Victoria Azarenka sympathised with Novak Djokovic as she stated tennis players are "not villains" after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time in a decade.
Azarenka beat Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday to set up a last-four meeting with Elena Rybakina.
Former world number one Azarenka came in for criticism when she took a medical timeout during her last semi-final at Melbourne Park back in 2013, delaying her match against Sloane Stephens by 10 minutes.
The Belarusian, who is now 33, returned to beat Stephens and went on to defend successfully her title.
Questions have been raised over the extent of a hamstring issue nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic has been contending with as he attempts to match Rafael Nadal's tally of 22 major triumphs this weekend.
Azarenka feels it is out of order for such suspicions to be raised by people who are not aware of the facts.
She said: "Do you know what happened 10 years ago? That's the thing.
"It was one of the worst things that I've ever gone through in my professional career, the way I was treated after that moment, the way I had to explain myself until 10:30pm at night because people didn't want to believe me. I actually can resonate what Novak said the other day.
"There is sometimes incredible desire for a villain and a hero story that has to be written. But we're not villains, we're not heroes, we are regular human beings that go through so many, many things.
"Assumptions and judgements, all those comments, are just s*** because nobody's there to see the full story. It didn't matter how many times I said my story, it did not cut through.
"Actually it's funny that you're saying that because I was thinking about it. It took me 10 f****** years to get over it. I finally am over that."
Asked to expound what the judgements or assumptions she experienced were, Azarenka said: "I've been called that I'm cheating, that I'm faking, that I was trying to throw people off their game. It's everything that is so wrong about my character if somebody actually knows me.
"At some point I've heard that she has this thing that is bad or this thing is bad, whatever. At some point you're like, 'Really? Am I?'. Those doubts starts to creep in.
"Now I just don't care. I am more and more confident in what I know about myself, and I'm at peace with that. Those comments, judgements, they're there. I notice them. But I don't care."
Stefanos Tsitsipas has no chip on his shoulder about how much hype he receives, despite becoming the youngest player since Roger Federer to reach three successive Australian Open semi-finals.
Tsitsipas defeated Jiri Lehecka in straight sets on Tuesday to seal his place in the last four in Melbourne.
In the process, the 24-year-old reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the third consecutive year, matching the feat of the great Federer between 2004 and 2006.
The world number four also became the fourth male player in the Open Era to stay unbeaten in his first six grand slam quarter-finals after Rod Laver, Patrick Rafter, and Andre Agassi.
However, Tsitsipas insists he is not worried by how much attention his accomplishments get.
When asked if no longer being talked about as one of the next generation's figureheads meant he now has a chip on his shoulder, the Greek replied: "No, I don't really think about it.
"Every single opponent has his own background, his own sort of dynamic they put out on the court.
"I kind of forgot that Jiri today was a next gen player. Never thought about it.
"I approach every single opponent of mine with the same mindset. I never put labels on them. Each and every match that I get to play against them is a new chapter in my book."
Tsitsipas also believes he has already been through the early stage of his development, and now views himself as one of the maturer players.
"I passed through this myself. At some point it fades out a little bit 'cause you are an adult," he said.
"I had my fair share of that. There's no other 'gen' after that, it's just adulthood.
"It's mindset. It's clearly mindset. Nothing more."
Asked if this could be the tournament in which he breaks his grand slam duck, Tsitsipas said: "I'm feeling great with my tennis. I don't think I felt so good in a long time.
"I will definitely say yes to it. I've said it, I'm a different player, playing different. My mentality is different. When I'm out on the court, I don't really think of negatives, to be honest. I just go out there and play the game."
An estimated 70 students from about 20 prep and primary schools are expected to participate in the third annual Mona Preparatory Rapid Chess Tournament set for Saturday, January 28, 2023 at the Mona Prep Church Hall in Kingston.
Sponsored by Express Canteen, the tournament held in conjunction with the Mona Prep Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA), began in 2020 with the objective of encouraging critical and strategic thinking among children at the primary level of education.
“Chess is a game that forces one to think and helps to build critical thinking, which are the ‘new’ buzz words for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP). The aim is to create the awareness of the game and how it can build one’s skill in critical thinking,” said Natalia Blake, Sports Director, Mona Prep PTA back then.
The tournament has children from ages 6-11 vying for trophies, books, gift baskets and certificates while hoping to emerge as champions.
