1. We have a new off-court couple
Giggles and awkward foot-to-foot shifting came from Elina Svitolina on Thursday when she was asked about the presence of one Gael Monfils in her player box – which did not escape anyone’s attention, being first up at Rod Laver Arena.
MORE: Five things we learned on Day 3
“Yeah … well, everyone saw him. So yeah, he’s supporting me,” confirmed the No.6 seed after her 6-4 6-1 win over Victoria Kuzmova. “Hopefully we’ll see him many more [times] in the future. Not only in my box but on the court as well.”
The 32-year-old Frenchman lost to Taylor Fritz in the second round on Wednesday. It’s not the first time ‘Lamonf’ has attracted attention from the stand. At the 2014 US Open, Victoria Azarenka led the Ashe stadium crowd in singing him ‘Happy Birthday’.
2. Madison Keys can’t watch enough tennis
Roger Federer remarked a couple of years back that he enjoys the wall-to-wall tennis coverage at the all-hours AO. Ditto Madison Keys. “I literally have it on four screens,” the American said after her win 6-3 6-4 win over teenager Anastasia Potapova. “My computer, iPad, phone and the TV all going at the same time.”
Best viewing so far? The Aussies. “Last night (John) Millman [going five sets with Roberto Bautista Agut] and (Alex) de Minaur [ditto against Henri Laaksonen], were going back and forth and I was texting someone: ‘Did you see that?’ Yeah. They’re like, ‘No, I was talking about the other match.’ There was just so much going on. Those were really exciting to watch.”
Over on Netflix, Keys is “very excited” about a new program. “I think it’s called ‘Tidying Up.’ It’s about organising. Really into it. Kind of can’t wait to go home and redo my whole closet.”
The glamorous life of tennis stars!
3. Your name is Alex? You’re in the third round
What’s in a name? A slot in the third round at Melbourne Park, if that name is Alex. Joining No.1 Aussie Alex de Minaur in the round of 32 with huge upsets on Thursday night were wildcards Alexei Popyrin and the literal bolter, Alex Bolt.
On a steamy night, the atmosphere on Court 3 was delirious, as the home crowd carried No.159 Bolt to improbable victory over veteran No.29 seed Gilles Simon. The flamboyant, blonde-topped lefty survived four match points in the fourth-set tiebreak before taking the decider 6-4. It was just the second win at this level for 26-year-old Bolt; his first was over fellow wildcard Jack Sock on Tuesday. And only once before had the South Australian played a five-setter – in his loss to Victor Troicki here a year ago, from two sets up. Murray Bridge must be going nuts.
Popyrin, based in Spain and ranked 149, advanced when No.7 seed Dominic Thiem retired with the Aussie leading 7-5 6-4 2-0. Albeit a technical KO, the 19-year-old Popyrin showed the benefits of his gruelling clay court training against the Roland Garros finalist, who was mortally wounded in his long scrap with Benoit Paire late into Tuesday night.
MORE: Tired Thiem succumbs to Aussie wildcard
Bolt next takes on the top-ranked Alex, No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev. The German was the last Alex into the third round, outlasting Jeremy Chardy in a five-setter that finished after midnight.
MORE: Zverev blunts Chardy charge
4. You need more than 63 aces to beat Kei Nishikori
Man mountain Reilly Opelka blasted 67 aces on Wednesday and still went down to diminutive Thomas Fabbiano in a fifth-set tiebreak. We had a repeat on Thursday, with the all-time ace man, Ivo Karlovic, sending down 63 aces and another 98 unreturned serves but falling to Kei Nishikori.
“That’s almost my one year aces [tally],’ kidded Nishikori, who served a piddling nine in his 6-3 7-6(6) 5-7 5-7 7-6(7) marathon win, lasting 3 hours 48 minutes, at Margaret Court Arena.
Karlovic, who turns 40 next month, fired a tournament-record 75 aces in his first-round win at AO2017, over Horacio Zeballos. He won that encounter 22-20, the longest fifth set in Australian Open history. It’s a record he’s destined to keep, with the introduction of the deciding tiebreaker here at AO19.
5. Players get nervous practicing with Roger Federer
Young gun Denis Shapovalov is humming with excitement at facing No.1 Novak Djokovic in the third round, most likely at Rod Laver Arena. “That would be a dream come true. That would be so sick,” said the 19-year-old Canadian, who had a practice session at RLA with the man who knows it like his living room: defending champion Federer.
“It’s insane, man,” said the shot-making lefty of sharing a court with his heroes. “That practice with Roger, I was for the first 30 minutes telling [coach] Rob [Steckley]: ‘Oh my god. I’m so tight, I can hit.’ I don’t want to miss for him, I want to give him a good practice.
“Honestly, Roger, he’s so nice. He’s always open to hit with young guys. That’s also a great thing. He’s always open to hit with the younger guys, kind of show them how it’s done. I’m 19 years old. It’s a dream come true for me.”