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This recap (in order) goes: No Spoilers - Match Analysis - Shots Of The Day - Interview Best Bits - Order Of Play - Extras - New Balls Please.

NO SPOILERS 🎥

If you don't want to see the results yet, and want to catch up with the highlights first, stop scrolling now. (If these links have been taken down, tap the ‘view in browser’ button at the top of this email and there should be updated links):

Berdych 🎥 Nadal

Federer 🎥 Tsitsipas

Cilic 🎥 Bautista Agut

Dimitrov 🎥 Tiafoe

RESULTS 🎾

💥 = Beatdown \\ 🤕 = Injury \\ ‼️ = Upset \\ 🤯 = Epic

Featured Matches

Nadal d Berdych: 6-0, 6-1, 7-6(4) 💥

1st Set Summary📊: Nadal was immediately under pressure in the first game of the match, facing a break point after a huge Berdych forehand. But Rafa saved the BP with a big serve, and held. Nadal then unloaded on some forehands in Berdych’s subsequent service game, and broke thanks to a Berdych backhand error. The rest of the set flew by very quickly, with Nadal serving Berdych a bagel thanks to some big returning and Berdych’s inability to land a high enough number of 1st serves (38% or 6/16). Routine for Rafa, who was on fire after that initial, tricky service game.

2nd Set Summary📊: The 2nd set picked up where the 1st left off. Nadal’s return of serve still dismantling the Berdych serve, and Berdych still not landing many first serves (35% for the set). This was a nightmare for the Czech, as Rafa was utterly dialled in on return, winning 9/14 points when Berdych missed that 1st delivery. Nadal looked so comfortable in every rally, almost always managing to be the aggressor in the point before Berdych knew what had hit him. After going down another break to start the set, Berdych raised his arms in slightly sarcastic celebration when he finally got on the board at 1*-3. But the celebrations didn’t last long, as Nadal absolutely crushed a backhand down the line to grab the double break, and with it the set, 6-1. Rafa continued to serve well, landing 19/23 first serves, and winning 15/19 of those points. Berdych just couldn’t get anywhere near Rafa’s 1st serve, and when he did, Nadal would invariably be ready and waiting, inside the baseline, to crush a winner. The Spaniard was excelling in the first 1-4 shots of each point today.

— This dynamic featured heavily today. Body serve from Nadal to jam up Berdych’s backhand return, and Nadal ready and waiting, inside the baseline, with his forehand.

3rd Set Summary📊: Berdych really stepped it up a gear, facing two break points at 2-2, but saving both in impressive fashion with better serving and huge forehands. Berdych kept on holding easily, getting to 5-4* to force Nadal to serve to stay in the set, losing just 4 points on serve through 5 service games. A much better 60% of 1st serves in (vs 30%’s in first two sets) was responsible for the competitive turnaround, as was an increased willingness to come to the net (12/13 net points) to ensure the Czech got the first big strike in the point. Berdych had to face another break point at 5-5, after missing a few forehands, but a wild Nadal miss, on an attempted down the line forehand, got the Czech back to deuce. Berdych’s resolve on serve was rewarded with a loose start by Nadal in the subsequent service game. A 30-40 (set point) hole opened up for the Czech after Berdych crushed a big forehand down the line. But Nadal saved the set point with a big forehand of his own, and a tiebreak was needed to separate the two. Berdych went up a mini-break for 4*-3, but surrendered it with a poor drop shot attempt. Nadal punished this shot selection by grabbing a mini break, and a match point, of his own with a huge forehand down the line, and converted the MP with a nice serve-forehand combo.

Match Summary📊: Statement performance from Nadal, who took advantage of a slow start from Berdych to completely routine the Czech throughout the first two sets. Rafa landed 70% of his 1st serves (winning 45/56 or 80% of those points) throughout the match, giving Berdych so little joy on return. This was, in large part, due to the Spaniard’s court position being incredibly aggressive during his follow up shots (first four shots of the point). Nadal got a little tight in the third set after missing four break points opportunities (2 of which he should have done better on), but much of this was down to an improved Berdych performance, with the Czech landing a much better 57% of 1st serves in vs 35% & 38% in the first two sets.

This match was a mismatch in two main areas. The first was the 1st-serve-in disparity mentioned above. The second was the movement difference, in which Nadal holds a significant advantage, especially laterally. The Spaniard’s forehand cross court, pulling Berdych wide to his backhand side, consistently opened up so much court space for Nadal to hit into. Berdych’s backhand down the line (the only shot to negate this dynamic) has always been weak when stretched wide, on the run. As we have seen with this rivalry in the past, as soon as Nadal has Berdych on the run, the point is as good as over.