According to Andrea Johnson, a member of the Mona Prep PTA and member of the organizing committee, the tournament has proven to be quite popular among students. She indicated that even during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022, more than 50 students competed online.
With the tournament returning to face-to-face competition this year, she is expecting that even more students will be keen on participation.
Terence Lindo, national arbiter, who is also a member of the organizing committee, said students will play each other according to the grades they are in. This means that grade one students will play grade one students and so on. However, in the event that there are not a sufficient number of entries from any one grade, players will be pooled with those from the next grade.
The international organizer said the Jamaica Chess Federation rating system will be used during the tournament where matches will last 30 minutes with 30-second increments to ensure competitiveness.
He revealed that over time, for future tournaments, students will be given ratings.
Express Canteen has been a long-time supporter of school sports in Jamaica. In addition to their sponsorship of the Mona Prep Rapid Chess Tournament, Express Canteen, is also the concessionaire and sponsor for Lannamans Prep, the recent winners of the JISA Prep School Football Competition as well as Hydel Prep that recently won the JISA Netball Competition.
It is no surprise then that their support has helped propel several schools towards success, fostering a spirit of success.
This, among other reasons, is why CEO of Express Canteen Ryan Foster said his company was glad to be on board as a sponsor of this very important competition.
"Express Canteen is pleased to have partnered with the Mona Prep PTA for the third time in the staging of "The Mona Chess". We are not only Mona Prep food partner but also a key stakeholder in the process of providing a balanced environment between education and sport,” he said.
“We want to wish all participants the best of luck and may the core values of fair play be at the center of competition. We are extremely happy with the work being done by the PTA body along with the school and hence why we have continued on board to make this event a reality. Sport transcends borders and improves lives and livelihood."
Mikaela Shiffrin made history on Tuesday by winning an 83rd World Cup race, triumphing in Kronplatz with another giant slalom masterclass.
Just 16 days after Shiffrin equalled fellow American Lindsey Vonn's record tally of 82nd victories in Kranjska Gora, she moved out on her own as the most successful female World Cup alpine skier of all time.
The remarkable 27-year-old beat Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami by 45 hundredths of a second to take the top step of the podium, with Italy's Federica Brignone in third place.
Shiffrin is enjoying an outstanding season, with this her fourth win of the past five giant slalom races.
She was fastest in both runs with another imperious exhibition of giant slalom skiing and now stands just three victories away from matching Swede Ingemar Stenmark's record number of wins for any skier of 86.
Shiffrin said on a momentous day in the Dolomites: "I was a bit nervous for the second run, but mostly I hate waiting, and finally when it was time to go, then everything went quiet and I just pushed as hard as I could every turn.
"I was a little bit wild in some spots, but it felt so clean. I thought I wouldn't be faster [than Gut-Behrami], but I thought I could maybe be close and then somehow I got to the finish."
Shiffrin has racked up 51 slalom victories in an astonishing career, more than any other skier in the discipline, while she is only two victories shy of Vreni Schneider's record of 20 World Cup giant slalom triumphs.
The Waves overpowered defending champion Horizon to snap their winning streak and hand them their first loss of the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Winter League last Saturday at the National Arena while the Storm defeated the Rivers, who is yet to record a win in the league.
Horizon started out slowly while taking three minutes to score its first point and ending the quarter 18 to Waves' 26. Waves outscored them in the second quarter as well and lead by as many as 23 to close the quarter at 34-57. Horizon picked up the scoring in the third quarter but was still behind (60-73) at the end. Horizon continued to make inroads in the fourth quarter but jut could not get the win. The match went to the Waves 88-83 who won by just five points. The Waves's Cameron Burhannon (37 points) was on fire throughout the game while Bobby Gray (22 points), was the top scorer for Horizon.
Waves and Horizon now have four wins each after playing five matches while defeating each other once in the league so far. The will next meet in the play-off to see who the finalists will be.
Waves' coach Rohan Robinson was pleased with the win, "well it was a good one (match). We watched the game (the first game and saw the mistakes). We went back to the drawing board and said that the guys have to live up to their responsibility and live up to role and as a result of that we gained a 26-point lead, then we had some issues with persons playing too much minutes. I allowed the bench to give them as much rest as possible but I am just disappointed a bit that when the bench came in they couldn't hold the lead. I am going to hold my leaders accountable for how we finished the game because we should not be in that position again." He made special mention of 7-footer Tyran Walker who was injured early in the league, for having a very good game.
