Australian Open – Day Three: Alex de Minaur’s fiancée Katie Boulter is placed on the spot with awkward post-match query on the Australian Open – as native star bows out within the first spherical

Well, what an evening that was! I’ve just about caught my breath!

Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur starred in what was a bumper day of action at the Australian Open.

We’ve had some huge upsets, a huge meltdown from Daniil Medvedev and what is being dubbed the ‘shot of the year’.

Boulter booked her place in the second round of the Australian Open battling hard to secure a huge win against Rebecca Marino.

At the same time, De Minaur saw off Dutch star Botic van de Zandschulp in another enthralling match before nipping over to the Kia Arena to watch his new fiancee seal the win.

I’ll be signing off on here, but you can recap on all the action over at Mail Sport.

For now, our tennis correspondent Matthew Lambert, reflects on Boulter’s epic triumph.

We’ll see you again tomorrow bright and early for round two of the Australian Open, with Coco Gauff set to take on Jodie Burrage, while Jack Draper and Thanasi Kokkinakis go head-to-head on in another huge matchup.

Good night!

During her post-match interview, Katie Boulter was asked a rather awkward question by the stadium announcer, when reflecting on her love for Australia.

After many Australians seem to have adopted her as a home star, the broadcaster asked Boulter whether they could now call the Brit ‘Aussie Kate’.

Boulter though awkwardly smiled before, joking: ‘They [Australians] might want to get rid of me I don’t know.

‘From the moment I landed here I felt the love. I can’t tell you how much it means to me thank you so much.’

There was an interesting moment during the second set of his match against Botic van de Zandschulp where Alex de Minaur stopped play to consult the chair umpire and his opponent.

It came as he was serving to win the second set at 5-6 but one of the balls in play had gone missing and was replaced with a brand new ball.

The new ball would have given De Minaur the advantage on his own serve, being slightly firmer than the others, which were two games old.

But in a brilliant showing of sportsmanship, the Aussie realised the issue and first consulted the chair umpire over the situation.

The official said: ‘If you don’t want to play with it we can play with five balls, it’s up to you guys.’

De Minaur passed the balls over the net to his opponent and the duo agreed to remove the new ball from the game.

Todd Woodbridge said to Channel Nine: ‘Alex showing some incredible sportsmanship there, he didn’t really have to tell Botic there was a brand new ball in there.

‘If he takes that and serves, it’s going to come off faster.’

‘Not just that, he said he will not serve with this new ball to this game,’ John Millman said. ‘He’s given it back to the umpire. That is incredible sportsmanship because normally as a server you want the ball to be as new as possible.’

Image credit: Channel 9

Image credit: Channel 9

Image credit: Channel 9

Alex de Minaur was seen pointing to his head after Katie Boulter secured victory tonight.

The Aussie slipped into the Kia Arena after his win against Botic van de Zandschulp.

He cheered, clapped and shouted as Boulter claimed the huge victory.

Some eyebrows were raised after the schedule for Tuesday at the Australian Open was announced, with Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur both set to take to the court in separate matches.

Much to the newly engaged couple’s delight, they both booked their passage to the second round.

But while they were focused on their respective matches both admitted that their minds had gone to how the other was performing during their games.

De Minaur revealed that he had been checking Boulter’s score on the big screen. The British star, meanwhile, said she had heard several roars coming up over from the Rod Laver Arena, as she battled hard to beat Rebecca Marino.

But it wasn’t until she thought she heard De Minaur’s mum in the crowd that she started to ‘feel comfortable’ that her beau had won.

I kind of wish his score was popping up on my screen, but it wasn’t.

Yeah, I think at times, you know, it’s obviously difficult to know that he’s playing a match, and you’re kind of hearing cheers here and there, and you’re hoping that’s for him, but you never know.

You know, ultimately, until I actually heard — I think I heard his mum’s voice from the crowd. That was the first thing I heard before he came. I kind of felt comfortable that he had won and, you know, that I could fully relax.

I mean, there is always going to be 1 per cent of me that’s probably thinking about that, but look, I mean, I’m fully focused on what I’m doing and kind of in the zone at the same time. You know, most of the time I’m not thinking about it at all, but of course, you know, yeah, I’m hoping he wins and that he’s out there for the rest of my match.

Even Alex de Minaur was applauding his opponent Botic van de Zanschulp after this moment of magic!

