Jack Draper and Katie Boulter have set their sights on being seeded for Wimbledon after losing in the second round of the Australian Open.
Both found themselves up against highly-ranked opponents and were unable to cause upsets, with Draper losing 6-2 3-6 6-3 7-5 to 14th seed Tommy Paul, while Boulter was beaten 6-3 6-3 by 12th seed Zheng Qinwen.
Draper was particularly frustrated having beaten American Paul in both their previous meetings, including last week in Adelaide.
But, although he pulled up well physically from his dramatic first-round match, which he ended vomiting into a bin, the 22-year-old was unable to find his best tennis.
“He definitely came out playing really well,” said Draper. “I think he knew what he was up against. I think I won all four sets against him that I played.
“I definitely feel like I haven’t really got used to conditions this week at all. I just have been struggling to find my level. Obviously when you are playing a top player like that, if they’re playing well, there are very small margins in it. He was the better player today. He deserved to win.”
Draper is impatient to get to the sort of ranking he knows his talent merits, and it appears physically he is becoming more durable.
Being among the seeds at slams means guaranteeing avoiding higher-ranked players in the first two rounds and, having missed much of last season through injury, Draper now has a big opportunity to climb quickly.
He said: “I feel fit. I’m ready to keep going. I’m very motivated to keep getting better.
“So hopefully, by grass, if I keep my form up, if I stay fit, keep giving myself the opportunities to compete, then I’m going to be hopefully seeded for Wimbledon. And that’s kind of my goal now.”
It is the same for Boulter, who was disappointed to lose to Zheng but showed again that she can mix it with the top players.
The 21-year-old Chinese player is one of the game’s up-and-coming stars but the contest was closer than the score suggested.
Boulter will leave Australia with the best win of her career under her belt against Jessica Pegula at the United Cup earlier this month and a lot of belief in her prospects for the rest of the season.
“This trip has been great,” she said. “For me it’s about week in, week out playing these girls, trying to get big wins against the best players in the world. I gave myself opportunities to do that this week. I found myself winning a couple of matches a few weeks ago as well.
“For me, it is a massive step in the right direction. I’m going to keep working very, very hard. I know my game is there. Today it just wasn’t quite there.
“I would much rather play (her) in the third round, the fourth round to get myself into the tournament more and more and be playing on the bigger courts, which ultimately is more about the tennis than the conditions.
“So my next step for me is to challenge myself to get to 32 and push on from there.”
Zverev overcomes injury scare to maintain Italian Open charge
Alexander Zverev moved a step closer to his second Italian Open title with a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz, overcoming an injury scare en route to the last four.
Zverev – who triumphed on the clay in Rome back in 2017 – produced a dominant serving performance against another heavy hitter in Fritz, but only after an awkward fall early on.
The German sought medical attention after falling on his stomach in the third service game of the match, the slip leaving him bleeding from both hands.
However, he soon shook off that knock and did not allow Fritz a single break point in a deeply impressive display, setting up a semi-final meeting with Chile's Alejandro Tabilo – the conqueror of Novak Djokovic – for Friday.
Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum
Zverev, the lone former champion remaining in the men's draw, is surely the favourite to win a tournament characterised by unfortunate withdrawals and shock defeats for the biggest names.
Seven of Zverev's 21 tour-level titles have come on clay, and he is yet to drop a single set in Rome this year. His three-year wait for an ATP 1000 title could soon be over.
Sabalenka overcomes injury concerns to reach Rome semi-finals
Aryna Sabalenka is through to her second Italian Open semi-final after a straight-sets victory over Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday.
The Belarusian, who recovered from a lower back injury sustained in her previous match against Elina Svitolina, breezed through 6-2, 6-4 after just 72 minutes on the court.
Sabalenka broke her serve in the third and fifth games, with Ostapenko opening the door with two double faults, while a single break in the seventh game settled the second set.
The second seed almost let it slip with her only double fault but came back with two big serves to close out the win.
Sabalenka will face Danielle Collins or Victoria Azarenka in the semi-final on Friday.
Data Debrief: Top 10
Sabalenka (10) has become only the second player to reach 10 or more WTA-1000 semi-finals since the start of the 2020 season, along with Iga Swiatek (16).
With Sabalenka joining Swiatek and Coco Gauff, it is the first time the WTA’s top three players have reached the semi-final at the same WTA event since Roland Garros in 2013 – excluding the WTA Tour Finals.
Sabalenka has spent the most time out on the court in WTA clay events in 2024, with this match bringing her up to 25 hours and 34 minutes.
Gauff sets up Swiatek semi-final meeting after downing Zheng in Rome
Coco Gauff will have the chance to down world number one Iga Swiatek after progressing to the Italian Open semi-finals with Tuesday's victory over Qinwen Zheng.
The 20-year-old breezed into the last-four draw in Rome after her straight-sets victory over Zheng, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.
Gauff faced just one break point throughout the match, failing to hold her serve at 5-3 up as seven-seed Zhen battled back in the first set.
Yet Gauff eased through the tie-break and never looked back from there on, teeing up a meeting with Swiatek, who overcame Madison Keys in straight sets in her quarter-final clash.
Data Debrief: Young Gauff powers on
No player has won more matches than Gauff (61) in WTA-1000 events before turning 21, since the introduction of the format in 2009, as the American moved past Caroline Wozniacki (60) with victory here.
Wozniacki (eight) is also the only player to manage more WTA-1000 semi-final appearances before her 21th birthday, with Gauff's last-four qualification here taking her onto six – one ahead of Swiatek.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
