Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of Czechia, as she was beaten 6-1, 6-2 by Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.
Vondrousova, the No. 7 seed, missed the Adelaide tuneup event with a hip injury and struggled on serve throughout, hitting seven double faults as she was well-beaten by the world No. 93-ranked player.
"I didn't practice because I was injured," Vondrousova said. "I think that was the important thing. I lost myself at the beginning."
Yastremska, who had lost in the first round in her past seven Grand Slam appearances, had 26 winners.
During her on-court interview after the match, Yastremska acknowledged the ongoing war in Ukraine and how proud she is of the Ukrainian people. She was emotional in recounting how a rocket had struck her grandmother's house while she was playing in Brisbane earlier this month.
"I think we just need to remember about it and give as much support to Ukraine," Yastremska said. "But I'm proud to be Ukrainian, and thank you everybody for your support."
In other early play, 19th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine advanced to the second round, beating Taylah Preston, a wild-card entry from Australia, 6-2, 6-2.
Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka will later make her much-anticipated comeback to Grand Slam tennis after the birth of her daughter. The Japanese player will take on Caroline Garcia of France in the first round in the last match at Rod Laver Arena.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Australian Open 2024: Naomi Osaka beaten in return, Coco Gauff advances
First-round Australian Open action continues, with some big names set to hit centre court on Monday, including the most recent women's US Open Grand Slam champion, Coco Gauff. Two-time winner here Naomi Osaka also makes her long-awaited return to the court after taking time off to give birth to her daughter Shai, while men's third seed Daniil Medvedev is also in action.
Here's how Day 2 at the Australian Open unfolded:
'Actions speak louder than words': Alex De Minaur ready to let his tennis do the talking
In the whirlwind of Australian Open anticipation, many will scoff at some successes achieved at tournaments widely seen as nothing more than 'tune-up' events for the first Grand Slam of the year.
In the cosy atmosphere of the United Cup in Sydney, Alex De Minaur, a name not unfamiliar but perhaps not as resonant as some of his more illustrious counterparts, crafted an extraordinary narrative.
The never-say-die Australian scalped two giants of the sport in consecutive matches. First world No. 1 Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-4) and then German star Alexander Zverev (5-7, 6-3, 6-4).
Those two wins came after a straight sets victory over American Taylor Fritz, which followed six prior wins against top 10-ranked opponents through a 2023 campaign that led to a maiden ATP 500 title in Acapulco and a Masters 1000 final appearance at Toronto.
But preparations for the Australian Open didn't stop after Sydney. De Minaur claimed another impressive win against No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz at Melbourne Park in a charity exhibition match last week.
These triumphs have reverberated through the tennis community Down Under, leaving fans and pundits alike questioning preconceived notions about the 24-year-old that he may not be 'strong enough' to compete with the top players across the globe.
The results have also catapulted him into the ATP top 10, becoming the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006 to achieve the feat.
Some will still question these wins, though. Not the same pressure? You're right. Opponents not at their peak? Maybe.
But no matter how you look at it, it's a remarkable achievement. And on the eve of the Australian Open, the timing couldn't have been better.
"[Reaching the top 10] was the big goal, and probably one of the only goals that I've voiced out loud for a while now," de Minaur said during the unveiling of Asics' new Solution Speed FF3 shoe on Thursday morning in Melbourne. "I've been close, but it's a great feeling to finally be able to achieve that.
"Now, it doesn't stop, right? You keep on pushing, and keep on trying to get better. We have a big tournament coming up."
The self-belief of de Minaur is unmatched, and his victories in 2024 should be seen as more than just stats in the wins column; they're symbolic of a player building serious confidence.
Australian tennis, at least in recent years, has witnessed a lull in the absence of consistent success. Ash Barty's women's singles title at her home Slam in 2022 was monumental, but her retirement shortly after breaking the 44-year drought was equally historic.
Eyeballs then shifted to the mercurial Nick Kyrgios who, following his breakthrough at Wimbledon and first Grand Slam final appearance in 2022, appeared to be aligning his mindset in a way that hinted imminent success. But injury struggles have meant the fan favourite will have missed the last two Australian Open tournaments.
With the retirement of Barty and now Kyrgios' setbacks, the country has been yearning for a new hero to rally behind. His rise to the top 10 has been a gradual one, but in de Minaur they may have found their beacon of hope.
The pressure that comes with top 10 expectations is undeniable, which is why as he steps onto the courts of Melbourne Park, he carries not just his racquet but the weight of an entire nation's hopes. It's a challenge he's willing to embrace, and one that has ultimately defined his career.
"At the end of the day I'm gonna be one to let my tennis do the talking," said de Minaur. "It's my first time in this position with so much hype, but at the same time it hasn't really changed a lot for me. Yes, there are more eyeballs on me but when it comes to what I do as a player, nothing really changes.
"I've always been a stern believer that actions speak louder than words. I'll put my head down, keep on working and try and do my best."
The endorsements and compliments have been pouring in for de Minaur after his hot start to the year, and they don't come any bigger when they're from one of the greatest players of all time.
Djokovic, who is on the hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam, was glowing in his assessment of de Minaur's recent form.
"It didn't come as a surprise to me," he said. "I know that he's capable of doing big things. He's one of the quickest, if not the quickest, tennis players we have in the game. He can play equally well defense and offense.
"I know the expectations are high from him as they normally are from Kyrgios or any other top Australian player when they play at home.
"There is a great chance that he can do very well and go deep in the tournament. Obviously you never know. You can't predict the results. But he's in great shape."
There are nine Australians that sit inside the ATP's top 100, with four in the top 50, and four currently sitting on their career-high ranking. De Minaur insists "this is where Australian tennis belongs".
"There is such rich culture and history here, and a great group of guys coming up, we're all pushing each other, we're all wanting the best for each other, it's amazing," he said.
"You look at the success we've had in the Davis Cup over the last couple of years, [we don't have] the strongest nation on paper rankings wise. But there we are, showing what we're made of and what it means to be an Australian tennis player."
De Minaur is yet to jump over the fourth-round hurdle at an Australian Open, with his best ever finish at a Grand Slam a quarterfinal at the 2020 US Open.
Can he carry his early-year momentum and use the high of his recent results to fuel a charge into the final eight for the first time at his home slam?
"Why not?" he said with confidence. "It has been a goal of mine for a while to make the deep ends of the slams and bigger tournaments. In 2024 I'm a new person, so why not break those barriers? I broke the barrier of reaching top 10 so hopefully I can break many more barriers and break many more firsts.
"It's about having the mindset. I've improved in a lot of different areas that can help me being in these positions but again tennis is not an easy sport, you're not really depending on yourself, you've got an opponent on the other side of the court which, normally, is quite handy, so it's always gonna be tough but I'm looking forward to the challenge."
His first challenge is a tough one in the shape of former world No. 3 Milos Raonic in the first round. But should he get past the big-serving Canadian, de Minaur faces the reality of avoiding the top four unless he reaches a quarterfinal.
Despite reaching the top 10 and defeating some of the world's best players, the Aussie remains something of an underdog.
The Australian Open awaits him, and the question looms large -- can he break through more glass ceilings and become the first Aussie to lift the trophy on his home turf since Mark Edmondson achieved the feat in 1976?
The journey from underdog to contender has been arduous and there are still two weeks in the way of de Minaur and history. But as he has proven time and again, he thrives on these types of challenges.
Australian Open 2024: Ranking the tournament's top players
The 2024 Australian Open is upon us. It will not feature Rafael Nadal, as we hoped it might, but there's more than enough to track over the coming fortnight.
It gives us the first episode of the new season of "Novak Djokovic Is Here Until Someone Knocks Him Off His Perch," after the 36-year-old won the 22nd, 23rd and 24th Grand Slam titles of his career in 2023.
It offers Coco Gauff an encore attempt after she rolled to her first Slam title at the 2023 US Open. It brings us new mother Naomi Osaka's first Slam match in 16 months. (Another Slam-winning mom, Angelique Kerber, returns after a similar break.)
It also resumes the burgeoning rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, who traded the WTA No. 1 ranking back and forth in 2023. It offers a new chapter for Carlos Alcaraz, who's looking for his third Slam title before his 21st birthday, and a new breakthrough opportunity for Jannik Sinner, who's looking for his first at 22.
It resumes the story of American Ben Shelton, the 21-year-old former Florida Gator, who enjoyed an up-and-down first full year on the tour but ended it with a US Open semifinal appearance and his first career ATP title in October.
There's a lot to follow. Here are 20 players that could make particularly large splashes over two lovely weeks in Melbourne.
Tier 1: Favorites
Novak Djokovic
ESPN BET initial title odds: -110
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 34%
He has won 29 straight Australian Open matches and 35 of his past 36 in Slams. If you want to reach further back, he has gone 66-3 in Slams since the start of 2021. He maintains nearly impossible fitness, and as he has reached his mid-30s, his mental game has lapped the field to a point that he's almost become better at this age than he was in his physical prime. Among top-50 players, only Stefanos Tsitsipas (69.9%) has won a higher percentage of service points than he has (69.6%) over the past 52 weeks, and only Carlos Alcaraz (42.0%) has won a higher percentage of return points (41.2%).