Horizon's coach Cleon Morgan accepted the loss but thinks that its good for the team at this stage of the competition. "We have lost tonight but we have a four-game win streak which was pretty good for us. I think there are two matches to go. Losing at this point is good for the team as we can go back to the drawing board, look at our mistakes tonight and work on that so we can come back again play how we are used to playing." He was happy to reduce the Waves' win margin to just five after being down by 26 in the third quarter.
The second match of the night was eagerly awaited as everyone in the Arena willed the Rivers to get their first win. They came close to doing so several times but faltered by the way after being in good positions with healthy leads but it was another night of disappointment for them. The Storm put on a show while winning every quarter 21-15, 58-38, 78-62 and 102-79 to take the match by 23 points. The top scorers in the match were - Storm's Brandon "Bdot" Armstrong with 23 points and Rivers' Anthony Ottley 27 points.
Armstrong credited his team for the win "it was great overall match. It was the first time we had a full squad, no injuries so I knew that we were going to come out playing well, playing well defensively, and moving the ball. This is our best complete game from starting number to the fourteenth person on the bench. I must give credit to my teammates."
The next set of matches are scheduled for Wednesday (January 25) when four-time winner Waves will take on the Storm (2 wins) at the National Arena at 6:00 pm. The 8:00pm match-up will see the defending champion Horizon taking on Rivers who is still seeking their first win.
Jamie George and Elliot Daly have withdrawn from England's Six Nations squad due to injury.
Hooker George has been sidelined by concussion after taking a blow in Saracens' European Champions Cup defeat at Edinburgh last weekend.
Versatile back Daly has been ruled out with a hamstring injury as the Red Rose prepare to face Scotland in their first game of the tournament a week on Saturday.
Jamie Blamire and Ollie Lawrence were on Tuesday called up as replacements for the experienced duo.
England head coach Steve Borthwick is also set to be without Courtney Lawes for his first match in charge at Twickenham next week, as the towering lock is struggling with calf injury.
Hooker George McGuigan (knee) is also in the treatment room along with Luke Cowan-Dickie (ankle).
Blamire, Tom Dunn and the uncapped Jack Walker are the remaining hooker options for Borthwick.
Karen Khachanov has defended his decision to publicly show support for the breakaway region of Artsakh, despite drawing the ire of the Azerbaijan Tennis Federation (ATF).
Khachanov – who was born in Russia but has an Armenian father – has written supportive messages on a camera twice during his run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Azerbaijan's blockade of Artsakh, which began in December, is part of the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with the area internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan despite historically being a part of Armenia.
Following Khachanov's show of support, the ATF wrote to the International Tennis Federation, calling the world number 20's messages a "hateful act".
The statement added: "The ATF condemned this act and demanded that the tennis player be punished and urged the International Tennis Federation to take harsh measures for prevention of such incidents in the future."
Speaking after his quarter-final win over Sebastian Korda, in which the American retired hurt with Khachanov leading by two sets and a break, the Russian defended his actions.
"I say many times. I have Armenian roots," he said. "From my father's side, from my grandfather's side, even from my mum's side. I'm half Armenian.
"To be honest, I don't want to go deeper than that, and I just wanted to show strength and support to my people. That's it."
On whether he had heard from the ITF since the complaint was made, Khachanov replied: "I didn't hear anything about that," adding that he has also not been told to stop writing the messages on cameras.
Khachanov will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has invited Margot Robbie to watch him at the Australian Open after charging through to the semi-finals in Melbourne.
The Greek tennis star says he is a huge fan of the Australian actor and would love her to support him from the Melbourne Park stands.
His surprise shout-out to Robbie came after Tsitsipas scored a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win against unseeded Czech Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas was partway through explaining his impressive display to on-court interviewer Jim Courier, detailing how it took "experience and some good Spartan attitude" to get the better of Lehecka, when he mentioned the 32-year-old Hollywood star.
Robbie, married to English film producer Tom Ackerley, became well known in Australia and the UK for her role in the soap opera Neighbours before turning to Hollywood.
Her career includes prominent roles in movies including The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad and I, Tonya, as well as being the voice of Flopsy Rabbit in the Peter Rabbit film series.
"Can you hear them? Australia is such a great country," Tsitsipas said, reacting to roars from the crowd.
"I like a lot of great Aussie things. One of my favourite actresses comes from Australia, Margot Robbie."
Former Australian Open champion Courier, surprised by that unprompted mention, said: "Are you pitching right now?"
