Author: S Kannan

If maturity could be measured by a conversation, then this fresher version of Manu Bhaker is ready to shoot for gold at the Paris Olympics this July. In an exclusive chat with RevSportz, Manu opened up on her schedule, how she has learnt to deal with wins and losses and handle the pressure. “This is a new Manu, someone who is better prepared to shoot a gold for India in the Olympics,” she said with a great deal of emphasis. “A gold for myself and for the country.” Having competed recently in the ISSF World Cup in Cairo recently, Manu…

These five-setters in tennis, they drain players to the last ounce. At the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev were involved in heavy artillery firing for well over three hours. In the end, Sinner, the Italian who had bounced out Novak Djokovic in the semis, showed he was younger, fresher and ready to take his chances, as he came from two sets down won to win his maiden Australian Open crown. The scoreline of 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 was a reflection of the effort Sinner put in against an opponent who is no weakling.…

If tennis be a theatre and doubles players artists in it, Rohan Bopanna and Matt Ebden came up with a performance in tandem that gained tumultuous applause and grabbed the Australian Open doubles trophy in Melbourne on Saturday night. This was an adrenaline-fuelled performance, an emotional night, as the Indian-Aussie duo came out firing to destroy the Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6 (7-0), 7-5 and seal the title. At age 43 – oops Level 43, to use his term – this was Bopanna’s maiden men’s doubles crown at a Grand Slam. As he hit an overhead…

There is a certain ruthless streak in Aryna Sabalenka. On Saturday, at the Rod Laver Arena — packed to the rafters — the defending champion from Minsk in Belarus was utterly commanding as she demolished Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to extend her hold on the women’s singles trophy at the Australian Open. Wearing a red outfit, like a matador waving the flag at Zheng, Sabalenka rampaged past her opponent with pace and power. Experience, she has in plenty, having won the title at the same venue last January. If you thought that alone was a factor, then you would be…

Not often does a player beat Novak Djokovic at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne during the Australian Open. In fact, the Serbian ace was gunning for his 11th title at a venue where he has so often looked unbeatable. If a change was needed, and if someone had to give the men’s game an electric shock, only Jannik Sinner could have done it. This was one of the biggest of all upsets seen in Melbourne, and Sinner, the Italian, deserves all the credit for coming out smoking with his refreshing brand of tennis. It took him three hours…

Aryna Sabalenka is on a massive mission. At the Rod Laver Arena on Thursday, the second seed from Belarus wore down Coco Gauff 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to enter the women’s singles final at the Australian Open. In Saturday’s final, the defending champion will take on China’s Qinwen Zheng, a 6-4, 6-4 winner against Dayana Yastremska, the qualifier and rank outsider from Ukraine. Ten years ago, Li Na, China’s first tennis superstar, won the Australian Open. For Zheng to scale a new peak has been awesome. “Of course, we’ve been working hard,” she said after the match. “That’s the basic of…

Feeding on the ambience of the big stage and celebrating his rise to the world No. 1 (individual) ranking in doubles, Rohan Bopanna and Matt Ebden, his partner outhit Zhizhen Zhang and Tomas Machac in three sets (super tie-break final set) to enter the men’s doubles final at the Australian Open. On Thursday, the Indian-Aussie duo showed the nuances of doubles in ample measure in the heat of the Melbourne to force an adrenaline-fuelled 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) win in a rollercoaster ride. An entry into the season’s first Grand Slam final was the icing on the cake for Bopanna,…

Indian ace Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matt Ebden ougutted Molteni Andres and Maximo Gonzalez 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) to enter the semi-finals of the men’s doubles at the Australian Open on Wednesday. This was a performance high in class, calibre and composure as the Indian-Aussie dup came out through the second set tie-breaker by holding their nerves. This win will make Rohan Bopanna, Age 43, the No.1 player in doubles, a historic high. The heat and humidity on court was high, wherein play was stalled for a brief while due to “bubbles on court.” Yet, if tennis needed heat…

Novak Djokovic was mad, angry, shouting at his own coaching box. Reason: The biggest champion of world tennis was being tested and teased by American Taylor Fritz in a first set where the Serbian was struggling. Before the word “struggle” leads to an impression Djokovic was facing a massive crisis, the truth was he had missed eight break points in the opening set. Such occurrences are as rare as a cool breeze wafting through the air at the Rod Laver Arena in melting Melbourne on a January afternoon. Once Djokovic had finished yelling, maybe a way of releasing pent-up frustration,…

Novak Djokovic seems to love working on Sundays. If last Sunday was tentative, the second Sunday at the Australian Open saw the supremo in full cry. Forget the pain, forget the hesitancy, Djokovic was all power as he blew away Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 to barge his way into the quarterfinals. If ever one needed to know that Djokovic is in command and in Arnold Schwarzenegger-like Terminator mode, this was it. Ruthless and fired up to enter a Grand Slam quarter-final for the 58th time, now level with Roger Federer. Federer is tennis history, and Djokovic is its…