Emma Raducanu will “take positives” from her run to the third round of the Australian Open, while Jack Draper put in an “incredible effort” to get through three five-unit matches in a row, says Gigi Salmon.
In her latest Sky Sports column, Gigi Salmon speaks exclusively from Melbourne, where she discusses Emma Raducanu’s run to the third round, Jack Draper’s extraordinary tournament, Daniil Medvedev’s total fines, Danielle Collins’ on-court antics and the absence of Daniela Hantuchova’s practice sessions.
Imagine having 12 hours and 35 minutes of tennis on your legs for three matches and 15 units, dealing with an ongoing hip problem and knowing that next up would be four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz! That was the task faced by the British number one, Jack Draper, a great request that became an impossible mission.
We are lucky to be able to commentate on games at the Rod Laver Environment at court level, behind the baseline.
Next time you watch TV, watch out for the dark and, fortunately for us, reinforced glass behind the baseline, the end where the players come out and we’re behind that! It’s a fantastic point of view and you can see the emotions of the players as they walk back towards the glass, and that included the anguish on Jack Draper’s face when it became clear to him that he couldn’t continue. He finally called it a day at the end of the second set.
Tendinitis in his hip that reached his back is what Jack has been dealing with, surprising himself with how well he held up given how much he had to play and put his body through.
However, he admitted in his post-match press conference that he had probably been dealing with “a ticking time bomb.”
With all this going on, it was an incredible effort from Jack to get through three tough five-piece matches and having said he would not be part of Great Britain’s Davis Cup squad for when they face Japan next month, he is looking to stay fit. and return to the court for the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam, which you can watch on Tennis Sky Sports activities at the beginning of February.
Positive for Raducanu
Speaking of scheduling, Emma Raducanu, who when the inevitable pain of her 6-1 6-0 loss to world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the third round wears off, should take the positives from the best run of her career in Melbourne Park who was hampered in the accumulation by a back problem.
Next up will be the WTA 250 event in Singapore. which starts at the end of this month – live on Sky Sports activities Tennis.
Monday of the second week began with an apology issued by host broadcaster Channel 9 for comments made by the main presenter of its Australian Open coverage that Novak Djokovic considered disrespectful, including: ‘Novak, you are overrated. Novak is a past. “Novak, throw him out.”
While waiting for an apology, Djokovic refused to do his post-match on-court interview with Jim Courier, later clarifying that it was nothing against Jim, whom he greatly respects, and that he did honor his other post-match commitments.
In my opinion the comments went too far, if it was an attempt at a joke as stated, it was not a very good one. Hopefully, with the apologies we now hear more from Djokovic in case he beats Carlos Alcaraz when they meet in the quarterfinals.
The highest total of fines for Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev accumulated the largest total of fines imposed in the history of the Grand Slam
In what was a lively first week, last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev lost to 19-year-old Learner Tien, and in the process racked up fines totaling more than £60,000 across his two matches.
The fines were for throwing the racket for which he received a penalty point, not attending the post-match press conference and breaking a network camera.
It is the largest total of fines imposed in Grand Slam history and will be deducted from his £102,000 prize money.
What a start to the year for Medvedev, whose second child, a daughter named Victoria, was born in January. He arrived in Melbourne just days before the tournament started and left home a few days later.
Collins’ ‘big fat check’
Danielle Collins has a history of being a feisty competitor
Someone else who goes out to beat up anyone who gets in her way is Danielle Collins. We spoke quite a bit with the American last year about Tennis Sky Sports activities in what was to be his last year on tour as he looked to the future with the desire to settle down and start a family.
Since her fertility journey proved difficult due to endometriosis, Collins decided to delay her retirement and return to touring. Now she has a history of being a feisty competitor, she will talk back to the crowd, let out completely guttural roars after winning points and is not afraid to speak her mind, she will also tell anyone who will listen to her that they don’t care what what people think.
She reached another level in her second round match against Australian Destanee Aiava, understandably in a partisan crowd, Collins would win 6-2 in the third, spurred on by the crowd that was visibly against her.
After blowing them kisses when the match was won, in his on-court interview he said, “You know, during the match I was thinking, I thought, ‘hmm, if I’m here, I might as well take that big one.’ Fat paycheck, I love five star vacations so part of that check will go towards that so thank you all.
She would double down on her comments in her post-match press conference before falling in the next round to Madison Keys.
Collins has a strong character, but having gotten to know her a little last year on tour, she is a good person who doesn’t like to be the center of attention and in fact it’s hard to believe if you see her in the antics. from the field, longs to get away from it.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
Highlights from Collins’ victory against Elena Rybakina to claim the Miami Open title last year
Training and Hantuchova
Gigi managed to miss all of Daniela Hantuchova’s training sessions in Melbourne
Now, thanks to Andrea Petkovic, I know what a ‘hexenschuss’ is, literally translated as ‘shot by a witch’, more commonly known as lumbago.
This came up when talking about Jacob Fearnley’s loss in straight units to Sascha Zverev, Jacob had to take a medical timeout due to lower back pain and Andrea joked that she had given him a ‘hexenschuss’.
And as far as my dual role as commentator and coach is concerned, I think I have been nominated once again to coach Daniela Hantuchova, who is playing in the two legends events, but so far I have missed all of Dani’s practices that they haven’t gone I’m doing great, so I’m not sure I’ll make it to the end of the week with my coaching credentials intact!
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, which gives Sky Sports customers access to more than 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
