Event of the Day: 2019 Australian Open Day 4
Our event of the day is Day 4 of the 2019 Australian Open taking place at Melbourne Park. After a thrilling opening few days to the tournament, today sees some of the world’s best players take to the court as they look to book their place in the third round. Yesterday’s action was headlined by Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer who both progressed with straight-set victories, whilst reigning women’s champion Caroline Wozniacki made light work of Sweden’s Johanna Larsson. The two number 1 ranked players in the world will take to the Rod Laver Arena court today, as Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Sofia Kenin, respectively. Djokovic breezed through his first round tie against Mitchell Krueger, defeating the American in straight sets.
Meanwhile, his second round opponent, Tsonga, also won in straight sets last time out, winning a tiebreaker in the third set to get the better of Martin Kližan. Djokovic will be looking to become the first ever male to win seven Australian Open titles, however he will need to improve upon recent performances at the competition, after faltering in the fourth round last year and the second round in 2017. Meanwhile, despite being the number 1 ranked woman in the world of tennis, Simona Halep has never won this particular Grand Slam and will be desperate to secure her first this time round. Standing in her way in round two is Sofia Kenin who went the distance in her first round tie with Veronika Kudermetova. Halep will be hoping to go one better this year after she reached the final at last year’s edition, but lost out on the day to Caroline Wozniacki. Elsewhere on the courts of Melbourne Park today, number 4 ranked Alexander Zverev will go toe to toe with Jérérmy Chardy of France. There is another titanic clash in the Rod Laver Arena as Milos Raonic will do battle with Stan Wawrinka, who won this tournament in 2014. Finally, seven-time winner Serena Williams will have to overcome Eugenie Bouchard of Canada if she is to progress to the third round; the last time she failed to reach round three at this tournament was 1998. It should be a wonderful day of tennis.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship where some of the world’s best golfers are battling it out for the lion’s share of the $7 million purse. Ranked 14th in the world, Tommy Fleetwood will be eager to retain his title at this event for the third year in a row, after winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. After the first round, Shane Lowry holds the lead, scoring a course record 62, to sit 10 under and 3 shots ahead of 4 players sitting in 2nd. The NBA is crossing the pond tonight as the Washington Wizards and the New York Knicks will take to the O2 court in London in an NBA Global Game. Back in the States, the Utah Jazz will go in search of their sixth straight home win as they welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Vivint Smart Home Arena. In the NHL, the Minnesota Wild host the Anaheim Ducks at the Xcel Energy Center, with the visitors desperate to snap their 12-game losing streak. Meanwhile over in Australia there is action in the Big Bash League, as the Brisbane Heat and the Sydney Thunder will do battle, with the hosts looking to notch their fourth win of the season.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by Australian Open