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The action at the Australian Open is starting to heat up as we edge closer to the second week of the Grand Slam.
On Friday the upsets continued to roll in with some big name stars sent packing with none bigger than Daniil Medvedev.
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The Russian was eliminated by American Sebastian Korda in straight sets, meaning all four finalists from last year’s tournament are out before the conclusion of round three.
16th seed Frances Tiafoe, 11th seed Cam Norrie were also bundled out in another wild day of action.
In the women’s draw number one seed Iga Swiatek proved why she’s the one to beat with a dominant display as number 6 seed Maria Sakkari and number 10 seed Madison Keys were knocked out.
Don’t miss any of the action right here.
12:30pm – Tennis star’s terrifying health revelation
Alexander Zverev has lifted the lid on the terrifying health issue that he’s forced to deal with every single day.
In a revealing interview with Channel 9, the German star opened up on living with Type 1 diabetes, saying his diagnosis came as a major shock.
“My parents were very scared, obviously very worried, mum was crying a lot,” he told Nine. “A lot of parents get intimidated by a lot of doctors who say ‘your kid is very limited’, which is not the case.
“I would say to the doctors, ‘well yeah, I want to play tennis. That’s the only thing I really care about’.
“Some of them said ‘no, you have to stop, you cannot (play) … there’s no way you can be a professional athlete with this kind of illness, there’s no way you can play such a hard, physical sport’.
“This is what really stuck into my mind. It made me quite upset, as well, to be honest, because I don’t think you should set any limits to kids. It’s just not fair to them.”
Zverev is determind to keep shining a light on the health issue, hoping to show younger players it’s not anything to be embarrassed by.
“Kids at the age of 9, 10, 11 – at times my devices were broken, my insulins were smashed,” Zverev said. “I was just uncomfortable with it. I was always trying to hide it. I wasn’t checking my insulin levels in public.
“During matches, you never saw me do a shot or anything, I was always going to the bathroom to do it which is not the right thing to do.
“Maybe I have all of that trauma from back in the days, but you should never be embarrassed of it.”
11am – Aussie young guns wild 18-year AO first
Alexei Popyrin is on a historical run at the Australian Open. After sending American Taylor Fritz packing on Thursday, the rising young gun joined Aussie royalty.
“He’s the first Aussie since 2005 to knock out a top 10 player and a seed. Since Lleyton Hewitt. It’s quite remarkable,” Jelena Dokic says of the 23-year-old.
“It’s just a way that he’s almost been able to reinvent himself as a person and player this year. He’s won more matches this year than he did all of last year. He’s worked so hard, changed the people that he works with.
“He’s now a favourite in the next match. That is very, very different than going out and swinging freely against someone like Taylor Fritz. The mindset changes.”
Popyrin returns to the court where he’ll take on Ben Shelton on John Cain Arena tonight with a spot in the fourth round up for grabs.
8am – ‘F***ing ridiculous’: Star’s wild blow up
American Alison Riske-Amritraj lost her mind on Friday during her second round doubles contest at Melbourne Park.
During the second set in the midst of a rally, Riske-Amritraj pelted the ball into the body of her opponent before promptly apologising.
But talking in the middle of points isn’t allowed and chair umpire Nico Helwerth awarded the point to Alexandra Panova and Natela Dzalamidze.
“Ladies and gentlemen due to the hindrance Ms Riske-Amritraj has created, the point goes to Dzalamidze/Panova,” said Helwerth.
The American was left seeing red as the conversation between the player and umpire kicked off with Helwerth refusing to overturn his ruling.
“That’s the rule,” he added.
“She said ‘sorry’ while the ball is in play. I know she doesn’t do it on purpose, but that’s not the point.”
Her doubles partner, Linda Fruhvitova, weighed in saying the apology came after it had hit her opponent with replays backing up Fruhvitova’s case.
The supervisor was then called for by the fired up American and the barbs continued to fly.
“What the hell is he doing up there then? That’s f***ing ridiculous,” said Riske-Amritraj.
“No, no, that’s ridiculous. Is he sleeping? Dude. I wouldn’t say sorry (before the point is complete).
“It hit her so I said sorry. So it’s my point.”
The supervisor offered, “He’s seen it differently and it’s the umpire’s job to see it.”
That remark from the chair umpire didn’t go down well with the American who turned her outburst into a sarcastic temper tantrum.
“That makes no sense. Dude. Oh, the way you see it? The way you see it? I’m sure you see it that way.
“That’s ridiculous. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Pay attention. Dude, that’s tennis 101.”
Riske-Amritraj and Fruhvitova dropped the second set but won the match 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 to advance into the next round.
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