Tsitsipas d Federer: 6-7(11), 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-6(5) ‼️

1st Set Summary📊: Bizarre, 8 minute, opening game. Tsitsipas got a time violation warning, followed by a full-blown time violation penalty costing him a 1st serve. The Greek saved a break point and secured an important hold. The two players then exchanged consecutive, routine service holds, with Federer having lots of joy serving to Tsitsipas’s backhand corner, and Tsitsipas, interestingly, having success hitting slower 2nd serves to Federer’s forehand. Fed likes blocking fast forehand returns back in play, but he can, at times, be less effective when he’s forced to take a bigger swing, with more time on the ball. Nothing could separate the two players on serve (Tsistipas had won one more point on return than Federer after 9 games), and we headed to a tiebreaker. Tsitsipas went up a mini break after Federer couldn’t handle a volley, but donated it back with a backhand error. Federer then grabbed a minibreak of his own but then also donated it back with an generous error (forehand). Both players went on to face two set points each on their serves, and both saved them with nice attacking tennis. Finally, Tsistipas cracked first on serve, distracted by an out call from the crowd, the Greek was pushed too wide by a Federer forehand, and committed the error to surrender the opening set. Excellent contest so far, with neither going below 80% 1st serves points won and 60% 2nd serve points won, and both winning plenty of points at the net (8/10 for Tsitsipas, 13/18 for Fed). Federer’s only concern would be his 10 forehand errors.

2nd Set Summary📊: Tsistipas got to 30-30 at 1-1 with Federer serving. But for the 2nd time in the match on a big point (first was down set point in the breaker), Federer served and volleyed on a 2nd serve to Tsistipas’ backhand. This was a clever strategy because of how far back Tsistipas was taking 2nd serve backhand returns, to allow him to let the ball drop lower into his strike-zone. This gave Federer time to get right on top of the net, and made it tough for Tsitsipas to find a clean pass:

Federer made his move with Tsistipas serving at 2*-3, creating three break points. The Greek was let off by another Federer forehand error on the first BP, saved the 2nd with with a good change-up on serve, and played a great volley on the 3rd BP to eventually escape the game. Federer was now dialled in on serve, winning 12 service points in a row, facing zero pressure, and averaging 1 minute 20 seconds on serve (vs Tsistipas’s 4 minutes) in the 2nd set. Federer once again found himself with multiple break points with Tsitsipas serving at 4*-5. The Greek saved the first two with big serves, the 2nd thanks to another Fed forehand error, and the third with a big forehand-volley combo. Federer was now 0/8 on BP’s for the set. Sweet relief then came for Tsistipas with a love service game, and we headed to another tiebreak. Federer started off the breaker by handing an immediate minibreak to his opponent with a wild forehand, before Tsistipas served back to back aces to rush out to 3-0 lead. The lead didn’t last long though, with Federer punching a wonderful backhand down the line to restore parity: 3-3. But Tsitsipas, as had been the case all match, wasn’t deterred by a minor setback, grabbing a 6-3 lead thanks to this very clever point:

— Cannot emphasise enough the importance of a good defensive, forehand slice. It’s so effective at resetting the point from defensive positions. An attempted topspin shot here almost definitely would have dropped short. Instead Tsitsipas gets depth, wins time, and makes it tough for Federer, coaxing the short ball .

A big backhand converted Tsistipas’s first set point and we were tied at one set all. Obviously Federer would be very disappointed to not have converted at least one of his 8 break points, especially given the numerous forehand unforced errors. The Swiss played a near-perfect set, break point conversion aside. But Tsistipas’s willingness to play proactive, attacking tennis on the remaining BP’s was stunning.

3rd Set Summary📊: Federer created two more break points with Tsistipas serving at 3-3, but another wild forehand error cost him the first one, and some more fantastic attacking tennis from Tsitsipas saved the 2nd. Federer now 0/12 on BP’s. Now it was Fed’s turn to feel pressure on serve, facing two BP’s (Tsistipas’s first of the match) at 3*-4, after an incredible Tsistipas forehand pass. But a good volley, followed by a big serve, saved them, and the match remained break-less. The dynamic of the match had completely changed. It was now Tsitsipas who looked fresher and more comfortable, and this was telling with Federer facing more yet pressure on serve at 5*-6. The Swiss looked frustrated with how the match was developing, and sprayed a forehand wide to bring up a set point for Tsistipas. Yet another forehand error from Federer surrendered the SP, and Tsistipas had a 2 sets to 1 lead. 30 unforced forehand errors from Federer at this point of the match.

