Images from Thursday, Day 4 of the 2023 Australian Open, at Melbourne Park.
IMAGE: Jenson Brooksby of the United States celebrates winning his Australian Open second round match against Norway’s Casper Ruud at the Australian Open on Thursday. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
American Jenson Brooksby knocked second seed Casper Ruud out of the Australian Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2 victory, extinguishing the Norwegian’s hopes of winning a first Grand Slam title and topping the world rankings.
Two breaks of serve in the opening set of the second-round match handed Brooksby the early lead and he dictated terms in the second to raise the prospect of another big upset by a Californian after Mackenzie McDonald beat defending champion Rafael Nadal.
The 24-year-old Ruud, twice a runner-up in Grand Slams last year, saved three match-points before winning the third set in a tie-break as Brooksby began to feel the pressure but the American regained his composure in the fourth to complete the win.
“Casper’s a warrior, I knew it’d be a great battle out there. I was pretty confident with my level and just wanted to have fun out there and see what could happen,” Brooksby, 22, said in his on-court interview.
“I was really proud of my mental resolve out there after the third-set battle didn’t go my way to turn it around.
“Last year, I had COVID, the day before I was due to fly out, and that sucked. But hopefully this is the first of many years to come.”
Up next for Brooksby, who is making his Australian Open debut this year after withdrawing in 2022 due to illness, is compatriot Tommy Paul following his five-set victory over Spanish 30th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Qualifier Volynets stuns 9th seed Kudermetova
IMAGE: Katie Volynets of the United States is all smiles after toppling Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova. Photograph: Hannah Mckay/Reuters
Earlier, qualifier Katie Volynets stunned ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to storm into the third round and continue the good start for American players at the year’s opening Grand Slam.
In only her sixth main draw appearance at a Grand Slam, the world number 113 is the first US qualifier to reach the third round in women’s singles at Melbourne Park since three-times major winner Lindsay Davenport in 1993.
The 21-year-old she had the “chills” after grinding out the biggest victory of her career in her first match against a top-10 player.
“Suddenly, you get match-point and it’s like ‘wow I’ve got match-point against the ninth seed’,” Volynets said in her on-court interview.
“You just start going for it and let whatever happens happen.
“I’ve never played in a stadium this packed and that many people keeping the energy up for me. So that’s awesome.”
Volynets’s win comes a day after fellow-American Mackenzie McDonald sent champion Rafael Nadal crashing out and the likes of Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe all scored victories.
Volynets will next meet either China’s Zhang Shuai or Croatian Petra Martic for a place in the fourth round.
Sabalenka powers past Shelby Rogers
IMAGE: Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka in action during her second round match against Shelby Rogers of the United States. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
Aryna Sabalenka shook off a slow start to power past American Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-1 and move into the third round, as normal service resumed at the season’s first Grand Slam after two days interrupted by heat and rain.
World number five Sabalenka, who warmed up for Melbourne Park by winning the Adelaide title, mowed down Tereza Martincova in her opener but struggled for rhythm in the opening exchanges with Rogers, dropping serve early in the first set.
The Belarusian soon hit her stride, however, and powered past the American to close out the match and stay unbeaten in six matches this year.
The home crowd rose to acknowledge the retiring Sam Stosur, who lost in the first round of the women’s doubles with Alize Cornet. The 38-year-old major winner still has the mixed doubles to come, where she will partner Matt Ebden.
Chardy drops the ball, fumes at chair umpire during defeat
IMAGE: France’s Jeremy Chardy argues with chair umpire Miriam Bley during his match against Great Britain’s Daniel Evans. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
Jeremy Chardy lost a bizarre point and with it, his cool, at the Australian Open. The furious Frenchman accused the chair umpire of lying during his 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 second-round defeat by Briton Dan Evans.
Facing a break point in the opening set a ball dropped out of Chardy’s pocket midway through a rally and the Frenchman put a forehand into the net with his next shot to lose the point.
Chardy immediately appealed to the chair umpire but Miriam Bley ruled that the point would not be replayed, with Evans pointing out that he neither saw the ball drop out of the pocket nor did he complain about it.
Chardy then unloaded.
“We play with someone who cannot umpire,” Chardy said. “In my life, 20 years I’ve never had one umpire bad like you. Where are you looking? You looking at the birds? The clouds?
“It’s the biggest mistake of the Australian Open. There’s not one umpire on tour that does this mistake, not one.”
He then called for a supervisor and said: “If you don’t confirm that I called let, I lose all respect for you. She’s lying. Can she have a fine? When we do something bad we are fined, can she have a fine?”
Evans, who next faces Andrey Rublev or Emil Ruusuvuori in the third round, did not have much sympathy for Chardy.
“I think the rule should be if a ball comes out of your pocket, you lose the point,” he said. “He missed the ball.
“If a ball comes out your pocket, it’s your own fault.”
