tennis gut

Sincaraz… The last time the same two men featured in the finals of four consecutive slam tournaments was… When Djokovic and Nadal appeared in four straight from 2011 Wimbledon to the 2012 French Open.   And that was the first and only time it’s occurred at the current slam tournaments. Although Laver and Rosewall kind of did it at the pro slams in 1964-65. In both previous cases, the wins went 3-1, so if precedent holds, Alcaraz will beat Sinner in the AO final.   Case closed, no need to read further. Convinced? Or coincidence? Read on…   First Quarter Carlos Alcaraz (seed 1) has been reasonably blessed by the draw gods. His first challenge might come in the fourth round when he could face Tommy Paul (19), who has both previous quarter- and semi-final showings here. But Paul struggled with injury last year and has been in middling form, so I don’t predict much difficulty for Alcaraz. Flavio Cobolli (20) had a splendid finish to 2025, leading his country t...

How is it that not even two weeks into the new tennis year, my opinion has changed about Australian Open favourites?   First Quarter Aryna Sabalenka (seed 1) is in a deserved place at the top of the draw.   She looked great last week in defending her Brisbane 500 title. And her draw looks manageable.   But then again, for a #1 isn’t any draw manageable? She’s been in the last three finals here, winning twice, and has to be the default favourite for the tournament. Emma Raducanu (28) could meet Sabalenka in the third round.   She looked slightly more resilient in 2025, but still far from 2021-US-Open-winning form.   Just this week she’s put an end to a five-match losing streak dating to September, but after the win lost her next match unconvincingly. The third round could also bring up an interesting clash between Clara Tauson (14) and Victoria Mboko (17).   Both young players hit career highs in 2025, and Mboko is on another run, to the final ...