‘What’s going on?’: Aus Open called out

Alex de Minaur has qualified for the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career, but the 22-year-old faces his toughest challenge yet on Monday afternoon against world No. 10 Jannik Sinner.Meanwhile, Ash Barty toppled American phenom Amanda Anisimova in straight sets on Sunday night to book her spot in the quarter-finals.Aus Open 2022 – Snapshot‘What’s going on?’: Aus Open called outFrench tennis star Nicolas Mahut has called out Tennis Australia for its apparent hypocrisy in response to the Peng Shuai t-shirt saga.(TA) stood by what many are labelling a heavy-handed decision after video emerged on the weekend of security and police requesting a fan at Melbourne Park remove her shirt highlighting the plight of the Chinese tennis star — who sparked worldwide fears when she “disappeared” after making allegations of sexual abuse against a former top-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party.TA told News Corp Australia it feared for Peng’s safety, but fans were not permitted to make political statements with their clothing at the Australian Open.However, veteran American tennis reporter Jon Wertheim suggested there was something else at play behind TA’s decision to censor any mention of Peng by fans.Chinese Baijiu distillery Luzhou Laojiao is one of the leading sponsors at the Australian Open, with 1573 logos appearing all over Melbourne Park.Court 2, for example, was officially renamed to “1573 Arena” in 2019.“I totally agree and when we watch these matches you will note the Chinese signage at the Australian Open, which some might suspect has a lot to do with this beyond political speech,” Wertheim said.“If ‘where is Peng Shuai?’ is political speech we’ve gone down the slippery slope.”Mahut, who was knocked out in the first round of the men’s doubles last week, also voiced his anger on social media.Day 8 scheduleRod Laver ArenaFrom 11am AEDT — D. Collins [27] vs E. Mertens [19]Not before 1pm AEDT — S. Halep [14] vs A. CornetNot before 2.30pm AEDT — A. De Minaur [32] vs J. Sinner [11]From 7:00pm AEDT — Fritz [20] vs S. Tsitsipas [4]K. Kanepi vs A. Sabalenka [2]Margaret Court ArenaFrom 11am AEDT — C. Dolehide/S. Sanders [9] vs M. Kostyuk/D. YastremskaG. Olmos/M. Arevalo vs L. Hradecka/G. EscobarNot before 2pm AEDT — M. Cressy vs D. Medvedev [2]Not before 5.30pm AEDT — I. Swiatek [7] vs S. CirsteaJohn Cain ArenaFrom 11am AEDT — M. Giron/S. Kwon vs W. Koolhof/N. Skupski [10]D. Sweeny/L. Tu vs R. Ram/J. Salisbury [2]Not before 2pm AEDT — M. Cilic [27] vs F. Auger-Aliassime [9]‘Amazing detail’ in Aussie star’s Open outfitNick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have progressed through to the men’s doubles quarterfinal after defeating 15th seeds Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar in three sets on Sunday.The “Special Ks” had a packed house on Kia Arena losing their minds as the duo claimed a 6-4 4-6 6-4 win in front of a wild crowd.The spectators were vocal, trotting out the much-maligned “Siu”, the Seven Nation Army chant and making plenty of noise in a party atmosphere.And Kokkinakis showed his support for the AO Pride Day by donning rainbow sweatbands during the thrilling contest.AO Pride Day is an initiative that celebrates LGTBQ+ players and fans, and there will be several activations throughout Melbourne Park on Monday.Luke Dennehy tweeted: “Thank you @TKokkinakis for supporting our AO Pride Day wearing our rainbow sweatbands on court three. Just amazing to have this kind of support.”Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were also caught by the Channel 9 cameras giving each other some love before the match got underway.Former Hockeyroos star Georgie Parker made headlines in 2020 for a similar incident with teammate Kathryn Slattery. and reacted on social media to the tennis stars’ “cheeky” moment.Day eight previewAustralian Open favourite Daniil Medvedev gets the chance to deepen his new-found love affair with the Melbourne crowd on Monday as he targets a quarter-final berth.The Russian world No. 2 two won over the Melbourne Park spectators on Saturday as he eased into the last 16 along with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas — with the pair seeded to meet in the semi-finals.But first, Medvedev must come through against the huge-serving Maxime Cressy, who blasted down 28 aces and made only four double-faults against Australia’s Chris O’Connell in his third-round win.Medvedev, the de facto men’s top seed after the deportation of defending champion Novak Djokovic on the eve of the gran dslam tournament, said some fans at Melbourne Park had a “low IQ” after they barracked him in his win over Australian showman Nick Kyrgios.But he turned enemies into friends and said he was enjoying his relationship with the Australian fans after he dismissed unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp to reach the last 16.“Every good relationship must have its ups and downs so I think it’s good, it’s entertaining and it’s real, there is some relationship going on,” Medvedev said.Should the Russian defeat Paris-born American Cressy, he will play either the 2018 Melbourne runner-up Marin Cilic or young Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.Greece’s Tsitsipas, who is chasing a maiden major, plays American Taylor Fritz in a night match on Rod Laver Arena and is wary of the 20th seed.“Big server, big hitter,” Tsitsipas said. “He has weapons. I will really have to stay consistent and keep pushing him back.”Tsitsipas has weapons of his own — he did not drop a service game against Benoit Paire in the third round.“I feel like it’s going to be really important to stay consistent with my shots and my serve,” he added.The other last-16 men’s match on Monday features Australian hope Alex de Minaur against Italian 11th seed Jannik Sinner.— with AFP Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au