That prompted Tsitsipas to say: "It would be nice to see her over there one day."
Was that an invitation to Robbie?
"Absolutely," Tsitsipas said.
The 24-year-old Greek player soon stressed that his Robbie fandom was not the main reason for him enjoying Australia.
"That's not it," Tsitsipas said. "The people are very welcoming. I've said that so many times and will keep saying it because it's true.
"I grew up in a place that's very similar in terms of conditions and lifestyle and find myself feeling home when I'm here because it's not too tropical, and it's not too humid, and it very much feels like home.
"The French players have Roland Garros as their home grand slam, the British players have Wimbledon, the Americans have the US Open; for me, the Australian Open is always going to be my home grand slam.
"I would love one day hopefully winning the Aussie Open and giving a bit portion of the prize-money to build a school in Victoria which is the state of education. I'd like to do that."
Stefanos Tsitsipas stormed into a third consecutive Australian Open semi-final with a straight-sets victory over Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas has bowed out at the last-four stage in three of the past four years, but the Greek will get another chance to reach a first final after beating Lehecka 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.
The third seed from Greece fired down nine aces and hit 36 winners on Rod Laver Arena, winning without having his serve broken to set up a meeting with Russian Karen Khachanov.
Unseeded Czech Lehecka was broken in his first service game and Tsitsipas did not give him a look-in from then on in the first set.
The 21-year-old Lehecka had the favourite in trouble in the fourth game of the second set, but saw five break-point opportunities come and go.
Tsitsipas clinically won the tie-break to move a set away from the semi-finals, but Lehecka put up a great fight but was frustrated when he was unable to convert another three break points before the favourite held to lead 4-3.
Another tie-break looked possible until Lehecka's excellent run in only his second main-draw appearance came to an end when he netted a backhand following a thunderous cross-court winner from a fired-up Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas maintains perfect quarter-final record
A first major title has so far eluded Tsitsipas, but he keeps knocking on the door and is two wins away from achieving that dream.
The 24-year-old is the fourth male player in the Open Era to be unbeaten in his first six grand slam quarter-finals after Rod Laver, Patrick Rafter, and Andre Agassi.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Tsitsipas – 9/2
Lehecka– 7/4
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Tsitsipas– 36/28
Lehecka– 38/32
BREAK POINTS WON
Tsitsipas – 2/6
Lehecka – 0/8
Gareth Bale has wasted no time in grabbing the golf clubs after his retirement, announcing his participation in the upcoming Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The former Tottenham, Real Madrid and Wales player stepped away from football earlier this month following his participation at the 2022 World Cup, bringing an end to a glittering career that included winning five Champions League titles.
The 33-year-old confirmed on social media that he will be lining up alongside professionals and other celebrities at the golf event in California, which begins on February 2.
Bale wrote: "Delighted to announce I will be playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the start of next month! Let's go."
It will surprise few given Bale's renowned love of golf, famously drawing the ire of Real Madrid fans when he posed with a flag while on international duty that read: "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order."
Other confirmed celebrities for the tournament so far include actors Bill Murray and Jason Bateman, as well as Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Jelena Ostapenko was once again left bemoaning the electronic line calling system in place at the Australian Open after her quarter-final defeat to Elena Rybakina.
The Latvian did not blame the system for her loss, with Rybakina sealing a convincing 6-2 6-4 victory on Tuesday, but reiterated her belief that calls are being missed.
When asked following her fourth-round win against Coco Gauff whether she believed in the system, Ostapenko replied with a smile: "Honestly? No."
Speaking after her loss to Rybakina, she again smiled as she said: "I'm not really happy with the system they are using.
"A couple of times it was not even by a couple of centimetres. It was much more than that. But I cannot do anything about it, because it is the way as it is.
"First of all, [the calls] are really late sometimes. You already hit the ball, and then you hear 'out,' which is normally not the way it is with the line umpires. And second of all, some balls were quite, how you say, not a little out. They were [quite] a bit out and they were not called."
The number 17 seed – who suffered her first defeat in nine WTA-level quarter-finals – called for a return of the Hawk-Eye system and line judges, which was replaced at the Australian Open by the electronic system in 2021.
"Honestly, my personal opinion, I wish it would be the Hawk-Eye system and the line umpires, because I feel like that way it's more precise, and much [fewer] mistakes, in my opinion," the 2017 French Open champion added.
"... I think also, that way it looks a little better for me on the court how it is. Not just calling-wise, but in general how the court looks, because with no line umpires, for me, it looks a little empty."
