Rafael Nadal And Naomi Osaska To Start 2022 In Melbourne, Barty Headlines Adelaide - UBITENNIS
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Rafael Nadal And Naomi Osaska To Start 2022 In Melbourne, Barty Headlines Adelaide

Here are the entry lists for four tournaments taking place during the first week of 2022!

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Rafael Nadal (Credit Ryan Loco)

Former world No.1 Rafael Nadal will return to action on the ATP Tour at the Melbourne Open during the first week of January in what will be his first tournament in almost four months.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion has been absent from the Tour in recent weeks due to a foot injury which he underwent treatment on earlier this year in his native Spain. Nadal suffers from Muller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot. He has avoided having surgery on his foot in recent times to address the problem.

Nadal last played a competitive match at the Washington Open which took place during the first week of August. He was knocked out in the third round by South Africa’s Lloyd Harris. Ahead of Australia, next week he will play in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in the United Arab Emirates. An exhibition event which will also feature Andrey Rublev, Dominic Thiem and Andy Murray.

The 35-year-old is currently the only top 20 player who has entered to play in Melbourne which takes place during the same time at the ATP Cup. Reilly Opelka is the next highest ranked entrant followed by Grigor Dimitrov. David Goffin and Kei Nishikori are also set to return to action at the event following injury setbacks. Goffin last played at the US Open due to a knee problem. Meanwhile, Nishikori ended his 2021 season early due to back issues.

In the women’s draw there will be a star-studded field set to feature 20 out of the world’s top 50 players. Russia’s Anastasia Pavlychenkova is the highest entrant but all eyes will be on Naomi Osaka who is bidding to defend her title at the Australian Open next month. Osaka last played at the Open after opting to take a break from the sport due to personal reasons.

British rising star Emma Raducanu is also on the entry list for Melbourne in what will be her first-ever WTA event in Australia. The 19-year-old has rocketed up the rankings by more than 300 places this year following her rapid rise, which include winning her first Grand Slam title in New York. Simona Halep, Elise Mertens, Jessica Pegula and Daria Kasatkina are also set to play.

Both the men’s and women’s Melbourne tournaments will take place from 3 to 9 January.

Barty heads world-class field

Ashleigh Barty (AUS) Credit: AELTC/Jed Leicester

World No.1 Ash Barty is set to be in a tough first tournament in the new year with nine out of the world’s top 10 players taking part in the Adelaide International which also takes place during the first week of January. Earlier this week the 25-year-old was crowned WTA Player of the Year for the second time in her career. This season she achieved a win-loss record of 42-8 in singles and won a tour-leading five titles.

“I’ve been working hard on and off court, doing everything I possibly can to get ready for January,” Barty recently told tennis.com.au.
“The first few weeks of the preseason are always tough physically.”

Former world No.1 players Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova and Victoria Azarenka are also set to play in the tournament which is classed as a WTA 500 event. Other notable names include Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari, Barbora Krejcikova and Iga Swiatek.

As for the men’s draw in Adelaide, the field is set to feature only three players ranked in the world’s top 30. Gael Monfils is set to be the top seed ahead of Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic. The tournament is an ATP 250 event and will start on January 2nd.

Entry lists

WTA MELBOURNE

ATP MELBOURNE

WTA ADELAIDE

ATP ADELAIDE

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Jannik Sinner reaches his fourth semifinal of the year in Miami

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This year’s Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner converted four of his eleven break points in his 6-4 6-2 win over Tomas Machac in 91 minutes to reach his fourth semifinal of the season at the Miami Open. 

Sinner has claimed a tour-leading 20th match win this season to reach the Miami Open semifinal for the third time. The world number 3 finished runner-up to Hubert Hurkacz in 2021 and Danil Medvedev in 2023 in his finals in Miami. 

Sinner started the match with an immediate break in the first game to take a 1-0 lead. Machac, who beat Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray on his way to the quarter final in Miami, broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Sinner earned his second break in an eight-minute seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The Italian star held on his next two service games to close out on his first set point. 

Sinner earned two break points on each of Machac’s first three service games. He broke twice in the third and fifth games to open up a 5-1 lead and served out the win on his second match point. Sinner dropped just three points on serve in the second set. 

Sinner will face the winner of the quarter final match between Danil Medvedev and Nicolas Jarry. 

“I did not exactly know what to expect today. The first games I was looking a little bit what kind of tactics could work or not. Today I played especially in the important moments of the match. I am really happy to play again in the semifinals here. Machac has an incredible talent to play this sport. He is super fast also physically . He is in great shape. I feel good. I am just happy to compete. We practise very hard to be in these positions and I am really happy I can play once again in the semifinals at this special tournament. I made my first Masters 1000 final here. I am really happy to be back in the semifinals ”, said Sinner. 

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Danielle Collins beats Caroline Garcia to reach the second semifinal of her career in Miami

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Danielle Collins beat Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-2 in 80 minutes to reach her second semifinal at the Miami Open. Collins became the first qualifier to reach the semifinal in the history of this tournament. 

Collins achieved her third win against a seeded player in five matches over the past seven days. 

Collins dropped just 11 points in nine service games against Garcia and hit 22 winners to Garcia’s 12. 

Collins earned a break in the eighth game and held serve to seal the first set 6-3. The US player broke serve in the third game of the second set and never looked back to close out the match in 1 hout and 19 minutes. 

Collins has extended her record to 4-0 in her head-to-head matches against Garcia and has not lost a set to her French opponent. 

Collins set up a semifinal match against the winner of Wednesday night’s match between Jessica Pegula and Elena Alexandrova, who beat world number one player Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.  

Collins won two WTA titles in Palermo and San José in 2021 but she has not reached a WTA Tour level final since losing to Ashleigh Barty in Melbourne in 2022. 

“I think Caroline Garcia comes out here and fights her butt off. She hits some really strong shots. I don’t think the set scores are a reflection of how close the match really is”, said Collins. 

Garcia beat Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff to reach the quarter finals in Miami for the first time in her career. The French player was troubled by an injury to her right shoulder and received treatment early in the second set. 

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Alexander Zverev beats Karen Khachanov to reach the quarter final for the fourth time in his career in Miami

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Alexander Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-4 without facing any break points in a re-match of the Olympic final in Tokyo 2021 to reach back-to-back quarter finals after advancing to the last eight at Indian Wells. Zverev is aiming to win his first Masters 1000 title since Cincinnati in 2021. 

Zverev dropped just nine points on serve in the whole match and fired nine aces. The German player converted three of his four break points. 

Zverev broke twice in the fourth and sixth games to win the first set 6-1. The German player earned another break in the third game. He held on his next service games and sealed the win on his first match point. Zverev leads 4-2 in his six head-to-head matches against Khachanov. The German player reached the quarter final for the fourth time in his career in Miami and the last eight in a Masters 1000 tournament for the 27th time in his career. 

Zverev set up a quarter final match against Hundary’s Fabian Maroszan, who upset Alex De Minaur 6-4 1-6 6-1. The first set went on serve until the 10th game when Maroszan earned a break to win the first set 6-4. De Minaur broke three times to take a bagel win in the second set forcing the match to the decider. Maroszan broke twice in the fourth and sixth games and served out the win on his third match point. 

Maroszan reached his second Masters 1000 quarter final after advancing to the last eight in Shanghai in 2023. Maroszan has a record of four wins to just 1 defeat against top 10 players and 14 wins to just 3 defeats at Masters 1000 tournaments. De Minaur was looking to become the first player to reach 20 wins this season. 

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