Betway Scores

Scoring	S1	S2	S3	T
Murphy Cassone		-	-	-	2
Yu-Hsiou Hsu		-	-	-	1

News

Tension at the tennis: inside the high-stakes world of racket stringing

There would be no Australian Open were it not for the work undertaken in an unassuming underground room at Melbourne ParkUnderneath Rod Laver Arena, a group of tennis specialists cut and twist and weave – intently focused on their preparation for the action on the blue court a few metres above their heads. In the lead-up to the Australian Open, these experts maintain a consistent workload, training their muscles and technique, ready to peak as if they were the athletes taking to the courts themselves. But they won’t step on the court – their unique domain is tennis rackets. Racket stringing, specifically, and as the Yonex string team leader, Jim Downes, has learned over his 30-year stringing career, “it’s a high demand job”.The world’s top tennis players are, unsurprisingly, “very particular” about how their rackets are strung, Downes says, referring to how tight or loose the strings that crisscross the frames are pulled. A highly strung racket generally offers its user more control but less power, while the opposite is true for a racket with lower tension. “A lot of people know how to string,” he says. “You have your shop stringers, but they might not be quick enough to do this job and maybe not consistent enough for the players’ needs at this level.” Continue reading...

1 hour ago

The secret is out: how Australian Open helped usher in three-week slam festivals

Grand slam qualifying used to be an oasis for tennis hipsters but a game of one upmanship between the Australian and US Opens has set the standard for spectacular lead-in weeksDuring the early days of the US Open singles main draw last year, the tournament director, Stacey Allaster, was holding court with a small group of journalists ina suite overlooking Arthur Ashe Stadium. Much of the discussion centred on the revamped mixed doubles tournament, which had dominated the tennis discourse for days. With a smile, Allaster explained the amount of work that had gone into the event and cited the final attendance numbers throughout the week it was held. The US Open, she asserted, is now a three-week event.For many years, the traditional grand slam fortnight was preceded by a nondescript week of preparation. While lower-ranked players quietly worked through the qualifying draw before vacant stands, the top players finished their preparation to minimal fanfare. Access to the tournament grounds at the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open were free for qualifying. Still, few people came. To most hardcore fans, grand slam qualifying was an oasis for tennis hipsters, the sport’s best-kept secret. Continue reading...

2 hours ago

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