Ostapenko was under no illusion that her own performance had not been at the level it was when she beat Gauff, and suggested that her participation in the mixed doubles late on Monday was a factor.
"I think in general today the level of the match was I think much lower than the previous one," she said. "I felt like me and Coco, we had a really high level of tennis and we played really well. It's a little shame that I couldn't bring this level of the tennis today.
"Obviously [Rybakina] was serving well, but I felt like already in the second set when I had the longer rallies with her, I was winning mostly, so that was my goal to make her play.
"I felt like maybe mixed doubles yesterday was a little bit not the right decision to play that late. But in general I think I can take only positive things out of this week, because it's only the beginning of the season, and if I keep working and keep playing the same way, I think I can be dangerous player."
Victoria Azarenka is through to her first Australian Open semi-final in a decade after beating Jessica Pegula in straights sets.
Azarenka had not reached the last four at Melbourne Park since going on to retain her title in 2013, but ended that wait with an impressive 6-4 6-1 victory over the third seed on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old from Belarus will do battle with Elena Rybakina for a place in the final following a commanding display on Rod Laver Arena.
Azarenka, the 24th seed, stormed into a 3-0 lead and although Pegula got back on serve at 5-3, she was a set down after being broken for a second time.
The experienced Azarenka clinically grasped her first break-point opportunity of the second set but Pegula hit straight back with a break of her own in the next game.
She was unable to turn the tide, though, as an inspired Azarenka dominated the remainder of the set with another two breaks and losing only a further two points behind her serve.
Azarenka, a winner of two mixed doubles grand slam titles since her last major triumph at this tournament 10 years ago, wrapped up the victory in an hour and 37 minutes.
Azarenka moves level with Graf
This quarter-final win for the former world number one took her tally of main-draw victories at the Australian Open to 47.
She is now level with the great Steffi Graf in sixth place on the list of the most women’s singles main-draw triumphs in this tournament in the Open Era.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Azarenka – 0/2
Pegula – 3/2
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Azarenka– 17/20
Pegula– 19/31
BREAK POINTS WON
Azarenka – 5/13
Pegula – 2/4
The New York Giants hope to keep quarterback Daniel Jones at the franchise, general manager Joe Schoen has confirmed.
The 25-year-old is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and was non-committal when questioned by the media after the Giants' Divisional Round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.
Jones was sacked five times in Philadelphia, but had a solid regular season, throwing 15 touchdowns and rushing for another seven in 16 games, while overall he completed a career-best 67.2 per cent of his pass attempts (317 out of 472).
Regarding his contract, Jones said on Saturday: "We will cross that bridge when we get there. I really enjoyed playing here... We will figure out where that goes, but I have nothing but love and respect for this organisation and the group of guys in the locker room."
Speaking at an end-of-season press conference on Monday, Schoen said: "We'd like Daniel to be here. He said it, there is a business side to it. But we feel like Daniel played well this season. He's done everything we've asked him to... We would like to have Daniel Jones back.
"Hopefully we can get something done with his representatives. That would be the goal, to build a team around him where he could lead us to win a Super Bowl."
Having turned down the chance to exercise the fifth-year option on Jones' rookie contract, it seems the Giants feel he has proven himself worthy and Schoen is eager to get to the negotiating table.
"It takes two. Both sides are going to have that conversation," he said. "We haven't crossed that bridge yet. There are tools at our disposal."
Jonathan Isaac expressed his gratitude to the Orlando Magic for "sticking with me" after he made a "surreal" long-awaited return in a 113-98 win over Boston Celtics.
Isaac had been out since tearing his ACL when the NBA restarted at Walt Disney World in August 2020 and wondered if he would ever be back on court in an NBA game.
The Magic forward's comeback finally came at Amway Center on Monday as Orlando ended the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics' nine-game winning run.
Isaac missed 211 games, but came off the bench to score 10 points, claim three rebounds and produce two steals in an appearance of around nine and a half minutes.
He said: "Much love to the Magic for sticking with me. And the Magic fans were excited, so I was just trying to bottle all that up in one moment. It was surreal."
Isaac added: "There were days where I was like I don't know if I want to keep going.
"But then again, I have to thank Christ. Being able to go back to my faith and say God has me on this journey for a purpose. I know that I was made to play basketball. I was made to give glory to God on this stage."
Isaac understandably felt the pace on his return from such a long absence.