Another Aussie star, Emerson Jones, was also knocked out at the first round of the women’s singles by No 6 seed Elena Rybakina in straight sets on the Margaret Court Arena this afternoon.

Jones, reflecting on the defeat said: ‘I think it’s great that I’ve had that experience and hopefully I’ll do better next time.’

Shockingly, ninth seed Andrey Rublev was also knocked out of the first round by qualifier Joao Fonseca.

‘I just enjoyed every moment, this court is an amazing court, it’s my first time playing in a huge stadium,’ Fonseca said after the huge win.

Aussie star Kimberly Birrell, who had booked her place in the main draw last week, suffered a 6-2 6-2 defeat by Eva Lys.

‘I think it could have gone differently, but it is what it is,’ Birrell said. ‘I’m really proud of the way that I fought through qualies and to even get to the first round and have the last couple of weeks that I’ve had, I’m definitely going to look at the positives,’ Birrell said.

Alexei Popyrin stated after the match that he had visited the doctors today to get some medicine having fallen ill during the week.

No doubts. Yeah, no doubts. Throughout the week I have had, like, little niggles, had an abdominal niggle. I’ve been sick for four days. Still am sick. Had to go to the doctor’s office today to get some meds.

It’s not an excuse, nothing like that for me. I’m disappointed with the way I played. Like, I take full responsibility with the way that I played, and, you know, it was shocking. It was really bad. And I know I can do better.

Despite the injury woes, the Aussie is taking pride from his performance.

I think I’m known to show heart, but I also want to be known for showing tennis consistently. That’s been my main goal for my whole career. You know, I have showed good tennis in glimpses, and for me I want to show it consistently.

Alexei Popyrin cut a dismayed figure after he was beaten 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 by Corentin Moutet earlier this evening.

It was the second shock upset in the opening round of the men’s singles as Stefanos Tsitsipas also made an early exit.

Popyrin had taken some time off the court in the match to receive treatment on a lower back and left glute issue.

But as the match went on the injuries continued to affect the Aussie star.

Jelena Dokic pointed out his issue to Channel 9 saying: ‘What he was saying is, he felt it (lower back pain), when he was running towards one of the drop shots.

She added: ‘Now he’s feeling it on the serve.’

Popyrin came into 2025 riding high off the back of a victory at the ATP1000. He had also beaten Novak Djokovic to reach the fourth round of the US Open.

But this will come as a huge blow for the Aussie star.

British tennis legend Tim Henman has given his take on Katie Boutler’s huge victory tonight.

Boulter fought her way to a 4-6 6-3 5-7 victory against Canadian star Rebecca Marino on Tuesday night with the Brit lapping up applause from both British and Australian fans around the Kia Arena

Speaking to Discovery+ Henman said the 28-year-old star, who is ranked 25th in the world, seems to have gotten used to the conditions of a Grand Slam.

This is a good opportunity for her. It’s always trying to get the balance between the control and aggression. When she’s on, she can hit winners from anywhere. But sometimes she takes the ball early and hits the higher part of the next and that’s where the unforced error count rises.

It’s a case of being patient and taking the winner on. She’s got used to the conditions, played a few matches this year and hopefully she can build on this as she needs a breakthrough in a Grand Slam event.

Look, I mean, pressure, there is always going to be pressure. Ultimately, as I said many times before, no one is going to put more pressure on myself than myself, right?

There’s always going to be outside noise, and that’s always going to be in the background, but ultimately, I go in every day with a mindset and focusing on trying to bring out the best version of myself.

When it comes to playing these types of matches or playing in Australia, my sole focus is to give myself the best chance when I walk on court, right, and do everything I can.

And then we know how tennis is. Tennis, can you have some good days, you can have some bad days. Ultimately, if I have my bad day, I’m going to find till the end, compete, and I’m going to do my best.

I know that the crowd is going to have my back from the very first point to the last. Yeah, it’s perspective, right? It’s what way you choose to look at pressure.

It is tough playing the matches. Ultimately, just because there is a scoreboard that keeps alternating with different results throughout the day, and then all of a sudden you get — you don’t really want to be thinking about it, because you want to be focusing on your own match. Then all of a sudden you see the results of Katie’s match.

You try not to pay too much attention and focus on yourself, but the sheer fact that it’s always coming around, it makes it difficult.