If we wanted to nitpick, we could point out that Djokovic has gone just 6-3 in his past nine matches, losing to Jannik Sinner in both the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup and to newly minted top-10er Alex de Minaur at the United Cup. But he also thumped Sinner to win the tour finals, and none of these losses were in best-of-fives -- not including disqualifications, only Alcaraz, Nadal and Daniil Medvedev have beaten him in one of those going back to the 2019 US Open.
Djokovic dropped a set against dynamic 18-year-old Dino Prizmic in an incredible first-round match, lifting his level in response as he always does (but requiring six match points to finish things off). We've seen Djokovic play his way into form in Slams, and until he doesn't do so, we'll assume he will again in Melbourne. He remains the favorite, the gold standard, the GOAT, et cetera. This list always starts with him.
Iga Swiatek
ESPN BET initial title odds: +250
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 35%
The indispensable website Tennis Abstract now shares what it calls the Bakery Report, a look at which men men and women have recorded the most 6-0 (bagel) or 6-1 (breadsticks) sets over the last year. Nine players -- five women and four men -- have recorded between 20-27 of them. That's a lot. But Iga Swiatek leads the way with 57, more than double anyone else on either tour. When she finds an advantage against you, you're toast. Or some other baked good.
Swiatek lost her No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka for much of the fall before winning in Beijing and Cancun, reclaiming the top spot and finishing 2023 on an 11-match winning streak (which she has since extended to 16). She's the betting favorite on the women's side, but her odds did shrink after she received an absolutely ridiculous draw. She faces 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round and could face 2022 finalist Danielle Collins in the second, Elina Svitolina in the fourth and either Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, two-time Aussie champ Victoria Azarenka or Iga-conqueror Jelena Ostapenko (against whom she's 0-4 all time) in the quarters. No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina landed on her half of the draw, too.
Carlos Alcaraz
ESPN BET initial title odds: +320
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 13%
He missed the Australian Open while working his way back from injury, but he still spent much of the season trading the No. 1 ranking with Djokovic. He ran out of gas in the fall, losing five of his last nine matches of 2023 (including two at the tour finals), but he still went 65-12 overall -- 2-5 against Djokovic and Jannik Sinner and 63-7 against everyone else. He elected to forego any tuneup tournaments in the hopes of playing his way into form, Djokovic-style, in Melbourne. His game remains a joyous combination of violent and optimistic, and as long as his body holds up, he's going to have many chances at a first Aussie Open crown. Will that come in 2024?
Aryna Sabalenka
ESPN BET initial title odds: +450
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 12%
While Swiatek's odds got worse after the draw, Sabalenka's improved -- the only Slam champion she might play before the semifinals is No. 9 seed Barbora Krejcikova in the quarters.
Sabalenka's game officially came together in 2023 -- after evolving all of the other parts of her game as her serve randomly betrayed her in 2022, she rediscovered consistency in her big serve last year and spent a couple of months at No. 1 because of it. She won the Australian Open, reached the final of the US Open and reached the semis of the other two Slams. Even if the US Open was her only appearance in a final over the last eight months of the year, her consistency in an era of deeper and deeper women's tournament fields was staggering. She's always there, and hard courts are her best surface. She further proved her own baking credentials with a 6-0, 6-1 blowout of qualifier Ella Seidel in the first round.
Jannik Sinner
ESPN BET initial title odds: +600
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 31%
Considering he has only reached one Slam semifinal in his career, considering he only made it past the fourth round in one of four last year, and considering his lengthy list of nagging injuries and fitness issues through the years, it might be too aggressive to put Sinner in this Favorites tier. His résumé pretty much screams "Tier 2" at this moment. But let's get aggressive. If anyone is capable of making the Tier 1 leap this year, it's the 22-year-old who indeed beat Djokovic twice late in 2023 and has taken four of his past six against Alcaraz. Mastering best-of-fives is basically the last hurdle he has to clear, and he's still young enough to clear it.
Coco Gauff
ESPN BET initial title odds: +700
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 19%
The betting odds certainly paint Gauff as a Tier 2 contender as well, but there's nothing second-tier about what Gauff has done over the past six months. She won 24 of 26 matches at one point in the summer and fall, she beat Sabalenka to take the US Open in September, she has lost only to Swiatek (whom she also beat for the first time in Cincinnati) and Jessica Pegula since Wimbledon, and she won her tuneup tournament in Auckland as well. She could be a Tier 1 contender, or very close to it, in every Slam she enters for the next decade.
Tier 2: Primary hopefuls
Elena Rybakina
ESPN BET initial title odds: +550
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 8%
Rybakina has evolved into one of the most upset-proof players in the sport. Over the last year she's gone 20-11 against top-25 players (good in its own right) and 32-3 against everyone else, and one of those losses came via injury retirement. She lost in three sets to Sabalenka in the Australian Open final last year, and she blew out Sabalenka 6-0, 6-3 in Brisbane in early January.
Daniil Medvedev
ESPN BET initial title odds: +800
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 10%
The 27-year-old from Russia is one of the only active players to have beaten Djokovic in a best-of-five, and as his US Open final run -- which featured a pretty straightforward win over Alcaraz in the semis -- reminds us, he's a major threat in any hard-court Slam he enters. Three fall losses to Sinner felt like a bit of a hierarchy shift, but his "human backboard with a huge serve" combo remains impenetrable for most.
Jessica Pegula
ESPN BET initial title odds: +2000
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 8%
She has reached the quarterfinals of five of her past eight Slams, and she has been in the WTA top five for the past 15 months. We're still waiting for prime Pegula to show up in 2024 -- she has played four matches, three went to three sets, and she was upset by Katie Boulter in the United Cup -- but her three appearances in finals in the fall (Tokyo, Seoul, Cancun) aren't that far in the rearview. Landing in the same quarter as Rybakina and the fast-rising Zheng Qinwen did not do her any favors here.
Others: Holger Rune (No. 8 seed, three-time Slam quarterfinalist), Casper Ruud (No. 11 seed, three-time Slam finalist)
Tier 3: Good start to 2024
Alexander Zverev
ESPN BET initial title odds: +2800
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 3%
The 2020 US Open finalist slowly rounded into form last year, following his gruesome 2022 ankle injury, and he enters the Australian Open having won four of his past five matches against top-10 opponents.
Grigor Dimitrov
ESPN BET initial title odds:+3300
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 2%
Now 32, Dimitrov hasn't reached a Slam semifinal since the 2019 US Open, but he's in his best form in ages. He's 15-3 since October, and he won 10 straight sets (including two against Holger Rune) to win the Brisbane tuneup.
Andrey Rublev
ESPN BET initial title odds: +4000
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 2%
The 26-year-old Rublev has basically been the Pegula of the men's tour of late, having reached the quarterfinals in five of his past six Slams and eight of 13. A further breakthrough remains elusive -- and his first-round performance against Thiago Seyboth Wild, which required a win in a fifth-set tiebreaker after Rublev blew a two-set lead, was uninspiring -- but he's only now working through his prime athletic years.
Mirra Andreeva
ESPN BET initial title odds: +2500
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 0.2%
The sportsbooks are probably being a bit aggressive here -- she's tied for the seventh-best odds -- but the 16-year-old went 39-10 in 2023, entered the top 50 in October and has gone 5-5 all-time against top-20 opponents. She's going to make a Slam run at some point soon.
Alex de Minaur
ESPN BET initial title odds: +3300
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 0.6%
The 24-year-old Aussie has gone 8-9 against top-10 opponents over the past year and beat Djokovic in the United Cup; his upside is clear, and a run of more consistent results allowed him to enter the ATP top 10 for the first time this month.
Others: Jelena Ostapenko (6-1 in 2024, Adelaide finalist), Maria Sakkari (3-0 in 2024 after a solid fall), Jack Draper and Jiri Lehecka (Adelaide finalists), Elise Mertens and Emma Navarro (Hobart finalists), Linda Noskova (Brisbane semifinalist)
Tier 4: Only need a few breaks
Zheng Qinwen
ESPN BET initial title odds: +2500
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 3%
After reaching her first Slam quarterfinal at the US Open, the 21-year-old from China reached two tour finals last fall, beating Ostapenko and Sakkari among others. She entered this year in the top 15, and she has the game to stay there a while.
Ons Jabeur
ESPN BET initial title odds: +2500
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 2%
Due in part to injuries, Jabeur's form was all over the map in 2023. But she has still made the final of three of her past six Slams, and she has mastered the art of building momentum over the course of a fortnight. If she can get past Andreeva in the second round, she could go a long way.
Ben Shelton
ESPN BET initial title odds: +5000
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 0.1%
Over the past year, the 21-year-old has gone 18-22 in best-of-three matches ... and 10-4 in best-of-fives, including 9-2 in the two hard-court Slams. Building consistency is the goal for 2024, but it wouldn't be surprising if Melbourne again brought out his best.