"That kind of first wind got to me. That last minute I could barely talk I was breathing so hard," Isaac said. "But the second rotation in the second half, that four minutes, I started to just relax and just feel good."
Paolo Banchero top scored with 23 points for the Magic, while 26 points apiece for Celtics duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were in vain.
Orlando are 18-29 down in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, with Boston leading the way at 35-13.
Giannis Antetokounmpo declared "the band is back together" after he made an impressive return in the Milwaukee Bucks' 150-130 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Antetokounmpo had missed five games due to a sore left knee but scored 20 of his 29 points in the first quarter of his comeback at Little Caesars Arena on Monday.
Khris Middleton was also back in the line-up for the first time since last month following a knee injury of his own as the third-placed Bucks moved to 30-17 in the Eastern Conference.
Greek superstar Antetokounmpo said: "The band is back together" and added: "'I was trying to be aggressive and some shots fell."
Milwaukee scored an incredible 49 points in the first quarter, only two short of the NBA record, with Antetokounmpo taking centre stage.
Bucks head coach Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was impressed with the way Antetokounmpo was able to hit the ground running.
"It was impressive to come out and play the way he did," Budenholzer said. "He did a little bit of everything, just like the whole group that in that [first] quarter."
Pistons head coach Dwane Casey feared the Bucks could come out firing.
"The first quarter is what I was afraid would happen," Casey said. "A championship-calibre team came in and put their stamp on the game at the beginning.
"We didn't respond, and that's how you give up a 49-point first quarter. I liked our fight after that, but this is a 48-minute game."
Sebastian Korda is taking plenty of positives away from the Australian Open, despite retiring hurt in his quarter-final against Karen Khachanov.
The American sustained an issue to his right wrist early in the second set, before calling an end to proceedings in the third when trailing 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 3-0.
Speaking at a press conference after his elimination, Korda said it was an issue he originally felt at the Adelaide International 1, where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the final.
"I had it a little bit in Adelaide a couple of weeks ago, but then it went away," he said. "During the matches, it was completely fine. Then just one kind of mishit return and it started to bother me a lot of after that.
"I knew what it was right away, right when I hit the return. I kind of felt that spot that I was feeling before. Some forehands I couldn't even hold the racquet. Volleying was almost impossible for me. So it was a little tough."
The number 29 seed was pleased with his work in Melbourne though, adding: "Obviously a lot of positives [to take]. Still a great tournament. My first quarter-final in a grand slam. I'm going to go forward with my head high and keep working."
Khachanov is through to his second-consecutive grand slam semi-final, having also made the final four at last year's US Open.
The Russian – who will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jiri Lehecka next – sympathised with Korda but said he was just focused on getting the job done.
"It's part of the sport," Khachanov said. "It was a tough competitive battle until a certain moment, but at the end of the day you don't know how serious he's injured, right?
"I think the end of the second set, you know, when I pushed through and then took it with 2-0 lead by sets, it's extra pressure to the guy, if especially he has some issues physically.
"I think also the beginning of the third, you know, when you take this [3-0] lead, so from the opponent, the attitude change, it's way tougher to come back, so I think all those things together. I was quite focused and I knew what I had to do, how I had to push. I did it really well."
Elena Rybakina's Wimbledon success last year is helping her to progress at the Australian Open.
The number 22 seed reached the semi-finals after a convincing 6-2 6-4 victory against Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.
Fresh from beating world number one Iga Swiatek in the fourth round, the only thing that slowed Rybakina down against the 17th seed was a 20-minute rain delay in the first set.
She got through her quarter-final in just an hour and 19 minutes of play, and pointed to her experience at Wimbledon, which culminated in her maiden grand slam win.
"Of course I got all the experience at Wimbledon, and it's helping me now this time here in Australia and I know what to expect," she said.
"For sure it's just easier in this case after Wimbledon. [I am] feeling good on the court and just really enjoying every match I'm playing here."
Rybakina's serve was a key weapon again, hitting 11 aces and winning 76 per cent (29 of 38) of points on her first serve.
She now has a total of 29 aces in the tournament, the most by a women's player and more than her previous three Australian Open campaigns combined.
"[It is] tough to say for me, because I think compared to other girls, I'm quite tall," she said when asked if hitting aces are an under-used part of women's tennis. "I mean, there [are] other girls which are also strong and tall, but for sure I think it's not only about the height.
