Australia named Bernard Tomic, 17, as their youngest ever Davis Cup player yesterday for their upcoming tie against Taiwan, shrugging off last month’s Australian Open rant and his ongoing feud with Lleyton Hewitt.
Tomic, called up after injuries to Hewitt and Chris Guccione, will be 17 years and 135 days old for the Asia Oceania Group One clash at Melbourne Park from March 5 to March 7, beating John Alexander’s 1968 record by 42 days.
“This is a crucial tie for us,” said Australia’s Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald. “[Taiwan] has some talented young players and as we have seen before, anything can happen in Davis Cup.”
Wildcard Tomic, currently ranked 210, took world No. 14 Marin Cilic to five sets in the Australian Open’s second round before complaining bitterly about the 2.10am finish, earning a dressing-down from officials.
Father and coach John Tomic reportedly threatened to shift his son to Croatia, during a row with the Australian Open’s tournament director Craig Tilley after the controversial match.
The teen has also argued openly with Hewitt, who said Tomic was not qualified for Davis Cup tennis after he reportedly snubbed a practice match with the former world No. 1 at Wimbledon last year.
Fitzgerald said he believed there was a “good balance of experience and youth” in the four-man side, which includes world No. 75 Peter Luczak, Davis Cup veteran Carsten Ball and doubles specialist Paul Hanley.
Australia have struggled in recent years due to a lack of depth in quality players with only Hewitt (24) and Luczak currently ranked in the top 100.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care