4th Set Summary📊: Federer did well to stay on serve in the opening 7 games, looking a little bit sluggish in the face of relentless serves and forehands from Tsitsipas. Both were serving well, but Tsitsipas had the upper hand in more of the baseline rallies. At 4-4 Tsistipas had a trainer visit, for what looked like cramps, but continued to play well afterwards, forcing Federer to serve to stay in the set once again at 6-5*. At this point it looked like Federer was struggling to move to his backhand side as fast as usual, but some nice adjustments to come to the net more, and a wild Tsitsipas backhand error, got him through the game and forced another tiebreaker. Tsitsipas got off to the best possible start with a big serve followed by another generous Federer forehand error. But the Swiss fought back with a ludicrous forehand winner after a 15-shot point to grab the minibreak back. A bad miss from Tsitsipas, at 3-3 with Federer serving, was a bit of a let off for Fed, but Tsistipas continued to do what he had done all match, and put the setback behind him with two excellent points on his own serve. Another missed forehand from Federer set up two match points on Tsitsipas’s serve, and the young Greek converted the first one to record a stunning upset.

Match Summary📊: Ok, first up Federer. The Swiss will be fairly livid not to have taken a two set lead, and from there, probably close out the match. 0/8 on break points in that 2nd set (and 0/12 in the match overall, was his biggest issue today, with about half of those chances ending with an error (33 forehand unforced errors total) from the Swiss’s racquet. Tsitsipas was on the ropes for much of the 2nd set, and had Federer been able to take advantage, the scoreline and result probably would have looked very different. The biggest issue as the match wore on though, and a major contributor to Federer not being able to extend the contest to 5 sets, was his struggle with footwork, especially to his backhand side. Tsitsipas was brilliant when approaching the net today (48/68 net points won), but Federer’s almost total lack of successful passing shots speaks to his sluggish lateral movement to be in the right position to hit the necessary passes. The Swiss will feel like he should have done better in this match and gone further in this tournament. This was a missed opportunity rather than a clean-cut usurping. That is reason enough to be optimistic about his slam chances going forward.

What an absolutely stunning breakthrough for Tsitsipas. The Greek’s big point play was consistently brave, aggressive and varied, and was complimented by a stubborn refusal to dwell on the minor setbacks that he suffered throughout the match (losing the 1st set, facing so many BP’s etc etc). His serving went from strength to strength as the match wore on, and the Greek looked vaguely serene after stealing the 2nd set after saving so many break points. 20 aces (to Federer’s 12) made life somewhat easier for Tsistipas. But the real victory on his serve was the late-match 2nd serve performance, winning 9/14 2nd serve points in the 3rd set, and 8/10 in the 4th set. This was down to some fantastic variation but also an increased willingness to take large, early cuts at his 2nd and 3rd shots of the point, regardless of whether he made the 1st serve or not. Stunning win. Stunning mentality throughout the match. A true next-gen breakthrough, on a huge stage, in a best of 5 match.

Also

Tiafoe d Dimitrov: 7-5, 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 7-5 ‼️

Another next-gen breakthrough, with Tiafoe makings first slam quarterfinal. This match is quite misleading if you just look at the stats. Dimitrov lead on total points won (177 to Tiafoe’s 166), lead on 1st and 2nd serve points won, had a better winner to unforced error ratio (Dimitrov at +16 vs Tiafoe’s +9), and won a higher % of return points (37% to 31%). But as we have come to expect with Dimitrov in recent times, it’s his stats on the bigger points which are making but, more often in the last 12 months, breaking his matches. Grigor had chances to go up 4-1 in the 2nd set tiebreak, and fluffed a backhand when he could have hit into the open court. A few points later, and on his third set point, the Bulgarian double faulted to all but hand the a two set lead to Tiafoe.

Dimitrov’s waning mental strength aside, Tiafoe, in marked contrast to his opponent played the big points brilliantly, serving excellently, and demonstrating more of the patient point construction that has seen him outplay some serious baseliners in the form of Seppi and Dimitrov. Big Foe’s 4th set in particular was fantastic, saving all three break points faced and coming to the net regularly to take time away from his opponent (11/15 in the fourth set and 45/66 for the match on net points won).

