MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The latest from the Australian Open on Sunday (all times local):
Daniil Medvedev took a 6-2, 7-6(5) lead in the Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal after a dramatic second set that was interrupted by a court invader and contained four breaks of serve.
Nadal was trying to serve for the set in game nine about an hour and a half into the match and was facing a break point when a protester jumped from the stands into the arena at Medvedev’s end.
Security quickly surrounded both players and detained the protester, who was carrying a banner printed with the words: “Abolish refugee detention.” Nadal saved that point to get back to the deuce, wasting a set point and then dropping the service game to allow Medvedev to get back into the set.
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The US Open champion secured it on his first set point, on Nadal’s serve, with a backhand stroke and then waved both arms at the crowd seeking support.
Daniil Medvedev has won the first set 6-2 in the Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal.
The US Open champion twice broke Nadal’s serve and then served him out in 42 minutes. Nadal’s first serve percentage dropped to 54% compared to Medvedev’s 82%.
Medvedev is looking to become the first man in the Open era to win his second Grand Slam title at the next major tournament. He lost the Australian Open final last year to Novak Djokovic.
Nadal is chasing a 21st Grand Slam men’s singles record to break a tie on the mark he currently shares with Roger Federer and Djokovic.
Rafael Nadal serves first in the Australian Open final against Daniil Medvedev.
The 35-year-old Spaniard is chasing a record 21 Grand Slam men’s singles titles to break a tie for the mark he currently shares with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Nadal also aspires to be the fourth man in history to win all four tennis majors at least twice.
US Open champion Medvedev is looking to become the first man in the Open era to win his second Grand Slam title at the next major tournament.
He lost last year’s Australian Open final to Djokovic.
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova moved one step closer to a career doubles Grand Slam when they won their first Australian Open title on Sunday, beating Anna Danilina and Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-7(3), 6-4. , 6-4.
The Czech pair already had two French Open titles and one Wimbledon title along with Olympic gold medals. But their victory on Sunday gave them their fourth Grand Slam title in five finals and their first on hard courts.
The top seeds were forced to fight to the last for their unseeded rivals, dropping a set for the first time in the tournament and battling 2 hours and 42 minutes before claiming victory.
Siniakova first served for the match at 5-2 in the third set, but was broken by Danilina of Kazakhstan and Haddad Maia of Brazil to extend the match. Krejikova finally got the match out at the next opportunity.
The pair have been a doubles partner since junior tennis and won the French Open junior title against a pair that included Haddad Maia.
Top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova have recovered to level the Australian Open women’s doubles final against unseeded Anna Danilina and Beatriz Haddad Maia after dropping the first set.
Danilina from Kazakhstan and Haddad Maia from Brazil took the first set 7-6 (3) but the Czech pairing of Krejcikova and Siniakova leveled the match when they took the second set 6-4.
The top seeds broke Haddad Maia’s serve in the first game of the second set and held on to that lead to send the match into a deciding third set.
Krejcikova faced a break point in game six, but held on to retain the seeded lead.
The Czech pair are bidding for their first Australian Open title, after losing in last year’s final, and are chasing their fourth Grand Slam doubles title, the first on a hard court. They won the French Open in 2018 and 2021 and Wimbledon in 2018.
The couple is also Olympic champion.
Anna Danilina and Beatriz Haddad Maia’s surprising rise as a doubles pair continued on Sunday when they took the first set of the Australian Open women’s final 7-6(3) against top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.
Danilina of Kazakhstan and Haddad Maia of Brazil have won all nine matches together since becoming a doubles pair, including the Sydney International final before the first Grand Slam of the year.
They led twice by a break of serve in Sunday’s final before Krejcikova and Siniakova rallied to take the set to a tie break.
Danilina and Haddad Maia broke Siniakova in the third game of the first set and both held serve to take a 4-2 lead. Krejcikova and Siniakova broke Danilina in the eighth game to level the match.
Siniakova was broken again in game 11, but the top-seeded pair immediately broke again.
Danilina and Haddad Maia took the first six points of the tiebreak before taking the first set 7-6(3).
Before Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev take center stage in the men’s singles final at the Australian Open on Sunday, top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova will take on unseeded Anna Danilina and Beatriz Haddad. Maia in the women’s doubles final.
Krejcikova and Siniakova will appear in the final for the second year in a row after losing to Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final. The Czech pair will also try to take another step towards their career triumph in doubles after winning the French Open in 2018 and 2021 and Wimbledon in 2018.
Krejcikova and Siniakova were also Olympic champions last year.
They reached the final with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova and Belgium’s Mertens, who was attempting to win her second consecutive Australian Open final.
“We had to go through a lot of tough matches to get to the final, so I think I can say for both of us that we are very proud and looking forward to getting to the final,” Krejcikova said after the semi-final win.
Danilina of Kazakhstan and Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil defeated second-seeded Japanese Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in their semifinal. They are undefeated in nine matches together.
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