Others: Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 7 seed, 2023 Australian Open finalist, battling back injury), Marketa Vondrousova (No. 7 seed, 2023 Wimbledon champ), Barbora Krejcikova (No. 9 seed, two finals in the fall), Hubert Hurkacz (No. 9 seed, two finals in the fall), Beatriz Haddad Maia (No. 10 seed, 2023 French Open semifinalist), Taylor Fritz (No. 12 seed, 36-13 on hard courts in the last year), Daria Kasatkina (No. 14 seed), Karen Khachanov (No. 15 seed, 2023 Aussie Open semifinalist), Veronika Kudermetova (No. 15 seed, 2021 Wimbledon finalist), Caroline Garcia (No. 16 seed, 2022 US Open semifinalist), Frances Tiafoe (No. 17 seed, 2022 US Open semifinalist), Nicolas Jarry (No. 18 seed, three top-10 wins since May), Elina Svitolina (No. 19 seed, three-time Slam semifinalist), Ugo Humbert (No. 21 seed, 16-5 since the US Open), Leylah Fernandez (No. 32 seed, 16-4 since September)
Tier 5: Melbourne's been good to them
Naomi Osaka
ESPN BET initial title odds: +2500
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 0.0%
The four-time Slam champion returned to the tour earlier in January, winning one match and going three sets with Karolina Pliskova in Brisbane. It's probably a bit much to ask her to make a huge run in her first Slam back -- especially after drawing Caroline Garcia in the first round -- but ... damn, can she still strike a tennis ball.
Victoria Azarenka
ESPN BET initial title odds: +5000
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 0.3%
The two-time Aussie champion is 3-1 in 2024, having beaten Ostapenko and lost to Sabalenka in Brisbane. Her game is growing more one-dimensional (her hold percentages are going up, her break percentages down), but at 34, she still trades blows with just about anyone.
Andy Murray
ESPN BET initial title odds: x
Tennis Abstract initial odds: 0.0%
The 36-year-old made the Australian Open final five times between 2010 and 2016 but never took home the title. He probably won't in 2024 either -- even if he gets rolling, Djokovic likely awaits in the third round -- but it has been fun watching him continue to grind at a top-50 level with a resurfaced hip.
Others: Sofia Kenin (2020 champion), Caroline Wozniacki (2018 champion), Angelique Kerber (2016 champion), Stan Wawrinka (2014 champion), Danielle Collins (2022 finalist), Dominic Thiem (2020 finalist), Tommy Paul (2023 semifinalist), Donna Vekic (2023 quarterfinalist), Sebastian Korda (2023 quarterfinalist), Aslan Karatsev (2021 semifinalist), Karolina Pliskova (2019 semifinalist), Marin ili (2018 finalist), Elise Mertens (2018 semifinalist)
'Every day I wake up and I have a mission': Representing Ukraine continues to motivate Elina Svitolina
When Elina Svitolina won her first WTA title in nearly two years on a sunny day at Strasbourg last May, a delighted crowd showered her with cheers as she held up her trophy.
When Svitolina presented the trophies following the girls' final at a tournament her foundation sponsored in November in Kyiv, Ukraine, it was inside a dark bomb shelter during a missile strike. Svitolina, the rest of the tournament organizers and the teenage participants made the best of the nearly four hours they spent inside the cramped quarters -- as they waited for the attack to end in order to start the boys' final -- but it was yet another stark reminder of what daily life is like in Svitolina's beloved country as the Russian invasion continues.
"It's these kind of moments that my priorities just shift," Svitolina, 29, told ESPN last month. "I miss my country a lot. I miss my people. And for me it's really important to go back when I have time and to really feel again these moments when I'm home because I feel like Ukraine will always be my home, doesn't matter where I really live. [It's] why I feel like using my platform is the least that I can do for my country and for my people."
Since the war began in February 2022, Svitolina has done just that -- and she will continue to do so at the Australian Open and beyond this season.
The highest-ranked Ukrainian tennis player in WTA history, and one of the country's most recognizable public figures, Svitolina has been front and center in raising awareness and money for her homeland, as well as giving Ukrainians something to cheer for. Since she returned to competition in April after giving birth to daughter Skai (with husband and fellow tennis player Gael Monfils) in October 2022, Svitolina won the Strasbourg title and reached the quarterfinals at the French Open and the semifinals at Wimbledon. She was named the WTA Comeback Player of the Year and ended the season ranked inside the top 25. Through it all, she mentioned her country whenever she could, held fundraising events, met with potential donors and spent time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on multiple occasions.
"I'm representing a country who is at war right now," Svitolina said. "I see that a lot of people are following my results, and I feel the support from Ukrainians around the world as well. It's a lot of pressure but it's a responsibility I have and a big motivation for me. Every day I wake up and I have a mission, both on the court and for [raising] money for my foundation and for United 24 [a Ukrainian government-run charitable foundation].
"Sometimes it's a big challenge and feels like a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but I am becoming a better person because of this and it's really made me stronger."
Svitolina said playing for more than just herself has provided her with purpose on the toughest of days, on and off the court, and she credited it with helping her handle her nerves and remain in the present. Everything, she said, "just clicked" ahead of the French Open, her first major back.
In Paris -- which opened play less than two months after her return -- she showed few signs of rust, defeating two seeded players, including No. 9 seed Daria Kasatkina, en route to the quarters. Weeks later at Wimbledon she matched her best-ever result at a Grand Slam, defeating current world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and three other major champions.
Naomi Osaka, the four-time major champion who herself returned from maternity leave this month, called Svitolina's comeback "super inspiring" in a recent interview with ESPN and cited her as motivation for her own return.
Svitolina said she hopes to build on her 2023 success in the new season. At Auckland, her first tournament of the year, she looked like she was ready to do exactly that. She defeated major champions Caroline Wozniacki and Emma Raducanu during her run to the final, where she ultimately lost to reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff in three sets. She will open play at the Australian Open against 18-year-old wild card Taylah Preston. Svitolina is a two-time quarterfinalist in Melbourne.
"I for sure had an amazing season [in 2023] but I always want more and know I can [achieve] more," Svitolina said.
Svitolina, who has been ranked as high as No. 3 in her career and won the 2018 WTA Finals, knows how good she can be on the sport's biggest stages. Like many of her peers, she prioritizes the majors and counts winning a Grand Slam title as one of her biggest career goals. But this year, she has her eyes on a different title: Olympic gold.
A bronze medalist in Tokyo in 2021, Svitolina is excited to have a chance to represent Ukraine again this summer.
"I don't want to put so much pressure on myself because there is already enough pressure, but because of the war, this is like a fifth Slam or maybe even bigger for me," Svitolina said. "I love to play in Paris and it's going to be on clay. I love the surface, so I will try my very best to prepare and prepare well. I know that there will be a lot of support, a lot of pressure from different angles, but pressure is a privilege."
Svitolina held the November tournament in Kyiv, as that had been the city in which she moved to as a 12-year-old to start her professional career. She said it is now almost unrecognizable from the city she remembers as she estimated "almost 80% of it has been damaged," but it has meant a lot to her to provide opportunities for prospective junior players who have seen their on-court hopes dashed. Many of them have parents fighting in the war, Svitolina said, and tennis has simply taken a back seat.
But tennis has given Svitolina an escape throughout the past 23 months and she has wanted to provide the same for as many kids in Ukraine as she can. As a result of her experience in the war-torn city, as well as everything she's seen firsthand or through photos and videos, in Ukraine and as a new mother, her perspective -- as an athlete and as a person -- has changed.
"I just enjoy the little things now," Svitolina said. "Life can go so quick. For me now, it's important to just live life to the fullest."
And that starts with Skai. Svitolina left her at home in Switzerland during the US Open hard-court summer series with her mother and Monfils' mother, but Skai has been with Svitolina and Monfils throughout their time in New Zealand and Australia. Svitolina's mom and a nanny are traveling with the family because, as Svitolina said, "it takes a team." Due to Skai's young age, Svitolina and Monfils were concerned about the health effects of such a long trip, but decided it was worth it so they could enjoy the time as a family.
Svitolina and Monfils haven't thought beyond the Australian Open in terms of Skai's travel schedule and will reevaluate after the tournament. Not thinking too far ahead is a mentality that Svitolina has utilized for much of her return.
Svitolina spent much of the fall recovering from a foot injury, which derailed her hard-court season, and that, combined with having seen Monfils deal with his own stretch of injuries, has made staying healthy her priority. She no longer has a timetable in regard to her career and instead Svitolina said both she and Monfils will just take it one season at a time going forward.
"We don't want to put any numbers in front of us," Svitolina said. "We're looking at it as just each year is important and try to prepare as best for it as possible. We are going to see year by year. And then we'll see what the future will bring."
Novak Djokovic outlasts Dino Prizmic at Australian Open
Dino Prizmic had never played a Grand Slam match -- until he took on defending champion Novak Djokovic at Rod Laver Arena in the Australian Open.
The 18-year-old Croatian qualifier, who was born seven months after Djokovic made his Grand Slam debut in 2005, made it last as long as he could Sunday, unsettling the 24-time major winner at times before Djokovic finished off the match 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.