Bautista Agut (RBA) d Cilic: 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 🤯

Good news: RBA makes his first Slam quarterfinal. Bad news: he’s spent 14 hours on court to get there. Great win for the Spaniard, who is putting together an all time run of results over the past few weeks. Beating Wawrinka, Djokovic, Berdych (all in Doha) Murray, Millman, Khachanov & Cilic in a row is a ridiculous set of wins. RBA was the better player for much of today’s match, hitting a consistent 44 winners to 38 unforced errors, to Cilic’s much more erratic 65 winners to 73(!) errors, and creating far more chances on return than his opponent (5/13 on break points vs Cilic’s 2/5). Things very nearly got ugly for RBA however, when facing break points early in the 5th set. But some calm serving and groundstrokes got him out of trouble before rifling a forehand down the line to grab the decisive break for himself a few games later.

Cilic was very up and down today, and just hasn’t looked 100% for portions of his matches in the last few rounds. The knee injury, that derailed the Croat’s pre-season, likely to blame.

SHOTS OF THE DAY 😮

— Nadal took advantage of Berdych’s early, low 1st serve in %, and was straight up abusing the 2nd serves. Rafa getting in the first big hit of each point almost without fail during the first two sets.

— Berdych’s forehand can still be a thing of beauty. Flat, effortless power.

— You know Nadal is feeling good when he’s taking on backhands down the line like this. Grabbing the double break in the 2nd set.

— Single biggest reason for Nadal looking impressive so far this tournament. His 1-2 punch is as good as it’s ever been. Unless the opponent can find his backhand (tough to do off Nadal’s left serve) they’ve usually been toast.

— Unplayable serve-forehand combo from Berdych, who played a much better 3rd set.

— Down 0-30, serving to stay in the set, and Nadal does this.

— Good early signs for Federer with this backhand. Way inside the court on return and stays aggressive.

— Huge passing shot from Tsitsipas.

— The Greek has such a pure backhand.

— Pretty dramatic from Tsitsipas, but his willingness to come to the net today was a aspect of why he troubled Federer.

— Federer lasering a backhand.

— Outrageous backhand punch from Federer to get the mini break back in the 2nd set breaker.

— Over the net post backhand from Federer. Awesome.

— Tsitsipas’s showboating gets him in a bit of trouble.

— Quite a bit of Delpo in this Tsitsipas forehand pass.

— Absolutely ridiculous forehand from Federer, after a 15 shot rally, to once again get a minibreak back from Tsitsipas.

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INTERVIEW & PRESS BEST BITS 🎤

— Federer confirms he will play Roland Garros… Make of that what you will. Federer will drop to at least 6th in the rankings after his loss today. Possibly wants to make up some ranking points on clay, or possibly his farewell year. Time will tell.

On Tsitsipas:

“I lost to a better player who was playing very well tonight. Hung in there, gave himself chances at some point, stayed calm. It's not always easy, especially for younger guys. Credit to him for taking care of that.” Source

On the break point misses:

“It definitely didn't go the way I was hoping on the breakpoints. I also didn't break him at the Hopman Cup, so clearly something is wrong how I return him, what I'm trying to do. He's doing a good job to defend them. Nevertheless, it's very frustrating, yeah.”

“I have massive regrets, you know, tonight. I might not look the part, but I am. I felt like I have to win the second set. I don't care how I do it, but I have to do it. Cost me the game tonight.”

On the conditions:

“Yeah, I mean, look, conditions also changed throughout the match like every year when you start at 7, go into the night. It gets harder to go through the opponent. Yeah, I thought conditions were definitely a bit slower this year than last year. Didn't allow for as much variation, to be quite honest.”

On equal prize money for women:

“If we can help, great. Sometimes maybe the men's game is a bit more popular, sometimes the women's game. I think we should always help each other as players regardless of who's more popular at the moment.”

Full Presser & Video of Presser🎥

Tsitsipas on learning from the Big 3:

“These players, they are the best example if you want to make it big in the game. Just by watching matches, highlights. I mean, they are great players to watch: him (Federer), Rafa, Novak. They are very good examples of how to improve your game. I'm pretty sure it helped me.”

On his preparation for his match vs Federer:

“Yeah, I kind of watch some highlights of players that beat him in Grand Slams. It was actually not Rafa or Djokovic, but some other players that have beaten him in the past US Open. Very similar game style like me. I will not say which player. He did beat him in US Open a few years ago.”

