The Australian Open first week is done and dusted and all 4th round matches are in. This means no more substitutes will be coming in from this point onwards. Amazingly all ladies subs have either been used or are out and 10 teams have not needed to use their male substitute player.

So a reminder of what occurred yesterday. The day started off with a huge 5 set win by Kecmanovic over 14th seed Paul. ‘Lord of the Strings’ fantasy team currently have lost no men and are the only team to have picked Kecmanovic. Well done to you! 9th seed, Hurkacz knocked out 21 seed, Humbert in 4 sets. The 21st seed took the first set but after that the Pole was too strong and booked his spot in the 4th round. The 21 year old who has made a name for himself at this years Aussie Open, Cazaux, produced another brilliant performance as he knocked out 28th seed, Griekspoor in straight sets (6-3; 6-3; 6-1). He will now face Hurkacz for a spot in the quarter-finals. Alcaraz had a comfortable win against Shang who managed just 2 games in 2 sets before retiring in the 3rd set. This left Alcaraz as the man who scored the most points on day 7 with 11 points scored. 19th seed, Norrie looked good against 11st seed, Ruud in this interesting 3rd round match. Ruud managed to somehow win the 2nd set tiebreak to level the match however this in vain as Norrie won the next 2 sets 6-4; 6-3 to book his spot in the next round. The man who was picked by no one Borges continued his impressive run with a huge win against an inform 13th seed, Dimitrov. The Portuguese player winning 6-7(3); 6-4; 6-2; 7-6(6). 3rd seed Medvedev will be very pleased to win in straight sets against 27th seed, Auger-Aliassime after his long 2nd round encounter. Zverev the 6th seed, will also be pleased to get past Michelsen 6-2; 7-6(4); 6-2 after his 2nd round win in a match tiebreaker.

In the ladies draw we saw the qualifier Yastremska knock out another seed this time 27th seed, Navarro in a 3 set encounter. The one team who picked Yastremska is loving the points she is bringing in. Kalinskaya will be very pleased with her 3rd round win against a former grand slam champion, Stephens. Kalinskaya coming back from a set down to produce the victory. 12th seed, Zheng just about survived against compatriot Wang. Zheng winning the match tiebreaker 10-8 to book her spot in the 4th round. Dodin made light work of her compatriot Burel 6-2; 6-4 to book her spot in the 4th round. 26th seed, Paolini who was playing some good tennis at this years United Cup won 7-6(1); 6-4 and will be in the 4th round. Paolini, Zheng, Kalisnkaya and Dodin all have not made a grand slam semi-final but 1 of them will at this years Aussie Open. Who will it be? Noskova the 19 year old produced the biggest win of her career as she beat the number 1 in the world Swiatek from a set down. Noskova winning that match 3-6; 6-3; 6-4 much to the delight of the 2 teams who picked her and much to the disappoint of the 40 teams who had Swiatek. The last match on was 19th seed, Svitolina who cruised through another round as she beat Golubic 6-2; 6-3 to book a 4th round meeting against Noskova.

Onto the Fantasy Leaderboard and we have another new leader after day 7. ‘Serve with Eish’ leads the way however they are not the only leaders as ‘Laughing Kookaburra’ is also on 137 points. ‘Fraud Watch’ is just 1 point off the leaders in 3rd place. ‘Sinner’s Injuries’ have moved up into 4th with ‘Ausie Guess’ just 1 point behind them in 5th. The last prize is currently being split between 3 teams…’On Top’, ‘Tennis Addicts’ and ‘Left Back int the Changerooms’. The wooden spoon has become interesting as ‘Match Point’ has closed the gap and are now tied with ‘Champions’ in 79th spot.

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a fantasy organiser.