"He deserved all the applause and all the credit he got tonight. He's an amazing player, so mature. ... He really gave me a run for my money," Djokovic said. "It was an amazing performance for a teenager who never had the experience of playing on such a big stage.
"I started well for a 36-year-old, jeez, if you think about it, I'm double his age. I had some good moments, [but] physically I'm still finding myself on the court."
Djokovic made his Grand Slam debut at Melbourne Park in 2005 and has developed a record at the Australian Open that no man can match, with 10 titles here among his unprecedented career haul.
The first set played out just about as expected. From there, it became quite a ride.
Prizmic took the second set off Djokovic and went up a break in the third, stunning a capacity crowd, before the world's No. 1-ranked player broke back and took the set.
Prizmic didn't give up when he trailed 4-0 in the fourth either, saving a break point before getting a service break back. He saved three match points down 5-3 and made Djokovic serve it out. He then saved two more match points before it ended in 4 hours, 1 minute.
"This is his moment; it could have been his match as well," Djokovic said. "Amazing performance for someone who is 18. ... I certainly want to be in his corner. He's going to do some big things in his career."
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.
Coco Gauff rips USTA post for making players 'look so ugly'
MELBOURNE, Australia -- 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff described a "hype post" piece of artwork, sent on social media Sunday by the United States Tennis Association, as "foul," claiming the cartoon drawing makes her and fellow Americans "look so ugly."
In the post, which has since been deleted, the USTA uploaded artwork wishing the best for the seeded Americans at the Australian Open, which began Sunday, in the style of cartoon television show "The Wild Thornberrys."
But according to Gauff, the world's No. 4 player who took to Instagram to voice her displeasure, the post missed the mark completely. She described the depictions as "hideous."
"Worst thing I've ever seen," Gauff said in an Instagram story Sunday. "Like a caricature artist decided to make [us] all look like hideous looking people.
"The art style is cool for a cartoon show but not for a hype post. Foul."
After drawing attention to the post on X, Gauff said the depiction made her and her compatriots look "ugly."
"Y'all I know it is a cartoon show but I think I would prefer to be drawn as a Bratz art style and not this. This is makes us all look so ugly," she said.
Fellow seeded American Jessica Pegula was not a fan either, replying to Gauff on X that they looked "ugly."
The post featured Gauff, Pegula, Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Emma Navarro.
Matteo Berrettini withdraws from Australian Open due to foot
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the Australian Open on Sunday on the eve of his scheduled first-round match because of a foot injury, another setback for the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up.
Berrettini, a 2022 semifinalist at Melbourne Park, was due to play 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas at Rod Laver Arena on Monday.
"Matteo Berrettini has withdrawn from the Australian Open with a right foot injury," tournament organizers said in a statement. "Wishing you a quick recovery."
Zizou Bergs, a lucky loser from qualifying, was elevated to the main draw to face seventh-seeded Tsitsipas.
Berrettini, 27, had a run of ailments in 2023, including an early end to his season when he was forced to withdraw from his second-round match at the US Open after injuring an ankle.
He also missed several weeks with a tear in an oblique muscle and had dropped to No. 125 in the ATP rankings from a career-high No. 6.
His best Grand Slam result was at Wimbledon in 2021, where he lost in the final to Novak Djokovic.
Barbora Krejcikova avoids upset; Aryna Sabalenka opens with win
Barbora Krejcikova, the only women's Grand Slam winner playing in the day session to open the Australian Open, posted a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over wild card Mai Hontama at Margaret Court Arena on Sunday.
Krejcikova, the No. 9 seed, was quickly in trouble against Hontama, who was playing her first main-draw match at Melbourne Park. After dropping the first set, Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, needed plenty of sideline coaching and a medical timeout for a foot injury before rallying for the tough victory.
"It was a really difficult match," Krejcikova said. "She was playing really well and it was tough, but I always believed that I could get back into it.
"I'm really happy I won. I think first rounds are difficult in general."
Defending women's champion Aryna Sabalenka didn't waste much time in the night session until right near the end, ousting 18-year-old Ella Seidel 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes on her seventh match point.
"I'm super happy to be back. The last time I was here, I had incredible memories, unforgettable memories. I'm so grateful to feel the support and the atmosphere," Sabalenka said.
No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari admitted her relief after she beat Nao Hibino of Japan 6-4, 6-1 for her first Grand Slam win since last year's Australian Open.
"I lost three first rounds in my last three Grand Slams," Sakkari said. "For me, it was a very difficult match today emotionally. I'm happy I managed to do the job right and play a good second set."
Leylah Fernandez, still revered for her fairy-tale run to the final of the 2021 US Open, was another player who made a hot start by breaking her opponent to love in the first game on John Cain Arena. Sara Bejlek fought her way back into the contest, however, and Fernandez, the women's 32nd seed, had to dig deep to run out a 7-6 (5), 6-2 winner.
Elsewhere, Lucia Bronzetti lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to Lesia Tsurenko. And Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva ousted veteran Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-4. Cornet was appearing in her 68th consecutive Grand Slam event, a women's record.
Timofeeva's next opponent will be Caroline Wozniacki, who advanced to the second round in her first Australian Open since becoming a mother when 20th-seeded Magda Linette retired in the second set of their Sunday night match.
Wozniacki was leading 6-2, 2-0 on Margaret Court Arena when Linette, a 2023 semifinalist, was treated by the trainer and decided she could not continue.
Wozniacki won the 2018 Australian Open for her breakthrough major title. She retired in 2020 and had two children before returning to the tour last year in time for the US Open.
Two 16-year-old players advanced to the second round: Brenda Fruhvirtova recorded her first Grand Slam win on a far-flung Court 17, overcoming Ana Bogdan 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 ahead of a matchup with Sabalenka, and Alina Korneeva -- the Australian Open junior champion last year -- rallied to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
"For sure it will be a great experience," Fruhvirtova said. "Hopefully I will get some big court or a bigger one than today. I'm really looking forward!"
Amanda Anisimova, 22, who left the tour in May citing burnout and mental health, downed No. 13 Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-4. And Kamilla Rakhimova, ranked No. 93 in the world, took the honor of being the first player to advance to Round 2 by defeating Emina Bektas 6-4, 6-4 in windy conditions on Court 6.
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.
Sinner beats Van De Zandschulp in Australian Open first round
Fourth-seeded Jannik Sinner got off to a winning start in his bid to claim his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open as the Italian player defeated unseeded Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in the opening round Sunday.
Sinner, who enjoyed a strong finish to 2023 by reaching the ATP Finals title clash before guiding Italy to a Davis Cup triumph, was slightly off the pace after playing no competitive matches in the buildup to the year's first major.
A Melbourne Park quarterfinalist in 2022, Sinner grabbed a break in the opening game on Rod Laver Arena and battled to hold in the next before cranking up the pressure with searing winners on both flanks to take the first set.
World No. 59 Van De Zandschulp went toe-to-toe with his opponent in the next set before Sinner sealed the decisive break for a 6-5 lead and comfortably doubled his advantage.
Sinner squandered four break points and then surrendered his serve to trail 2-0 as his forehand wobbled slightly in the third set, but he responded superbly to close out the match and book a second-round meeting with Jesper De Jong, who defeated Pedro Cachin 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev needed four hours to beat Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (6). He later admitted fears his first-round match against Seyboth Wild would end like his friend Daniil Medvedev's did at last year's French Open: in an upset.
"For sure, I will not forget this one," said Rublev, who opened the year with a title in Hong Kong. "Thiago is a super dangerous player. Super talented. He's hitting so hard, so clean."
No. 12 Taylor Fritz needed a medical timeout to get his left ankle taped in the second set before he recovered to beat Facundo Diaz Acosta 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a seesawing four-hour match.
Frances Tiafoe, the 17th seed, beat Borna Coric 6-3, 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-3 in 3½ hours, and Daniel Elahi Galan needed almost five hours to beat Australia's Jason Kubler 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (8).
In other matches, Italian Matteo Arnaldi beat Adam Walton 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in the first round. The first match to go the full five sets was won by Francisco Cerundolo, the 22nd-seeded Argentinian edging out Australian Dane Sweeny 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Marin Cilic, the runner-up in 2018, was beaten 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 by Fabian Marozsan of Hungary.
Later Sunday, unseeded Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the tournament with a foot injury. He had been slated to play a first-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas but will be replaced by Zizou Bergs.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Aussies at AO Day 1: O'Connell wins five-set heart-stopper, Kubler ousted in five hours
The 2024 Australian Open tennis tournament began with an enthralling slate of games for four Australians who kicked off their campaign, with Chris O'Connell booking his way into the second round after a five-set marathon.
Australians in action
With results and recaps to come.
KIA Arena, first match
Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) def. Adam Walton (AUS)
Adam Walton's first major has ended in defeat, going down to Italian Matteo Arnaldi 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4 after two hours and 36 minutes on KIA Arena.
It seemed an upset could potentially be on the cards when the Aussie wildcard was serving for the first set at 6-5, before he was broken by the world No. 41 and beaten in a tiebreak.