So every now and again, whenever it came about, I saw what the result was.

Alexei Popyrin’s Australian Open has come to a halt after the 25-year-old was beaten 6-4 3-6 4-6 4-6 4-6 by Corentin Moutet.

The No 25 seed had started well but just couldn’t keep his foot on the gas pedal, cutting a dismayed figure after suffering defeat.

It was the first time the Aussie star has been seeded at his home slam but he suffered a huge upset at the hands of the No 69.

I came out of the blocks the way I wanted to. My serve was firing and was very solid. I applied a lot of pressure on him. As the match went on the conditions got a little slower and heavier.

Pressure, there is always going to be pressure. No one is going to put more pressure on myself. There’s always going to be outside noise and that’s in the background. I go in everyday with a mindset and focus to be the best version of myself. My sole focus is to give myself the best chance.

If I had my bad day I’m going to fight to the end and do my best. Yeah, I mean it’s perspective and it’s what way I manage that pressure.

I mean these nights like tonight is what you dream of, playing prime time on RLA is special. It’s a great feeling to go out there and play some good tennis and get the win.

The second part [watching Katie] was stressful.

Boulter has just scribbled the words ‘Aussie, LA’ with two hearts on the TV camera at the side of the court.

The crowd were on their feet at the end of that match, with both Brits and Aussies in the crowd cheering the 28-year-old on.

From the moment I landed here I felt the love. I cant tell you how much it means to me thank you so much.

I’m always striving for more I feel like I had a good year last year. I feel like I can improve my game so much more.

I’m going to keep improving and hopefully you’ll see me a lot more in the rankings.

Alex de Minaur quietly slipped into the Kia Arena to watch Katie Boulter straight after he sealed victory over on Rod Laver earlier tonight.

That was way too stressful for me I would have preferred a much easier match – she [Marino] came out firing today.

That was massively mental for me I’ve been playing great tennis on the practice court. She was playing great and I know how hard it can be.

After a huge tug of war the Brit forces Marino to hit her shot into the net and clinches a 4-6 6-3 5-7. victory!

Here we go, it’s Marino to serve, with Boulter taking a 6-5 lead in the third set.

She hits a shot too long over the baseline to go love-15 down after a huge rally.

She responds brilliantly to go 15-15, with the Brit firing a huge backhand across the court.

It’s a battle of the serves here at the Kia Arena.

Boulter had gone 5-4 up but couldn’t make an in-road on Marino’s service, with the Canadian serving out to love in the 10th game. I think this match might just go the distance!

Marino’s first service win rate is slightly higher than Boulter’s right now, with the Canadian winning 93 per cent to Boulter’s 81 per cent.

It’s a battle of the serves here at the Kia Arena.

Boulter had gone 5-4 up but couldn’t make an in-road on Marino’s service, with the Canadian serving out to love in the 10th game. I think this match might just go the distance!

Marino’s first service win rate is slightly higher than Boulter’s right now, with the Canadian winning 93 per cent to Boulter’s 81 per cent.

Here’s how Carlos Alcaraz congratulated Alex de Minaur on his engagement to Katie Boulter following their exhibition match last week…

Boulter is playing with some confidence right now.

She delivers a brilliant Ace right down the middle of the court before following that up with a booming forehand that just scrapes the baseline to go 4-3 up against her opponent.

Alex de Minaur isn’t here just yet, but he’s been keeping a close eye on the match, letting out a smile as Boulter held service at the start of the third set while he warms down on the bike!

A whopping 90,102 people have made their way into the Tennis precinct today, smashing the previous record for a Tuesday day/night session of 83,015, which was set in 2024.

Now a whopping 267,091 people have attended the Australian Open main draw!

Right we’re over at the Kia Arena now and Katie Boulter has just held serve to go 3-2 up against Rebecca Marino.

She lets out a huge roar after saving two break points, before sweeping a huge forehand to the far right corner of the court!

Meanwhile, Sweet Caroline is playing over the tannoy and the fans are in full voice!

Katie Boulter dished out a stinging reply to beefcake fiance Alex de Minaur on Tuesday after the Aussie star shared a shot of himself in training ahead of his first-round clash against Botich van de Zandschulp.

The Aussie star dazziled fans with his pulsating biceps, but Boulter hit back in the comments section on his Instagram story.

Check out her funny response below…

It looked like it had been coming after Rebecca Marino broke Boulter to go 2-0 up in the second set.

