TENNIS: Never mind the snow, make like a seagull and catch some rays at the AO

[JaneJeffer]

Love that story Mac, nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row

Trick question

I have to go out when the the Carlos match is due to start - have been catching up on the over night score.
Svitolina had to retire with a back injury against Noskova, Daniil through for the loss of 1 set, Azarenka out. Zverev currently 2 sets to 1 up against Norrie.
Hubi through against Cazaux- first 2 sets went to tie breaks.

Zverev and Norrie into a 5th set and so far going with serve

Carlos wants an early night.

Good hold for Norrie - Sascha had a few chances to break - 4-3 in the fifth to Norrie - eek!

6-5 to Norrie - he played really well in that game

Oh dear - Norris unravelled a bit in the tiebreak - well done Sascha!

I didn’t see much of the match but it seemed very close throughout, I’m sure Cam will be disappointed to give away the tiebreak so easily.

Yes he played really well in the final set Ice but I think Zverev’s experience got him through the tiebreak - I’m sure Norris will be disappointed but he’s had a good run recently - I’d almost forgotten about him!

Looks as if it was a very easy win for Alcaraz

I’ve just heard on the Tennis Podcast that Alan Mills, former Wimbledon referee, passed away a few days ago - he was in his 80s

He was a bit like the voice of doom before they had the roof - he always used to appear at the first sign of rain!

Yes, back end of last week. He was 88. Apparently, he beat Rod Laver once!

R.I.P Alan- I remember him very clearly.

I missed all of this morning - I may have to go out tomorrow when the Sinner/ Rublev match is on, but hopefully not for too long. I am really torn about that match, and would rather it was the final. .

I will probably wake up at some point when the Fritz match is on- I really hope he can give Djok a fright.

As soon as I read his name I pictured him with his walkie talkie! Rest in peace Alan.

Our power went yesterday evening and we've just got it back but there's another storm on the way tomorrow. Ugh.

I'm wondering when we will get a break from rubbish weather.

Oh no that’s rubbish Jane - hope the next storm’s not as bad for you

Apparently it’s hot and humid in Melbourne and Djok is not happy! But he’s still won the first set against Fritz - boo!

It could be a long day/night of tennis - it looks as if they’re playing all the singles matches on the Rod Laver arena - Coco Gauff’s match was quite long

Grrrr.

The Coco match was long- and the Fritz match started late- Taylor has just lost an epic first set against Djok that took nearly an hour and a half. This will either be a very long match, or Djok will now run away with it. They keep showing bloody Kyrgios smirking in the commentary booth .

At this rate, the Sinner/Rublev match won't start there for hours!

x post Fizzy

I woke up around 4.30, fully expecting to see scores for this match already- so it was a shock when it hadn't started.

What's ailing Djok today then? A cold? sore knee? tree hugging fungal infection? Who tf is he pointing at?

Is he trying to pick on someone in the crowd to get pissed off at? It's not panto, mate.

I’m not watching yet - just following the scores - not sure if I can stomach Djok (and Nick) this early in the morning!

The scheduling is ridiculous - I can’t see the Sinner/Rublev match being a quick one! At least they’re playing the women’s match before them

Fortunately, Nick appears to be commentating for ESPN today, but we still keep getting shots of his face from his commentary box.

Taylor seems to have lost a bit of focus.

Come on Taylor! Interesting that they’re making Djok play in the afternoon heat… I guess they don’t want him to have a late night. But at least these players get a couple of days off before the semi finals, the other side of the draw gets a shorter turnaround.

The scheduling today could be a nightmare. I can't see this match being over in the next couple of hours- and the Krejikova/Sabalenka match could also be a long one, though Barbora has been in all 3 tournaments (til dropping the mixed) she might be a bit more tired. That's before Jannik and Andrey even think about warming up.

It's obvious (to people who think ) that the matches will potentially get longer as the tournament progresses and the standard gets higher, and the opponents are more evenly matched (in theory) surely?

So much for the extra day, Craig Tiley- back to the scheduling drawing board.