From there, Walton couldn't match the power and precision of Arnaldi -- who hit 36 more winners for the match -- over the course of three sets, but should nonetheless take plenty of confidence out of his first Grand Slam appearance.
Arnaldi, 22, was a member of the victorious Italian Davis Cup team in 2023, beating Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the opening match of the final.
John Cain Arena, second match
Dane Sweeny (AUS) def by. Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) [22]
Local qualifier Dane Sweeny has won plenty of admirers by pushing No.22 seed Francisco Cerundolo to five tough sets in a memorable Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open.
Showing plenty of the never-say-die traits of his doppelganger Lleyton Hewitt, the world No.257 traded blows for the best part of three and half hours on Sunday before bowing out 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Cerundolo dominated the winners' count 57-20 but the 22-year-old Sweeny's counter-punching qualities kept him in the contest throughout.
- AAP
Court 3, third match, not before 3:30pm
Chris O'Connell (AUS) def. Cristian Garin (CHI)
Chris O'Connell is the first Australian through to the second round after he outlasted Cristian Garin in a five-set thriller that lasted more than four hours.
In a game with many momentum swings, O'Connell had to come from a set and a break down to overcome his Chilean opponent 3-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
It becomes the third time the 29-year-old has progressed to the second round of an Australian Open, his best result a third-round appearance at the event in 2022.
O'Connell will play the winner of Monday's first-round match between Roberto Bautista-Agut and Ben Shelton.
KIA Arena, fourth match, not before 5:00pm
Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) def. Jason Kubler (AUS)
Jason Kubler was ever so close to joining compatriot Chris O'Connell in the second round of the Australian Open, but fell agonisingly short against Colombia's Daniel Elahi Galan on KIA Arena.
The pair played a five-hour epic, but it was Galan who came out on top 2-6, 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 much to the dismay of the those in the crowd who lasted the marathon clash.
Kubler, who reached the second round at Melbourne Park last year, joins Adam Walton and Dane Sweeney as Day 1 casualties for the local contingent.
Australian Open, Day 1 as it happened: Djokovic passes difficult first round test
The 2024 Australian Open tournament is underway! We're just two weeks away from crowning a men's and women's champion - can anyone dethrone the king of Melbourne Park, Novak Djokovic? What about on the women's side - will Aryna Sabalenka go back-to-back? Or can Naomi Osaka complete a dream return to the blue courts?
Here's how Day 1 at the Australian Open unfolded.
Will Ben Shelton continue his ascent at the Australian Open?
A FEW DAYS before Christmas, and a few days before Ben Shelton boarded a plane for the start of the 2024 tennis season and its first major at the Australian Open, he went over to his parents' house in Gainesville, Florida, to grab something from his old bedroom.
While he was rummaging through his closet, the 21-year-old found a tennis racket signed by Dominic Thiem, a hard-hitting Austrian who won the 2020 US Open.
Shelton had won the racket a few years ago in a contest at the Miami Open, a tournament he regularly attended as a kid.
Grinning, he brought the racket to his dad. "Remember this?"
Bryan Shelton, his dad, his coach and a former tennis pro himself, smiled. "Yeah, I do."
Four months earlier in New York, Ben Shelton beat Thiem during his magical run at the 2023 US Open. With mighty serves, delicate volleys, blistering forehands and boisterous celebrations, Shelton thrilled the American audience until he suffered a chippy loss to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. But Shelton, who became the youngest American man to reach the US Open semis since Michael Chang in 1992, rejuvenated hope that an American man could be the last one standing on the sport's biggest stages.
In the blink of an eye, Shelton had big-footed his way into the role of America's top contender. He was already 11 when he told his dad he wanted to pursue the sport seriously. After winning the NCAA title at Florida as a 19-year-old sophomore, he turned pro with a world ranking of 547th. Until 2023, he had never ventured outside the United States to play tennis. Today he is ranked 16th in the world, and most pundits are still calling him an "upstart" and talking about the "upside" of the 6-foot-4, 195-pound lefty.
"It's just surreal, you know?" Bryan says.
Shelton's next chance to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick in 2003 -- Shelton hadn't yet celebrated his first birthday -- begins Sunday in Melbourne. It's worth remembering that in his only other Australian Open appearance, Shelton advanced to the quarterfinals as a 20-year-old rookie before falling to fellow American Tommy Paul.
Seeded for the first time at a major -- 16th -- he faces a tricky first-round challenge in former top-10 player Roberto Bautista Agut. So the questions remain: Is Ben Shelton for real? Is another deep run too much to ask?
A Grand Slam title is "something [Ben] is shooting for," Bryan says. "He is not one to say, 'I'm going to win this year's Australian Open,' but those are certainly things we've talked about. ... We don't take anything off the table right now, you know?"
Shelton's astronomical rise from nearly losing his spot in the Florida Gators' lineup in 2021 to Grand Slam contender in 2024 might not be as "surreal" as his dad would have you believe. Look closely. Listen to those who have known him. There were indications all along that the jolly-grinned giant was poised to emerge from the swamp and take his place among the sport's elite.
Fast and curious
FOR THE FIRST dozen or so years of his life, Ben Shelton was all about being QB1. His dad and uncle had both been professional tennis players, his mom had been a promising junior, and now his big sister had fallen for the sport, too. Ben dabbled with a racket, but football was more his speed. Tennis? They can have it, he thought. Until he didn't. When he was in seventh grade -- aka age foot-in-the-grave in junior tennis years -- Shelton approached his dad and said tennis was his thing after all. Turns out Ben had built-in power off his forehand side. He loved unleashing it so much that he rarely hit a backhand.
Bryan quickly noticed that he could lure Ben in with practically any sort of challenge on the court. Unlike most elite junior players, Ben hadn't spent his youth drilling hundreds of groundstrokes a day, so everything seemed new and challenging and fun. "If there was a game that we could play ... he was all-in," Bryan says.
Not only that, he was a quick study. And adaptable to boot. "A lot of kids need a ton of reps before they feel comfortable, but he could make the change pretty quickly," Bryan says. "And hold onto it."
Shelton progressed so fast that he won a Florida high school state championship in 2019 as a sophomore at Buchholz in Gainesville. Soon after, he bounced an idea off his dad. He wanted to start college a year early. He was ready to play at a higher level, and to him that next step was college tennis. He had been watching Gators tennis for years by then because his dad was the head coach.
"He's watching them, he started to visualize himself out there playing with them every day," Bryan says. "And it's like a puppy dog who's sitting on the side who wants to join in."
In the early pandemic days, before Shelton officially joined the team, he played set after set, hour after hour with Duarte Vale, Florida's No. 3 player. They had nowhere else to go, so they spent time on the tennis court.
It didn't take long for Shelton to start taking sets off of Vale.
"His game was aggressive, he was a competitor," Vale says.
In July, Shelton signed with Florida.
Bryan had initially wanted to redshirt Ben his freshman season, but he couldn't ignore the "exponential improvement" in his son. Ben gained 15 pounds of muscle, his movement improved, his forehand remained ferocious and his serve was world-class. So he put Ben in the lineup.
Months into his first season, Bryan could envision Ben one day becoming a good college player, but he couldn't "see his path to professional tennis." Not yet.
But every time Bryan set a new -- and lofty -- goal for Ben, he not only accomplished it, but did so faster than Bryan could fathom.
"In practice you can improve one step at a time, but in competition you can improve exponentially. You start doing things that maybe you've never even done before, and that's what we would always see with Ben," Bryan says. "When we moved him up, or we put a bigger challenge in front of him, he would just raise himself up to that level."
A turning point
ON A COLD April day in 2021, months into his first season as a Gator, Shelton was struggling. Playing No. 5 singles in an SEC showdown against Vanderbilt, Shelton got steamrolled in the first set by Max Freeman. Shelton's serve was slow, his return even slower. He lost a match in straight sets that Bryan says he was "certainly expected to win." He lost his doubles match, too. The top-ranked Gators survived 4-3, but Ben was more liability than asset that day. Player and coach knew it.
Something had to change. The Gators' lineup was deep, and Bryan, who says he was tougher on Ben than on any of his other players, had options. He would not hesitate to bench his son for the good of the team.
The entire trip back home -- during the car ride to the airport, then at the gate and then on the airplane -- Ben sat next to Bryan and listened. Bryan remembers speaking without pause, first telling his son more broadly that things needed to change, that he needed to step up -- both for himself and his team. Then he dissected Ben's game and his emotions in detail -- how he needed to adapt when the conditions didn't work in his favor, how he needed to compose himself during difficult moments.
Bryan, who had coached for decades before his son joined his team, usually found it difficult to talk to players for a long time. "Everything's got to be microwaved," he says. Bryan remembers the sad but determined look on Ben's face. He made eye contact and listened to every word coming out of his dad's mouth.
"I don't want to let these guys down," Ben said to Bryan. "There's a responsibility I have to this team."
Bryan remembers a metaphor Gators assistant coach Scott Perelman shared with him about Ben: "If you hit a donkey, he bucks, but if you hit a racehorse, he takes off," Perelman said. "Ben is our Secretariat."
