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MELBOURNE, February 12
The final crowds day of the Australian Open before a five-day lockdown ended with irate fans kicked out of Rod Laver Arena late today, and an injury-hampered Novak Djokovic claiming victory in front of empty seats. .
It was a surreal ending to a Day 5 roller coaster, with Djokovic digging deep to complete a valiant 7-6 (1) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2 victory over American Taylor Fritz after his defense the title seemed to be doomed. due to apparent lateral stress.
Fans were warned well in advance that they would have to leave the arena at 11:30 pm, half an hour before Melbourne entered a rapid lockdown at midnight today to contain a new Covid-19 outbreak. Play was suspended in the fourth set of Djokovic’s match for fans to clear up, but many left slowly and reluctantly. Some booed and yelled for refunds on their tickets.
Djokovic finished completing the victory about 20 minutes after midnight and his roars of triumph echoed through the arena.
He was proud to survive but wasn’t sure if he could continue his bid for a ninth title at Melbourne Park.
“I know it’s a tear, definitely, I don’t know if I’ll manage to recover from that in two days,” he said.
Serena through
Serena Williams rallied from 3-5 in the first set to beat Russian Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (5) 6-2. The American will face Belarusian in form Aryna Sabalenka. – Reuters
Main results
- Men: Dominic Thiem vs. Nick Kyrgios 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4; Felix Auger Aliassime bt Denis Shapovalov 7-5 7-5 6-3; Alexander Zverev vs. Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-3 6-1
- Women: Simona Halep bt Veronika Kudermetova 6-1 6-3; Naomi Osaka bt Ons Jabeur 6-3 6-2; Iga Swiatek by Fiona Ferro 6-4 6-3
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