The two Australian
With Bernard TOMIC and Nick KYRGIOS, again 2 Australian players advanced into the last 16 at the Aussie Open. Let’s see when happened the same thing and/or whether it was better performances from 2 Aussie players both at their home major and at the all-time Grand Slam history.
LAST time at HOME (Aussie Open):
– when it was an Aussie, domestic final, it was in 1976:
Mark Edmondson – John Newcombe (6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1)
– when 2 Aussie players advanced into the semifinal, it was in 1987:
Pat Cash (advanced into the final, lost vs Edberg)
Wally Masur (lost in the semi vs Edberg)
– when 2 Aussie players were in the QFs, it was in 1987:
Pat Cash (advanced into the semi)
Wally Masur (advanced into the semi)
– when 2 Aussie players reached the last 16, it was in 2012:
Lleyton Hewitt (lost vs Djokovic)
Bernard Tomic (lost vs Federer)
LAST TIME at a Grand Slam:
– when 2 Australian played in a major final, it was in 1998:
Pat Rafter – Mark Philippoussis (6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0)
– when 2 Australian advanced into the semmis, it was in 1998:
Pat Rafter (defeated Sampras advancing into the final)
Mark Philippoussis (beat Moya advancing into the final)
– when 2 Aussie advanced into the last 8 in Wimbledon in 2000
P.Rafter (advanced into the semi), M.Philippoussis (lost vs. Agassi)
– when 2 Aussie reached the last 16, it was in 2012 at Melbourne:
L.Hewitt (lost vs. Djokovic), B. Tomic (lost vs. Federer)
Andreas SEPPI and the Italian legacy
Andreas Seppi, after beating Federer, can be ready to reach his career best QF if he defeats Kyrgios. The Assie Open is Seppi’s 40th major, and the match against Kyrgios will be his 20th in Melbourne.
Seppi always lost in the R16s, if he can pass this test, he is going into the history book! Why?
Italian players at Aussie Open:
-LAST time when an Italian player reached the QF in Melbourne, it was Cristiano Caratti (lost vs. Patrick McEnroe) in 1991;
Italian player NEVER reached the semifinal in Australia since the beginning (1905) of the tournament!
Italian players at Grand Slam Grand Slam:
– LAST time when an Italian player advanced into the QF in a major, it was Fabio Fognini in 2011 at Roland Garros;
– LAST time when an Italian player reached the semifinal, it was Corrado Barazzutti in 1978 at Roland Garros (lost vs. Bjorn Borg);
– LAST time when an Italian player won a major, it was Adriano Panatta (the last Italian Grand Slam champion) in 1976 at Roland Garros;
Novak Djokovic – Gilles Muller
They NEVER met at the majors.
This is the FIRST time when Djokovic plays against a player from Luxemburg in a Grand Slam.
If Gilles Muller wins, he can repeat his career best (2008 at US Open) reaching the QF.
Luxembourg player NEVER advanced into the last 16 in the history of Australian Championships!
Both Luxembourg players of the Grand Slam history (Gaston Wampach és Gilles Muller) was/is LEFT-HANDED!
This match will be Djokovic’s 53rd match at the Aussie Open, for Muller, it will be his 51st Grand Slam match!
Feliciano Lopez – Milos Raonic
It will be Raonic’s 55th Grand Slam match (38 wins and 16 losses).
In the Open-era, Canadian player NEVER reached the QF at the Aussie Open.
LAST time when a Canadian player advanced into the QF at Australian Championships, it was Michael Belkin reaching the last 8 in 1968 (lost vs. Bill Bowrey). This was the BEST result for Canada in Australia!
Stan Wawrinka – Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
This is the second straight Australian Open where Wawrinka advanced further than Federer.
Kevin Anderson – Rafael Nadal
They NEVER met at the majors.
Nadal Grand played ONLY once against a player from South-Africa at a major (2006, US Open, defeated Wesley Moodie).
If Anderson wins, it will be his career best.
Nadal reached at least the QF since 2007 – when he played in Melbourne.
Andreas Seppi – Nick Kyrgios
For both Italy and Australia, the year of 1976 means a remarkable milestone.
On one hand, Adriano Panatta, the last Grand Slam champion from Italy, won the French Open in 1976, on the other hand, Mark Edmondson was the last Australian who succeeded at home major in 1976!
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