(Matt: Robredo?!)

“My idol today became pretty much my rival.”

On his staggering 12 month improvement:

“One of the things I mentioned right now, this decision making. Serve has improved a lot. Also it's part of the decision making. I stopped being hesitant of where I'm going to serve, what I'm going to do. I feel comfortable going anywhere. Baseline obviously. I have improved physically. I can play longer, be aggressive more than before.

Full Presser & Post Match Interview🎥

Nadal on equal prize money in sport:

“I don't know why you are trying all the time to create these kind of stories on this thing. As you know, I love the women's tennis. I feel that they can win as much as they want. Is not about equal or not equal prize money. I don't care if they win more than us. That's the real thing. If they sell more tickets than what we sell tickets, they deserve to more than us. That's very easy to understand. It's not about being male or women. Doesn't matter. We are the same. If they sell more than us, they have to win more than us.”

On Tiafoe next round:

He has everything. He's quick. He serve well. Very quick forehand. He's a very dynamic player, aggressive one. Of course, he's dangerous. He's in quarterfinals. He won great matches during the whole event. Going to be a tough one. Let's see.

Full Presser

Tiafoe after a huge win vs Dimitrov sees him into his first slam quarterfinal:

“It means the world. I worked my ass off man. I told my parents 10 years ago I was gonna be a pro and change their life and my life. I can't believe it man...” (On court interview).

Q. You had a few chats with the trainer during the match. What were they about?

Tiafoe: “Trying to stay alive, man. Trying to stay alive.” “Yeah, third set, I had the break, but started to feel my body. But he played a good game to break me. After that, as you asked me, I was trying to stay alive. I was downing pickle juice, having that like Kool-Aid, just trying to get that done. Yeah, it was lucky for me. I'm talking straight up, straight up. Just downing it. Tasted terrible. Feeling terrible right now, man (smiling).” (Matt: Context = pickle juice is a popular remedy for leg cramps)

Full Presser

ORDER OF PLAY - 4TH ROUND (MONDAY) ⏰

Match to watch = 🔥

Rod Laver Arena

— (@ 12pm Local, 1am UK, 7pm CT) —

🇩🇪 A.Zverev vs Raonic 🇨🇦 (H2H: 1-1) (1st Meeting On HC) 🔥

Prediction: Zverev in 5

— NB 7pm Local, 8am UK, 2am CT —

🇷🇸 Djokovic vs Medvedev 🇷🇺 (H2H: 2-0) (Hard Court: 1-0) 🔥

Prediction: Djokovic in 4

Margaret Court Arena

— NB 6pm Local, 7am UK, 1am CT —

🇯🇵 Nishikori vs Carreno Busta 🇪🇸 (1st Meeting)

Prediction: Nishikori in 3

Melbourne Arena

— (@ 5pm Local, 6am UK, 12am CT) —

🇭🇷 Coric vs Pouille 🇫🇷 (H2H: 2-0) (Hard Court: 2-0)

Prediction: Coric in 4

Full Schedule ⏰

EXTRAS 🔍📊🎤

— American tennis on the come-up once again!

— Nice closeup of Tsitsipas’s excellent backhand technique.

🎥 Eurosport keep picking up great backstage footage because their cameras stay on after matches in the player hallways:

Courier: “Your new serve is 5kph faster than before.” Nadal: “Not a big change at all, I just try to start a bit slower" Patrick McEnroe (as Rafa walks away): "I think you have a future man (lols)".

📊 Today’s Federer vs Tsitsipas match was the first time since the 2002 US Open that Federer didn’t break serve in a hard court slam match. (per tennis Abstract)

— Next Monday, Federer will occupy his lowest ranking since early 2017.

— Nice 360 of Federer’s serve.

NEW BALLS PLEASE 👀

— The Australian Open forgetting Tennys Sandgren exists.

— TFW you win your first game of the match in the middle of the 2nd set.

— WAT

— Medvedev opening twitter and seeing all the Tsitsipas praise.

— Tsitsi-special.

❗️This issue is the free weekly edition, but to get the Recap tomorrow, and daily throughout the rest of the Australian Open, you’ll need to subscribe below (ignore his if you’re already a subscriber). The first month is free (normally $5/month) so you can see if it’s worth the💰 before committing (this offer expires tonight):❗️

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GAME, SET, MATCH 👋

— The Racquet is created, and written, by Matt.

— You can find me on Twitter here.

See you tomorrow for the 4th Round (Monday) of the Australian Open!

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