8th seeded Schwartzman goes out, not a surprise on the fast courts this week, players feedback is that they are fastest ever in Oz , on hard courts. Be interesting to see who that favours, Federer must be kicking himself !
I see Felix who lost to Dan last week has defeated Shapovalov in an all CanadIan encounter.Canada was once regarded as the graveyard for tennis. No more as they have a mix of successful male and female players. Remember both Greg Rusedski and Mary Pierce were born in Montreal, I wonder if he had played these days whether Greg would have played as a Canadian.
Such a shame, well done to Thiem, another amazing Nick K match - Nick takes kudos from this week and I hope he is able to travel and build on this over the year ahead
I know this is a British thread, but the level of entertainment in some of the mens matches this past two or three days has been fabulous. Nick K, when on song and concentrating, is really a great player to watch. He will probably never win a slam, I find it hard to conceive he will go 7 matches and do the business in each one, but I really do hope he can build back to a top 10 ranking where his talent says he should be.
Djoko is having a tussle with Fritz, who is enjoying the faster speed of the surface, but should make it through.
Dimitrov is also back on form again and playing well, Thiem next for him. Rublev, Medvedev, Nadal all playing well this week. Karatsev is a revelation to me as well.
Djoko seems injured though, may need to have them call it a day to allow him to recover for a finish tomorrow. Apparently fans need to leave shortly to get home before the 12 am curfew they have, not sure if match will stop at that point?
@russellcfuller
After a nine minute delay to allow fans to head home in time for the midnight lockdown, Djokovic and Fritz resume on the Rod Laver Arena in virtual silence. Familiar, but still eerie.
Djokovic in real trouble, despite leading by two sets to one. Fritz leads the fourth 4-2 and Djokovic is significantly compromised by a rib or stomach muscle problem.