Barty closes in on medal after tense win

3 years ago 421

Australia's Ash Barty and John Peers person survived a tense lucifer tie-breaker to down Greek brace Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas astatine the Tokyo Olympics.

The Australian duo are present done to the semi-finals of the mixed doubles, and wrong show of a medal.

After Barty and Peers took the archetypal acceptable 6-4, Sakkari and Tsitsipas deed backmost to assertion the 2nd by the aforesaid margin.

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The Aussies past closed retired the lucifer tie-breaker 10-6, to setup a gathering with the Russian brace of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrey Rublev successful the semi-finals.

Ash Barty and John Peers are into the semi-finals of the mixed doubles astatine the Tokyo Olympics. (Getty)

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has destroyed Kei Nishikori successful the quarter-finals of the men's singles.

The top-ranked Serb ne'er gave Nishikori a accidental successful a 6-2, 6-0 rout of the location favourite from Japan to scope the semi-finals.

"He was defending astonishing contiguous — everything heavy — and I was trying to enactment with him but I couldn't," Nishikori said. "I thought I was playing OK but my serving was atrocious contiguous and helium was attacking each (time)."

The ascendant show precocious Djokovic into the medal rounds and — much importantly — moved him 1 measurement person to finishing disconnected this conception of his Golden Slam bid.

Djokovic volition adjacent look either Alexander Zverev of Germany oregon Jeremy Chardy of France. The different semifinal lucifer volition diagnostic Karen Khachanov of ROC against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.

Novak Djokovic is connected way for the 'Golden Slam' successful 2021. (Getty)

Khachanov bushed Ugo Humbert of France 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 and Carreno Busta defeated second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of ROC 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Djokovic, who has already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon this year, needs the Tokyo Games rubric and the U.S. Open trophy to go the archetypal antheral to execute the Golden Slam.

"The mode he's played today, this week and past mates months, it's been amazing," Nishikori said.

As it's been for months, it seems that Djokovic, who has not dropped a acceptable successful the tournament, is getting amended lucifer by lucifer — truthful overmuch truthful that it looks similar he's hardly being tested.

"Matches are not getting easier but my level of tennis is getting amended and amended and and I've done that truthful galore times successful my career," Djokovic said. "I'm (the) benignant of subordinate that the further the tourney goes the amended I'm feeling connected the tribunal and that's the lawsuit here."

Djokovic added that it was his "best performance" of the tournament.

"Against (a) precise bully opponent," helium said. "I felt similar I had an reply for everything helium had.

Novak Djokovic reaches for a shot successful his quarter-final triumph implicit Kei Nishikori astatine the Tokyo Olympics. (Getty)

Play started 4 hours aboriginal than connected erstwhile days aft organisers yet acted upon a petition from players to debar the hottest portion of the day.

"Playing aft after 5:00 is wholly different," Djokovic said. "Still very, precise humid, you sweat a lot, but you don't person the heat, you don't person the prima successful operation with the humidity."

- With AP

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