"You don't have to do much and he's ready to go," Bryan says.
"No way, I'm not coming out of this lineup," Bryan remembers Ben telling him that day.
Less than two months later, Shelton, playing at No. 5 singles, clinched the Gators' first national team title with a three-set win over Baylor's Charlie Broom. A season later, in May 2022, Shelton defeated San Diego's August Holmgren to win the NCAA individual championship. Months later, in the span of three weeks, he won three ATP Challenger titles.
Says his former teammate Vale: "The crazy part is, I think he can get a lot better."
Weapons for days
THE FIRST TIME Rennae Stubbs watched Ben Shelton in person, she almost got "pegged in the head."
Stubbs, a former world No. 1 in doubles and a current analyst for ESPN, monitors up-and-coming players. So in 2021, she made her way to Court 5 for the first round of the US Open qualifiers to watch Shelton, who had just finished his freshman season at Florida. She remembers sitting down in one of the corner pockets right behind the court, facing Shelton.
Stubbs looked away for a millisecond, down toward her phone. That's when a ball came whizzing past her ear, so close she heard a whoosh. She looked up, eyes bulging and her arms involuntarily cupping her head.
"It missed me by about half an inch," Stubbs says.
Shelton had delivered one of his nasty lefty kick serves with so much power that it had zipped past her after landing in his opponent's service box. Michael Mmoh hadn't even moved to return it.
"I was like, 'Oh my God.' First of all, what a serve. Second of all, holy s---, that almost hit me," Stubbs says. "I have been paying attention to him since then."
Brad Gilbert, who served as Roddick's coach when he won the 2003 US Open, boarded the Shelton bandwagon a match later. He remembers watching the second round of qualifiers when Shelton played the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp. "This kid is special," he thought.
Shelton lost a three-setter that day, but a few things stood out to Gilbert.
Shelton was a lefty, and a tall one at that. His serve came in at an angle much different from that of right-handers, which is what players are used to. And he had a powerful forehand to back it up.
"It's really uncomfortable to play a 6-foot-4 lefty with a nasty serve to begin with. That has your attention," Gilbert says. "And he's got a big lefty forehand."
Gilbert also noticed that Shelton wasn't afraid to use a backhand slice and approach the net. Gilbert was convinced.
After that match, he bumped into Bryan Shelton, whom Gilbert had once defeated in a five-set marathon at the 1993 French Open, and dropped a prediction. "Your kid is going to be top-100 in no time."
Nine months later, Ben won the NCAA title.
The day Ben announced he was turning pro, in August 2022, Gilbert texted Bryan.
"Your kid is going to be Top 5 for sure."
If there's a shot that can make Gilbert's top-five prediction come true, it's the Shelton serve.
"He has this serve where he could contort his body and get the most action and snap on it, and then the ball would bounce and jump to the side and up," says Sam Riffice, a former Gator who won the NCAA singles title in 2021, the year before Ben. "He had that from the first time I ever saw him."
With a deep knee bend, incredible racket speed and that lefty spin, Shelton amassed 505 aces in 2023, averaging about 10 per match.
"The game of tennis is still about holding serve," says Bryan, who resigned as Florida's coach so he could accompany Ben on tour. "And Ben can hold serve against the best players in the world, you know?"
At the 2023 US Open, Shelton hit the fastest serve, at 149 mph, and recorded the most aces of anyone, with 81. Holmgren, who also went from NCAA tennis to the pros, thinks Shelton's serve stacks up against anyone's.
"He's got one of the top five best serves in the world," Holmgren says.
Natural athleticism
FORMER NFL DEFENSIVE BACK and current USTA strength and conditioning coach Reshard Langford chuckles at the memory of the first time he met Shelton. It was in Orlando in 2020, and Shelton and Riffice had traveled to the USTA National Campus to train. Langford's first impression was that Shelton had more explosiveness than any other tennis player he'd seen before. The second? "Ben couldn't keep a ball in the court," Langford says.
Langford, who played in 17 games for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2010 to 2011 after starring at Vanderbilt, says his career with the USTA is built on the belief that tennis is a "movement" sport. He focused on Shelton's feet.
"I helped with his footwork and him being able to move under control and know when to speed it up and know when to slow down and how to slow down properly," Langford says.
Holmgren can attest to Langford's success.
It's the final of the 2022 NCAA men's tennis championship, and Holmgren manages to return a heavy kick serve from Shelton. After hitting a forehand to Shelton's backhand, Holmgren runs to the net believing he's in good position to win the point.
But Shelton tracks it down. Squatting, he lunges to his right and swipes the ball with his two-handed backhand.
The ball screams past Holmgren, landing well out of his reach.
Holmgren stares at Shelton. Seconds pass. Holmgren doesn't move. Standing with his hands on his hips, he is still staring.
"What?" Shelton barks from his baseline. "Why are you looking at me?"
Holmgren shakes his head, his mouth parts in a grin.
"You're too good, mate," he says. "Just too good."
Shelton breaks into a grin.
After losing the first set, Shelton stormed back and won the second straight NCAA individual title for Florida -- and the wild card into the main draw at the 2022 US Open.
"Something that you might not immediately see is how good of a mover he is, how athletic he is," Holmgren says. "He's super quick, and besides, he's strong. So, it's tough to get him off balance. When he runs, he's really good at neutralizing and counterattacking that way. So it was hard to find an opening in his game to exploit."
It's a puzzle that some of the top players in the world were unable to crack during Shelton's 2023 US Open run. The serve was there, sure. But so were the groundstrokes and the touch shots and the passing shots and the volleys. And that's something Shelton thinks he can still build upon.
"I was pleased with the way I was able to play fairly complete tennis this week," Shelton said at his news conference after the loss to Djokovic. "I didn't feel like I was just being a serve-bot and getting free points with my serve. I was backing it up."
An on-court 'tude
OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST, world champion hurdler and Florida alum Grant Holloway was watching the 2023 US Open quarterfinals between his friend Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe at his home in Gainesville when he saw it. A celebration Holloway knew well.
After hitting a crosscourt forehand winner for the match, Shelton placed his hands on his hips. With sweat dripping from his forehead, he narrowed his eyes. He mimed a phone call with his left hand and placed his hand against his ear. Then he slammed the imaginary phone down.
The gesture made Holloway smile. He had done something similar after winning the 110-meter hurdles at the 2019 NCAA track and field championships. As Holloway crossed the finish line and broke a 40-year-old college record that day, he crossed his arms over his chest, smiled and mimed a phone call indicating to sponsors, "My line is open."
At his postmatch news conference, Shelton said the celebration was his way of saying he was "dialed in" and that it "connects me to my friends back home." He also gave Holloway a shout-out for winning his third world championship a month earlier. The celebration became a viral US Open moment, and that made Holloway happy.
Along with his big game, Shelton has brought a big personality to the ATP Tour. He pumps his fist after winners. He screams "Come on" to his box. His high-pitched "yeahs" outnumber even his aces. But what is seen as exuberance by some can be seen as arrogance by others.
A few days later, when Djokovic, who would go on to win his 24th Grand Slam title, ended Shelton's run, he imitated -- mocked? -- the phone celebration. People had opinions; some questioned Djokovic's choice to poke fun at a youngster, while others found it funny. When Shelton was asked about it, he simply said, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Shelton has always had a boisterous side to him. Vale remembers Shelton attending Gators matches when he was in high school, cheering and pumping up his future team. Vale says Shelton's energy was so vibrant that the entire team fed off of it.
"He would cheer for us loudly, get into it with the other team," Vale says.
The bigger the stage, the bigger the personality.
"He's such a people person that, if you put him on a stadium court, and you put a lot of people in the seats, it just excites him, you know?" Bryan says. "He's got this personality that's always been very magnetic, and he's always had a big smile on his face, even as a little kid, and I just don't know that he'll ever lose that. I hope he doesn't."
Bryan Shelton, who peaked at No. 55 in the world and was a self-described introvert, marvels at the differences rather than the similarities between him and his son. Bryan remembers often mumbling to himself when too many eyes were trained on him, "They're watching me, I don't want to blow it." Ben is the opposite, Bryan says. The bigger the stage, the higher his level gets.
"He's so fun to watch," Riffice says. "The youthful energy he brings and the true enjoyment to be out there, he had that from the first time I met him."
Shelton's ability to embrace pressure, to thrive in the tense moments, to be comfortable when things get tight, is not something that can be taught, says Riffice.
"You either have the ability to show up in the big matches or you tighten up, and Ben always played his best tennis in the biggest matches," Riffice says.
When Shelton returned to Gainesville after the US Open, he met up with Holloway at a mutual friend's birthday party. They didn't talk about the viral moment, because "what's understood doesn't need to be said," Holloway says. It's a philosophy they had subscribed to years before, when they would meet at a gym and work out together in silence before nodding and going their separate ways. This time, they shared a hug and moved on to celebrate their friend.
"Ben is an animal," Holloway says. "When you're young in the sport, your goal is to make the people at the top feel uncomfortable, and when he is on the court, people fear him for his abilities."