Marino seems to have tide up her service game up too, with the Canadian slamming down three aces while winning 88 per cent of her first service points.

Boulter struggled to offer hit back on her opponent’s serve with the set finishing 6-3 to the Canadian.

Marino, 34, currently sits at 98 in the WTA rankings, with her highest placing coming in 2011 where she reached world No 38.

Her highest finish at the Australian Open came that same year and again in 2021, where she reached the Round of 64.

Alex de Minaur was asked how he looks so cool, but his response was a brilliant one.

I’m glad I look that way. Honestly what gives me a sense of calm is knowing the amount of work I’ve put in behind the scenes knowing I’ve done everything in my power to be ready.

As soon as I walk onto this court I know every single one of you guys has my back so I’m going to do my very best.

Pressed after tonight’s match on his engagement to Katie Boulter, who is 5-2 down in the second set against Rebecca Marino at the Kia Arena, De Minaur said he had to rush off to watch his new fiancee.

Yeah, look, 2024 was a special year and it ended in the best possible way. But in saying that she’s playing right now so I better get out there and watch!

The Rod Laver Arena erupts as the Aussie star fist-bumps the air!

That was a real battle and while he suffered defeat Botic van de Zandschulp was brilliant throughout.

De Minaur, though, was brilliant, claiming a 6-1 7-5 4-6 win.

Boulter had to fight to win the final game, with Marino saving two set points, before having her chance to break Boulter back.

But the British star showed her resilience, clawing the game back to deuce before finally claiming the first set.

It’s all action right now from tennis’ power couple who announced their engagement late last year, with the pair having been together for four years now.

In fact their first date came back in March 2020 over an impromptu 6am coffee!

Van de Zandschulp’s stunning backwards tweener left De Minaur’s coaches aghast!

He’res how the Aussie reacted…

De Minaur fires a long ball to the right side of the court, forcing the Dutchman to track back to chase the shot.

With his back to the net he just about makes it to the ball before it goes dead, before Van de Zandschulp skipped forward, opened his legs and struck a backwards tweener over the net to win the point.

The sensational shot sends the Rod Laver Arena into meltdown, with Channel 9’s commentary team calling it ‘the shot of the year’.

Even De Minaur can’t believe it, clapping his hands on his racket in admiration of the Dutchman’s skills.

Superb skills.

Katie Boulter takes the lead in the first set, breaking Marino to love after the Canadian fired a poorly timed shot over the baseline.

The Brit is looking in good form right now and has held serve to go 3-5 up.

Harriet Dart, Jacob Fearnley, Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have all progressed to the next round of the Australian Open and things are looking very bright for British tennis down under.

But what can we expect from the brits in 2025?

One fan has the crowd in hysterics as De Minaur launches a blistering winner past Van de Zandschulp.

‘We really like that Alex,’ the man cries, sending the Rod Laver Arena into hysterics.

Katie Boutler hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts over at the Kia Arena but has responded very well against Rebecca Marino.

After her Canadian opponent went a game up, Boulter saved a break point before being broken by the world No 98.

But she hit back immediately, with Marino saving a break herself before Boulter turned on the gas to cut her deficit to 2-1.

That was some excellent play from De Minaur.

After fending off two set points he’s totally turned the tide on this second set.

This is becoming a real battle between the two, with Van de Zandschulp matching De Minaur for power.

De Minaur needs to hold this final game to clinch the second set, having gone 40-15 up.

But a few errors are starting to creep in, with the Aussie hitting a shot long beyond the baseline.

It doesn’t matter though, he rattles off a 194km/h ace right down the middle of the court, to hold and win the second set 7-5.

The Aussie tennis great gives De Minaur a fist to the air as De Minaur celebrated wining a second set point.

Earlier today, Hewitt was forced to stick up for his son after the teen, who was knocked out qualifying last week, copped backlash.

Hewitt, who won two slams during his career, addressed speculation Cruz had been handed a wildcard draw because of his father’s surname.

Cruz, 16, was one of four Australians who were given a wildcard to the Australian Open qualifiers this week.

‘Cruz is in these positions because he is a very good, talented young player and one of our best here in Australia,’ he told Channel 9’s viewers on Tuesday.

‘He deserves every opportunity he has got to be there. Some people [online trolls] would like to say otherwise.

