Wimbledon outcasts shining Down Under

RUSSIAN tennis star Andrey Rublev will be one step closer to a maiden Grand Slam should he overcome Australian Open favourite Novak Djokovic this morning Down Under.

The player – currently banned from competing at Wimbledon because of his nationality – has been in fine form in Melbourne thus far.

The 25-year-old Muscovite has beaten the likes of Dominic Thiem, Briton Dan Evans and Holger Rune on his way to the last eight. But in today’s match against Djokovic, Rublev will face his sternest test.

Because the former world No1 is on the hunt for his 10th Australian Open title and 22nd Grand Slam.

And despite his hamstring appearing to bother him slightly in his win against Alex de Minaur, the Serbian is on fire at the moment.

Rublev is going to need everything he has got to have a chance against his opponent on the Rod Laver Arena this morning, but he will back himself.

If you were to use the pair’s previous meetings, it doesn’t look too good for the Russian, however.

The two have played each other on three occasions, twice on indoor hard courts – like the Australian Open courts – and once on clay.

Both indoor matches were won by Djokovic in straight sets while the clay clash was won by Rubvlev in three sets.

The two may be separated by one place in the pre-tournament seedings but Djokovic will be a huge favourite this morning.

Elsewhere in Melbourne, the women’s semi-finals commence tomorrow with the pick of them Wimbledon champion and Russian-born Elena Rybakina’s clash with Victoria Azarenka – who, like Rublev, is currently banned from Wimbledon due to her nationality. The duo are 22nd and 24th seeds respectively but have been in astonishing form.

The Kazakhstani, born in Moscow, has dropped just one set on her way to the semi-finals while Azarenka has dropped two. Should the Belarusian go on to win the title on Saturday, it will be on the 10th anniversary of her last Grand Slam win – in the same location in 2013. It would be an astonishing achievement for the 33-year-old and polar opposite to her opponent tomorrow. Rybakina, just 23, made the semifinals last year before winning at Wimbledon against Ons Jabeur. She could have another decade left on the circuit, as could fellow Moscow native Rublev, but the duo will come up against stiff, experienced competition today and tomorrow in matches that could define their careers.

It’s ironic that as tennis is searching for the next big thing, those who have been around for a decade continue to be in the mix. It’s testament to the catching up the youth must do to put their foot through the door – albeit Rybakina has a slam to her name.

South Africa present England with first challenge of 2023, writes Matt Hardy

IT’S YET another World Cup year and English international cricket returns on Friday when Jos Buttler’s side take on South Africa in a trio of one-day matches on the African continent.

England are the best one-day team in the world and begin their preparations for this year’s Cricket World Cup – held in India in October – this week.

As defending champions, England under Matthew Mott are playing their first limited overs series since adding the Twenty20 World Cup to their collection last year.

The two sides will compete in Bloemfontein for the opening two fixtures before travelling to Kimberley for the potential decider.

Between now and the World Cup –which England are defending after their dramatic Super Over win against New Zealand in 2019 – they will play South Africa three times, thrice against Bangladesh, four times against New Zealand and three times against Ireland.

There is, then, a lot of time against a variety of opposition for England to finesse their game plan before they head into a tough tournament on very difficult pitches.

Domestic Success

But in a move that seems extremely well thought out to be one promoted by the current England and Wales Cricket Board, a number of the England squad have been down in South Africa for a couple of weeks.

The likes of Buttler, Jofra Archer and Harry Brook are competing in the new domestic SA20 competition – in which all sides are owned by IPL franchises.

Archer returned to competitive cricket for the first time since 2021 and has already been impressive in terms of his placement, wicket taking and bowling speed.

English duo Butter and Will Jacks currently top the run stats in South Africa while Phil Salt also makes the top 10.

Adil Rashid’s nine wickets puts him in the top 10 of bowlers, too, with Archer 12th.

It appears that England players are al-