Off-court humility
BEN SHELTON KNOWS everyone in Gainesville. Or at least that's what it seems like to Riffice.
It's the 2023 offseason, and Shelton is home training with his dad for a few weeks before leaving for Australia for the first leg of the 2024 season. A lot has changed for Shelton since he enrolled at Florida as a 17-year-old freshman in 2020. For one, he has earned nearly $3 million in prize money. For another, he moved into his own apartment. He also bought a black Mercedes after his 2023 Australian Open quarterfinal run, which he entrusts to Riffice when he travels.
Riffice, who lives in the apartment above Shelton and attends law school at the University of Florida, drives it around town to make sure the car is in good shape.
Then, there is the celebrity. People in Gainesville stop Shelton for photos everywhere he goes. Restaurants. Tailgates. Grocery stores.
But the one thing Riffice notices about Shelton is this: Nothing about his personality has changed since they became teammates in 2020. He still stops to talk to everybody, and he can go for hours without bringing up tennis.
A month or so ago, Riffice took Shelton to a tailgate before a Florida football game. The tailgate was thrown by a law firm Riffice had finished an internship with and is hoping to land a job at when he's done with law school. Wanting to score some brownie points (the lawyers loved tennis), he brought Shelton along. Shelton became buddies with every single one of them, Riffice says, asking questions about their lives and posing for photos.
"He's just very genuine and enjoys meeting new people," Riffice says. "He'll go out of his way to talk to people. ... I don't think the success has gone to his head at all."
Jiri Lehecka beats Jack Draper in Adelaide for first ATP title
ADELAIDE, Australia -- Australia in January suits Jiri Lehecka. Last year, he reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
On Saturday, the seventh-seeded Czech beat unseeded Briton Jack Draper 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Adelaide International final to win his first ATP Tour title.
Sixth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko had a more comfortable push for victory as she secured her seventh WTA tour title with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Daria Kasatkina in a night match.
The 22-year-old Lehecka beat third-seeded Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals to reach his second tour final. Draper also was playing in his second final and his second in succession after losing to Adrian Mannarino in the final of the Sofia Open in November.
Saturday's final was a contest of big hitters in which Lehecka served eight aces, Draper seven. That was indicative of a close match, which lasted 2 hours, 8 minutes.
"It's hard for me to say something because it is so emotional for me to win my first title here in Adelaide," Lehecka said. "I'm super excited."
Lehecka is the first Czech player to win an ATP title since Jiri Vesely in Pune in 2020. Saturday's win will boost his ranking by nine places to No. 23.
Lehecka will play Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain in the first round of the Australian Open while Draper will play Marcos Giron of the United States.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko tuned up for the Australian Open with an impressive straight-sets victory in 74 minutes against last year's finalist Kasatkina.
Her first title on hard courts since Dubai in 2002 marked her return to the top 10 for the first time in five years in what has been a perfect lead-up to the Australian Open starting Sunday.
The Latvian player powered 32 winners to Kasatkina's 12 and made decisive breaks in each set, which kept Kasatkina constantly on the back foot.
Kasatkina had advanced to the final after second-seeded Jessica Pegula withdrew with a gastrointestinal illness. It was the second consecutive walkover for Kasatkina, after Laura Siegemund withdrew ahead of their quarterfinal due to a left leg injury.
The 26-year-old Ostapenko is seeded No. 11 for the Australian Open in Melbourne and will play wild card Kimberly Birrell in the first round. Ostapenko reached the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park last year.
Kasatkina is the No. 14 seed and will play No. 48 Peyton Stearns of the United States in the first round.
Carlos Alcaraz keen to face Novak Djokovic for Australian Open title
MELBOURNE -- Carlos Alcaraz would like nothing better than to take the title away from Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open in two weeks' time, he said on the eve of the start of the year's first Grand Slam.
Alcaraz, 20, said Djokovic's record of 10 wins in 10 Melbourne Park finals made the prospect of landing his first Australian Open title by beating the Serb on Rod Laver Arena all the more appealing.
"It's an extra motivation for me. I'm an ambitious guy. I always want to play against the best players in the world to see what is my level," Alcaraz told reporters Saturday. "Obviously it's a good test, playing against him in the tournament where he's almost unbeaten. I'm looking to reach the final and hopefully playing a final against him. It would be great obviously.
"But, yeah, knowing those stats, it's an extra motivation, for sure."
As the top two seeds, Djokovic and Alcaraz would meet in the final Jan. 28 if neither is knocked out in an earlier round.
As tempting as that prospect would be for tennis fans, it would require a marked improvement for Alcaraz, who has never made it past the third round in his two visits to Melbourne.
He missed last year's tournament with a hamstring injury as Djokovic won his 10th title to retake the No. 1 ranking from his younger rival.
Alcaraz has traveled to Australia without coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and decided not to play any warmup events.
"I think I'm a guy who doesn't need so much competition before a big tournament," Alcaraz said. "Obviously [it] always helps, [but] I think I'm prepared to do good things here in the Grand Slam."
Alcaraz discussed how he and the likes of Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner were forming the basis of a "new generation."
Alcaraz is the only one of the trio who has won a Grand Slam after his 2022 US Open triumph and his victory over Djokovic in last year's Wimbledon final.
While accepting that there was still plenty to work on, Alcaraz said he had a good feeling about what the new season would bring.
"On the court, off the court. I think everybody can be better," he said. "Everybody can improve. ... I'm not perfect, so I have to improve a lot of things on the court and off the court as well."
"I think this year, it's going to be a good one," Alcaraz added with a smile.
Novak Djokovic downplays wrist concerns ahead of Australian Open
Novak Djokovic downplayed concerns about a right wrist injury ahead of his Australian Open title defense, saying Saturday that he had managed more serious problems in his past two triumphant campaigns.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was hampered by the wrist issue during his straight-sets loss to local favorite Alex De Minaur at the United Cup this month, his first defeat in Australia in six years.
"I had time from the last match against De Minaur in the United Cup to my first match here to recover," Djokovic told reporters ahead of his opener Sunday against Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic. "I've been training well. Practice sessions are pain-free so far. It's all looking good. Let's see how it goes."
Djokovic won last year's title with a torn hamstring and won the 2021 trophy while managing an abdominal injury. He did not play the tournament in 2022 after being deported from Australia for being unvaccinated against COVID-19.
"It's not as bad as some of the other injuries I had here," Djokovic said. "I can't predict whether it's going to come back. Once I start playing more matches, the stress levels go higher. I don't know. We have to find out."
Djokovic joked earlier during his news conference that he was his own biggest threat at the tournament.
"Myself always first and then of course all the other best players in the world," he said. "Any player is here with, I'm sure, an intention to achieve the dream of winning a Slam.
"Some players are obviously expected to go further than some others. It's 128 draw, a Grand Slam. We know what they represent for our sport. It's where every player wants to play their best tennis. It's exciting to be a part of another Slam."
Djokovic is keen to see if the move to an expanded tournament schedule "works out."
Australian Open organizers said in October that the major was switching to a 15-day tournament and would start on a Sunday for the first time in its 119-year history.
The French Open made a similar move in 2006, while the other Grand Slams at Flushing Meadows and Wimbledon remain 14-day tournaments.
While the Roland Garros decision was aimed at giving the tournament more exposure, particularly on television, Australian Open organizers said their move was made with player welfare in mind, with data showing matches now lasted longer.
The extra day on the schedule allows Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena to feature two matches instead of three in the day session, meaning there will be no spillover to the evening session.
"That's going to help, I'm sure, get some matches out of the way, reorganize the schedule better in the opening week, which is always very busy with a lot of matches on the schedule that need to be finished in a proper time," Djokovic said.
Five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray has also welcomed the change. He was involved in one of the latest finishes at the Grand Slam when his five-setter against Thanasi Kokkinakis went on until 4:05 a.m.
"That will reduce the possibility for late finishes on Rod Laver Arena," Murray said Friday regarding the schedule change. "Because it's unlikely you're going to have issues with the day session running into the night then having that gap where they have to clear out the stadium and get the night session fans in."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Emma Navarro outlasts Elise Mertens in Hobart final
HOBART, Australia -- Second-seeded American Emma Navarro claimed her first WTA Tour title in her first final Saturday when she beat two-time champion and top-seeded Elise Mertens 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 to win the Hobart International.
The 22-year-old Navarro outlasted Mertens of Belgium in a grueling final that lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes to continue her extraordinary rise over the past 12 months.
She is the second straight American champion after Lauren Davis in 2023.
Navarro was ranked No. 149 this time last year, but the New York born and based player now has risen to No. 31. She also made the semifinals in Auckland last week in an impressive start to 2024 and is 8-1 for the season.
"I don't know if I could put words to the emotions, but it's been a lot of years in the making," Navarro said. "My coach and I have been together for eight years, I think. From where we started to now, it's really crazy to think about.
"Probably six, seven years ago, I was hoping to be a decent college player and that was going to be good enough for me. So to be here now, it's really crazy and I guess just a testament to the work we've both put in."