One fan in the stands has just had a very embarrassing telling off from the chair umpire here at Rod Laver Arena.

Van de Zandschulp was just about to wind up his serve, when one member of the crowd screamed out ‘I love you Demon!’

Incensed by the screaming, Van de Zandschulp stopped and gave a menacing glare towards the section of the audience where the noise came from.

I have to say the crowd has been fairly quiet tonight compared to the atmosphere inside the John Cain Arena last night for Nick Kyrgios’ defeat by Jacob Fearnley.

Still the chair umpire is not having it. She issues a response over her microphone telling fans that interruptions affect both players and to please remain quiet when they are serving.

De Minaur, meanwhile, has gone 5-4 behind here and needs to win this game to stop Van de Zandschulp from claiming the second set.

At 30-love, the Aussie powers a brutal forehand to the right side of the tramlines to pull himself back into the game.

He follows up with another similar shot, that just lands on the baseline to draw level at 30-30.

But resiliently, De Minaur holds off his opponent’s advances, saving two set points to take the second set to 5-5.

Alex De Minaur nearly hit back at his opponent with a break of his own, but the Dutch star held firm at deuce to deny the Australian.

But De Minaur responds again, serving out to love in the resulting game, showing off his cannon of a serve.

We had anticipated the newly engaged duo of Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur to get underway at the same time, but Boulter’s match has been delayed.

Matteo Arnaldi and Lorenzo Musetti have just played out a thriller at the Kia Arena with Musetti advancing to the next round, 7-6 6-4 7-6 6-3.

Boulter and Rebecca Marino are expected to get underway shortly.

But the Brit, who has been spending some time Down under with her beau, De Minaur, ahead of the championships, has revealed the one thing she doesn’t quite like about being a honourary Aussie.

Read more below…

A slight lapse in concentration perhaps from De Minaur?

He is broken for the first time in this match, with Van de Zandschulp getting a huge break back on his opponent.

De Minaur seemed to lose focus hitting a ball long beyond the baseline.

Van de Zandschulp pulls level at 3-3.

You may have noticed how some players are being announced when arriving on to the tennis court this week at the Australian Open.

Stadium announcers have been referring to the players using pronouns like ‘their or they’.

The move has caught the attention of some commentators, who have called it ‘woke’.

More below…

He had to tussle for that one!

Van de Zandschulp survived two break points but De Minaur’s power gets the better of him.

I’ve been impressed by De Minaur’s return game tonight. While he might not catch every shot off Van de Zandschulp’s 210km/h service game sweetly, he’s hitting back well on his opponent’s serve.

Meanwhile, here are the views overlooking Rod Laver right now!

We’ve got a couple of footy legends in the house today.

Brisbane great and former Carlton coach Michael Voss is watching on intently here as De Minaur attempts to break his opponent.

Collingwood ruck Mason Cox is also in the house but an AFL rival is sitting not too far away from him with Bulldogs boss Luke Beveridge also here.

It looked pretty inevitable really. After he took a 4-0 lead De Minaur put his foot on the gas to go 6-1 up.

The world No 8 is looking in brilliant form too. He’s served out four aces already and is has a first service points win of 80 per cent.

It’s gotten a little quiet in here over the last 10 minutes, but one fan has the audience laughing.

‘If you love the Aussie Demon clap your hands,’ he cries as the crowd are lifted again.

It’s not all one-way traffic!

De Minaur had stormed his way to a 5-0 lead here Van de Zandschulp has pulled a game back here, producing a powerful strike that the Aussie just couldn’t control to go 30-love.

He then capitalised on another error from the 25-year-old, who struck his shot wide.

This is his fourth main draw appearance at the tournament, with the Dutch star’s best finish here coming in 2022 when he reached the third round.

His highest ATP singles ranking came in 2022 where he rose to 22 in the world, but has dropped to 82nd in the ladder since then having won 18 and lost 26 matches on the tour last season, while picking up $905,498 in prize money.

In case you missed it, Tennis Australia are running a cartoon stream of the matches due to a broadcasting issue.

And hilariously his match was streamed live on their Wii Sports-esque cartoon stream and showed the Russian’s tantrum earlier today.

Wow that’s 4-0, he’s flying here.

De Minaur’s agility and precision is causing Van de Zandschulp some problems here.

He forces the Duchman to play a shot long over the baseline to win the fourth game to love.