"I'm happy with my serve. I guess everybody else needs to think if, in this aspect, they need to work more or not, because some girls, they are fine maybe not with the speed, but they have good angles on the serve. They are opening the court. I think everybody is different, and everybody just trying to do what's best for them on the court."
The 23-year-old will face either Jessica Pegula or Victoria Azarenka in the final four, and is excited by once again being included in the business end of a grand slam.
"Of course in the beginning of the tournament, it feels like, 'Oh, it's such a long tournament'," she said. "Now it seems already close. I'm trying to focus just on one match.
"For sure it's close, that's why everybody I think is now going to try even harder, fight for every ball. It's only good players left. For sure it's going to be tough matches."
Karen Khachanov is through to his second-consecutive grand slam semi-final after progressing past Sebastian Korda at the Australian Open.
The Russian – who also made the final four at last year's US Open – was in control of the quarter-final when Korda retired hurt with a wrist problem at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Khachanov led 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 3-0 when the American called it a day, and will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jiri Lehecka next.
The number 18 seed had to work hard to take the opening set, with Korda initially saving himself when Khachanov served for it at 5-3, but the latter eventually came through on a tie-break.
Some ferocious and accurate hitting from the baseline was proving to be decisive for Khachanov, hitting 12 winners in each of the first and second sets.
Halfway through the second set, 29th seed Korda received a medical timeout for a right wrist issue that was clearly impacting his forehand, and from there he won just one more game before retiring.
"For sure, back-to-back semi-finals in a grand slam feels great," Khachanov said in his on-court interview after the match.
"Obviously not the way you want to finish the match. I think until a certain point it was very competitive, a very good battle. Sebastian beat one of my friends, Daniil [Medvedev], in three sets and won in five sets against [Hubert] Hurkacz. He is playing great tennis."
Data Slam: Khachanov serves up a treat
Although clearly aided by Korda's struggles later in the contest, Khachanov was impressive on his serve throughout, only being broken once when serving for the first set.
He was able to win 80 per cent (40 of 50) of points on his first serve.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Khachanov – 12/0
Korda – 4/2
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Khachanov – 27/18
Korda – 18/39
BREAK POINTS WON
Khachanov – 4/10
Korda – 1/3
The ascension of Houston Rockets centrepiece Jalen Green continued on Monday as he scored a career-high 42 points in a 119-114 home win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Green, 20, was the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and he is living up to the hype as one of the game's most electrifying young scorers.
Against the Timberwolves, Green shot 15-of-25 from the field and six-of-12 from long range for his 42 points, four rebounds, four assists with a steal and a block.
The performance came only two games after he tied his career-high 41 points against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, and he is now averaging a team-high 21.7 points per contest with 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
He was not the only young Rockets prospect to show why he is viewed as the future of the franchise, as center Alperen Sengun put together another complete performance in what has been the best month of his career.
Also in his second season after being drafted by the Rockets in 2021, Sengun had 21 points on eight-of-12 shooting while adding seven rebounds and seven assists. It is his playmaking that is the most notable aspect of his growth.
After averaging 2.6 assists per game as a rookie, and no more than 2.8 during the months of October, November and December, he has put together figures of 18.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists during his 11 games since the new year began, including a streak of seven consecutive performances with at least six assists.
Despite the win, the Rockets still own the worst record in the NBA at 11-36, and Houston fans will be desperate to add future number one draft pick Victor Wembenyama to their promising young core.
Bucks become fourth team to reach 150 this season
The Milwaukee Bucks had their biggest offensive explosion of the season as they erupted in a 150-130 demolition of the Detroit Pistons.
Despite the Pistons putting up 130 points of their own and the final score appearing competitive, the reality is they were never a chance as the Bucks opened up a 40-12 lead just eight minutes into the game.
Led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo's 29 points (eight-of-15 shooting), 12 rebounds and four assists, the Bucks tied for the league's second-highest score this season, trailing only the Sacramento Kings' 153-121 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in November.
Bulls make it three wins in a row
The Chicago Bulls tied their longest winning streak of the season as they defeated the Atlanta Hawks 111-100 for their third in a row.
In a clash between two teams on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble it was DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic rising to the occasion on an inefficient night for the recently red-hot Zach LaVine.
DeRozan scored a game-high 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting, adding six assists and three steals, while Vucevic grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds while also chipping in 14 points and seven assists.
The Bulls are now 22-24, one game behind the Hawks (24-24) in the East's eighth seed.
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