CLASSY LYON SPINS BLUES BACK INTO GAME
TWO days ago, Test skipper Tim Paine implored curators around Australia to retain the unique characteristics of the nation’s wickets after India spun its way to victory against England on a dust bowl in Chennai.
Right on cue, the SCG wicket played like the raging turner it used to be as Test tweaker Nathan Lyon put Victoria to the sword with a spinning masterclass for NSW.
With balls turning and bouncing, Lyon snared 6-21, a far cry from his 2-201 in the third Test when India salvaged a draw on a wicket that didn’t do as it should.
Lyon’s haul came after Victorian spinner Jon Holland took 3-38 in a match that is evenly poised after the visitors were all out for 200, a lead of just 35 after losing 8-48 in a collapse brought on by the offerings of the pitch.
NSW was 1-22 at stumps, still 13 runs in arrears, with Lyon sent in as nightwatchman. But for all Lyon’s good work, question marks remain over Test quick Mitch Starc.
The left-armer conceded 0-71 from 14 overs. The rest of the NSW attack combined for 10-123 from 67 overs.
In his 14 overs, Trent Copeland took 1-17, which put Starc’s wild effort into perspective.
Former Test batsman Nic Maddinson, who scored 77 in just 116 minutes, smacked 32 runs off 19 balls against Starc.
STEFANOS Tsitsipas said he found “nirvana” on the tennis court as he recovered from two sets down to halt Rafael Nadal’s bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Second seed Nadal was on course for a comfortable victory before Greece’s Tsitsipas turned the quarter-final around to prevail 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 7-5 in four hours and five minutes.
The tennis world was left stunned, being just the second time Nadal had lost when two sets up in a Grand Slam, having previously fallen to Fabio Fognini in the third round of the 2015 US Open.
Known as occasionally a hotheaded player, the 22-year-old has made a conscious effort to take a calmer approach, which paid dividends when he was on the brink of elimination against a rampant Nadal.
“I wasn’t thinking about a lot of things,” said Tsitsipas, who hit 49 winners and 17 aces in his second win in eight meetings with Nadal.
“How would I describe myself? Nirvana. Just was there... playing, not thinking.”
Tsitsipas will play the in-form Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final.
TENNIS Australia boss Craig Tiley has shot down criticism of the decision to shift Wednesday night’s Australian Open wheelchair final from Rod Laver Arena to Margaret Court Arena.
Aussie legend Dylan Alcott, left, wrapped up another Open quad title, well after midnight, after the Rafael Nadal-Stefanos Tsitsipas five-set epic.
“It was the plan,” Tiley said on Melbourne’s SEN. radio.
“We said all along that if the (Nadal-Tsitsipas) match, either way, after four sets, he (Alcott) would go on.
“In this case, Tsitsipas won the last two sets, so, at the end of the fourth set, they were tied two sets apiece so a fifth set was going to be played on RLA and Dylan didn’t want to go on too late.
“We agreed and he agreed that we’d move it on to Margaret Court
Arena, which is a great arena. Keep in mind, it’s a broadcast-only event, so does not really matter when it comes to crowds, because there were no crowds.”
Tiley said Alcott agreed to the move once the men’s match went into a fifth set and was excited to be playing in the evening.
Alcott took home his seventh straight Australian Open quad wheelchair singles title and 12th grand slam singles title, defeating his US Open conqueror Sam Schroder in straight sets.
It took Alcott just over an hour to prevail 6-1, 6-0, adding a seventh Australian singles trophy to a cabinet that includes two French Open titles, one Wimbledon and two US Open wins.
Alcott’s win comes in the same week he and Heath Davidson sealed victory in the quad wheelchair doubles final.