Should have been Sabalenka vs Sinner
Not ideal for tennis fans who are going to United Cup finals weekend in Sydney (January 10-11), as buses will replace trains to and from Olympic Park on both days due to trackwork. Trains however will run on other days of the tournament.
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Venus Williams has received a wild-card entry for the Australian Open.
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And that was the first day of the United Cup. Spain and Greece have 3-0 victories.
Also a few oddities, for example, this missed chance to close out the game:
And then later, this point was replayed. It was quite a mess as both teams had already changed over and so had to change over again.
How long was the re-done rally? Two shots.
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My 3rd time attending Brisbane International today and second time I’ve seen Aryna Sabalenka playing.Her grunting is just as loud as always
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And we all thought Azarenka and Sharapova’s grunting was over the top…
I recall the hype surrounding the 2012 AO final showdown between those two, which the former won 6-3, 6-0.
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Tennis Australia extends invite to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce for Australian Open
The Australian Open has made an audacious bid to court the world’s biggest star couple, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Officials have extended an open invite to the star pair’s representatives, with the singer and NFL player known to be big tennis fans and having been snapped courtside at the US Open in September.
They would be two of the biggest names to attend the Melbourne tennis grand slam.
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de Minaur lead the Aussies to stay alive in the United Cup tie, which will be decided by this tense mixed doubles now, will we progress to the semi tomorrow?
Alex’s performance was hard fought tonight, some significant challenges overcome, it was craftily handed.
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No, we won’t. Poland will meet defending champs US on Saturday night.
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This Bencic v Mertens match at the UC semis in Sydney has been elite, two veterans and former star players too (the former was World No. 4 and some might recall the latter made the Aus Open semis in 2018).
Beating Australia’s Daria Gavrilova in the second round en route.
Whether by pure or bad luck, some unheralded players have made their mark at the Australian Open at the expense of our local players, such as Younes El Aynaoui defeating then-world number one (and reigning Wimbledon champion) Lleyton Hewitt to reach the quarters in 2003 (where he played that marathon against Andy Roddick which went the American’s way 21-19 in the fifth set) and Ana Ivanovic reaching the quarters after defeating Sam Stosur and then upsetting then-world number one Serena Williams in the fourth round in 2014.
Though in the case of Ivanovic she was a formerly top ranked player in her own right who mostly struggled for consistency after winning the French Open in 2008.
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Some good contests today at both the United Cup and Brisbane International semis, definitely the best day of the past week I think. We’ll see what tonight under lights and in Sydney hopefully some cooler conditions brings.
Poland will face Switzerland in the United Cup final on Sunday.
Both of today’s semi finals were decided in the mixed doubles.
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Top seed and former Australian Open champion & back-to-back finalist Aryna Sabalanka has won the 2026 Brisbane International women’s final in straight sets 
A shame it’s buried on 9Go! in favour of the UC. Presentations on now.
Daniil Medvedev will face American Brandon Nakashima tonight in the men’s decider.
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Meanwhile in the 2026 United Cup final, currently on 9Gem and on the main channel after 7pm, Stan Wawrinka will face Poland’s Huburt Hurkacz.
WTA star Iga Swiatek has taken out the first set in the women’s against Belinda Bencic, but the latter is mounting a comeback now in the 2nd.
Then the doubles may decide the championship later tonight.
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Poland wins the United Cup in the deciding mixed doubles match. Meanwhile in Brisbane, Medvedev unsurprisingly defeated Nakashima.
Top seed won in straight sets? No thanks. We need more drama. And we got them on the main channel tonight.
Looks like there is now “ANZ Arena” at Melbourne Park. Wonder what court/previous name this has replaced?
If Nine’s live streams for AO Qualifying on 9Now are anything to go by.
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Show Court 3.
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