Navarro is the No. 27 seed at next week's Australian Open and will play Wang Xiyu of China in the first round in her tournament debut.
The 28-year-old Mertens is seeded 25th in Melbourne and will play Egypt's Mayar Sherif in the first round. She reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2018 after winning the Hobart title for the second time.
Qualifier Alejandro Tabilo tops Taro Daniel, wins Auckland Classic
AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Alejandro Tabilo capped the most extraordinary week of his career Saturday when he emerged from qualifying to beat Taro Daniel 6-2, 7-5 in the final of ATP Auckland Classic, claiming the first title of his career.
Tabilo came through two rounds of qualifying and three rounds of the main draw. He avoided second-seeded Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals when Norrie withdrew with a wrist injury and beat sixth-seeded Arthur Fils in the semifinals to reach his second ATP Tour final.
The 26-year-old then dominated the final, serving 10 aces and keeping Daniel constantly on the defensive with his powerful left-hand forehands.
"It honestly feels surreal," Tabilo said. "I feel happy and very emotional.
"Even my coach [Guillermo Gomez] didn't have a visa and we applied in the quarterfinals and we got it yesterday and he came from Melbourne because he was waiting for me in Australia. So crazy, crazy."
Japanese American Daniel also had an outstanding week as he made his way to a final between unseeded players.
Daniel had only bad memories of the Auckland tournament after being beaten last year in the final round of qualifying in a tournament plagued by rain. His reluctant decision to return this year paid off when he beat top-seeded Ben Shelton in the semifinals to reach his second career final after Istanbul in 2018.
But on Saturday he came up against a player on a roll, hardened by his many matches in Auckland. He fought hard to keep in the match, but Tabilo always was on top, breaking Daniel's serve in the sixth and eighth games of the first set and the 12th game of the second.
It ended a tough run for the 82nd-ranked Tabilo.
"Last year was tough. Even two years ago we made the finals of Cordoba and from there we were going up," Tabilo said. "Then we had a little stress fracture in my arm and we had to stop that year and I had to work back up.
"There were a lot of injuries last year also and now with the whole team, with the recovery, with the food, with my family and my girlfriend also supporting me ... it's been a crazy ride."
Both players now move on to the Australian Open, where Daniel will play Chris Eubanks in the first round and Tabilo will play American qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic.
How to watch the Australian Open: Schedule, channel, more
The 2024 Australian Open gets underway on Jan. 13, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia.
Last year, Novak Djokovic won the men's singles title, his 22nd major title overall, tying Rafael Nadal's all-time record. Aryna Sabalenka won the women's singles title -- her first Grand Slam title. Here's everything you need to know about the 2024 Australian Open.
How can fans watch the Australian Open?
Coverage begins on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and midnight ET on ESPN2. Live coverage across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ will include all matches from all 15 courts, with every match streaming live on ESPN+. With Melbourne 16 hours ahead of the United States, day-session matches will air on ESPN linear networks in primetime ET and night-session matches will air at 3 a.m. ET. In all, ESPN will air more than 240 hours of live coverage on its linear networks, an increase of 35% over 2023. ESPN's coverage will culminate with the Women's and Men's Championships on Jan. 27 and 28, respectively, at 3:30 a.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
Who is competing in the Australian Open?
Rafael Nadal withdrew from the 2024 Australian Open because of a muscle tear in his hip, but the field on the men's side still includes:
No. 1 Novak Djokovic: Seeking 25th major singles title, which would break a tie with Margaret Court for the most by any player
No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (ESP): Two-time major champion, including the 2023 Wimbledon title
Frances Tiafoe (USA): 2022 US Open semifinalist
Ben Shelton (USA): Capped off the 2023 major calendar by reaching the semifinal at the US Open, before losing to Novak Djokovic
On the women's side, the field includes:
No. 1 Iga Swiatek (POL): Four-time major champion, including the 2023 French Open
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka: Won her first career major title at 2023 Australian Open and reached WTA No. 1 for first time since 2023 season
Coco Gauff (USA): Won her first major singles title at the 2023 US Open, becoming the fourth American teenage woman to win a major title in Open Era
No. 5 Jessica Pegula (USA): Six-time major quarterfinalist, including each of the last three Australian Opens
Naomi Osaka: Four-time major champion (2019 and 2021 Australian Opens, 2018 and 2021 US Opens), returning to the tour for the first time since 2022 and after the birth of her first child
Where can fans find more ESPN tennis coverage?
Be sure to check out ESPN's tennis page, which features breaking news, analysis, features, rankings, Grand Slam title winners and more!
Tennis player Leny Mitjana suspended 10 years for match-fixing
French player Leny Mitjana has been suspended for 10 years over his involvement in match-fixing, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Friday.
Mitjana, 29, with a career-high world ranking of 458 in 2018, denied all charges related to the fixing of matches in 2017 and 2018, and a hearing was held in November, 2023.
"The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) can today confirm that French tennis player Leny Mitjana has been suspended from the sport for a period of ten years and fined $20,000 for 11 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP)," the ITIA statement said.
The sanction is linked to a criminal case involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium, and Mitjana's breaches include the facilitation of wagering, contriving the outcome of matches, influencing other players not to make their best efforts in matches, and failing to report corrupt approaches.
Mitjana's suspension will run from the date of the decision, Dec. 22, 2023, until 2033.
Jiri Lehecka defeats Sebastian Korda, advances to Adelaide International final
ADELAIDE, Australia -- Jiri Lehecka defeated third-seeded Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-1 on Friday to advance to the Adelaide International final.
The Czech player, who has dropped only one set in the tournament, will face Jack Draper in Saturday's final at Memorial Drive. Draper beat Alexander Bublik 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Korda was trying to make it to two Adelaide finals in a row. He lost last year to Novak Djokovic after having a championship point.
In the WTA portion of the tournament, sixth-seeded and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-2, 7-6 (3), in a semifinal. And in the other semifinal, Daria Kasatkina advanced over Jessica Pegula via a walkover.
Mertens will play second-seeded Emma Navarro in Saturday's final after the American beat Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue 6-4, 6-3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Unseeded Taro Daniel def. top-seeded Ben Shelton in Auckland Classic semifinals
AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Top-seeded American Ben Shelton has been knocked out of the ATP Auckland Classic in the semifinals Friday by unseeded Taro Daniel, who reached his second career final six years after the first.
Daniel won 7-5, 7-6 (9).
The 16th-ranked Shelton had looked unstoppable as all but one other seeded player was eliminated after the quarterfinals. Second-seeded British player Cameron Norrie withdrew before the quarterfinals with a wrist injury.
The last seed lost in the second semifinal Friday when sixth-seeded Arthur Fils of France was beaten 6-2, 7-5 by Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo.
Tabilo defied his ranking of 84 to battle his way through two qualifying rounds and three main draw matches to also reach his second career final. He was due to play Norrie in the quarterfinals but went straight to the semis when Norrie withdrew.
Daniel also played well above his ranking of 74 Friday to beat Shelton in straight sets.
Shelton saved two match points and Daniel two set points before Daniel converted his third match point, ending the match after two hours, five minutes.
"It's always difficult to play against Ben because he doesn't give you too much rhythm and the ball's really alive," Daniel said. "It's really about who can put on a little bit more pressure and that tiebreaker was such a dogfight."
Daniel had been in two minds about playing in Auckland this year after losing in qualifying last year to the world's 470th-ranked player.
"My relationship with this place is super interesting," he said. "I was trying to avoid coming here and now I'm having one of my best weeks ever. Funny how things work out when you give it another chance."
Tabilo swept through his first set against Fils with two service breaks. He then came from 5-2 down in the second set to level at 5-5 and to serve for the match at 6-5.
The final game lasted 17 minutes and Fils saved three match points before Tabilo finally broke through.
"It's been almost two years since I was able to get to a final and I also came from the qualies then," Tabilo said. "I've seen Arthur play a lot on tour.
"He's very intense, big hitter, so I knew I had to come out swinging, be very intense and make him play every ball."
Total prize money at BNP Paribas Open rises to $19 million
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- The BNP Paribas Open is increasing its total prize money by over $1.4 million to $19 million for the two-week combined men's and women's tournament in the Southern California desert.
Over $1 million in additional prize money will be added for ATP and WTA tour players competing in singles qualifying through the second rounds.
The tournament, which runs March 3-17 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, is moving all eight ATP and WTA singles quarterfinal matches to the same day, March 14, for the first time.
Other scheduling changes include a single session on March 15 featuring the men's doubles final followed by two women's singles semifinals. The women's doubles final will be March 16, followed by both men's singles semifinals.
The women's singles final will be played first on March 17, followed by the men's singles final.
"Each year, we evaluate every aspect of our event -- from prize money to scheduling to amenities and facilities -- to ensure a top-tier experience for players and fans," said Steve Christian, COO of the tournament. "This year, we are proud to be dedicating record prize money, and are highly focused on compensating all of the players competing in the BNP Paribas Open."
The tournament was voted by the players as the best ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events for a record ninth consecutive year in 2023.
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