He might be under some pressure this week at his home slam, but he’s looking very composed on the court right now.

We’ve been out celeb spotting this week at the Australian Open and we’ve spotted plenty of stars already.

Rebel Wilson and Dannii Minogue were both in the house on Monday to watch Nick Kyrgios, while I also spotted rugby league legend Willie Mason walking around Rod Laver last week.

A trio of celebs are in the house here!

Bec Judd arrived at the Emirates lounge earlier today, while journalist star Georgie Tunny is also here alongside Rob Mills.

Abby Gelmi also dazzled as she was pictured in the Emirates Lounge earlier today.

De Minaur is off to a solid start here. He clinches the first game wrapping up the first exchange with a serve of 209km/h.

Not his fastest, but his placement is perfect, with Van de Zandschulp unable to counter.

And following on from my earlier post, the chances of local hero De Minaur winning this week are actually better than they have ever been for nearly 43 years!

Here’s why…

After Daniil Medvedev got a ticking off on the Australian Open’s cartoon broadcast I thought I’d talk a little more about why Tennis Australia are broadcasting matches Wii Sports-style.

Fans have been left in hysterics at the broadcasts with cartoon characters of some of the world’s greatest players taking to the courts around Melbourne Park to play out in real-time real points from the matches.

According to tennis journalist Bastien Fachan, the issue is because of a broadcasting rights issue.

He wrote on X: ‘The Australian Open don’t own all of their broadcasting rights (fairly common), so they’re live-streaming a Wii Tennis-like version of the matches on YouTube – love this.’

More below…

The fans inside Rod Laver are showing their love for Alex de Minaur here, letting out a huge roar for the Australian star.

Alex De Minaur had a huge year in 2024, winning 47 times and reaching the quarter-finals or better at 12 tournaments, while picking up two wins in the Netherlands and in Acapulco.

Dubbed ‘the fastest man in tennis’ De Minaur comes into this week with bags of confidence and is being given the backing of one of his compatriots…

We’re live on Rod Laver right now awaiting both Alex de Minaur and Botic van de Zandschulp.

The atmosphere is building inside the stadium and I’ve had to put my hat and another layer of suncream on because the sun is belting down here inside the stadium

Meanwhile, Katie Boulter and Rebecca Marino are about to play at the Kia Arena.

Here come De Minaur and Van de Zandschulp!

I can barely see from my seat the sun is so bright!

If you hadn’t seen it already, the Australian Open are showing live streams for some of the matches that Tennis Australia do not have the rights to.

But while they’re unable to show real-time footage, they have instead been showing the matches in cartoon vision!

Bizarrely it looks like something out of Wii Sports!

And the tournament has hilariously broadcasted Daniil Medvedev’s tirade at the net earlier today, with broadcasters giving the Russian star a warning!

World No 418 Kasidit Samrej battled hard against Daniil Medvedev today on Rod Laver, and despite losing, he has left a lasting impression on the world No 5.

Medvedev lumped praise on the 23-year-old player from Thailand but also made a slightly bizarre comment after the match.

If he plays like this every match his life can be good. Money, girls, casino… Whatever…

If he plays like this every match, if he doesn’t, then he’s not going to have it.

Kasidit Samrej is only the third player from Thailand to contest a Grand Slam singles match in the Open Era.

He played brilliantly today against Daniil Medvedev this afternoon taking two sets off the world No 5.

The World No 418 picked up three wins on the ITF Tour last year and is a hugely impressing talent that we are sure to see here again in the future.

Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter will get their Australian Open campaigns underway later tonight.

The Aussie is set to take on Botic van de Zandschulp at Rod Laver Arena while the Brit goes up against Canadian star Rebecca Marino.

De Minaur and Boulter dazzled fans at the end of last year announcing that they had secretly got engaged.

But the Aussie copped a stinging reply from Boulter earlier today after a picture of him has been going viral.

Read more below…

Daniil Medvedev has booked his passage to the second round of the Australian Open despite smashing the net at the Rod Laver Arena to bits in his clash against Kasidit Samrej.

It was a tough match for the Russian who went 2-1 down in the match before going on to win 6-2 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-2.

Despite his earlier meltdown, Daniil Medvedev has fought his way back to go 2-2 and has vastly improved striking 44 winners and 22 aces.

But his third-set tirade has left many around Rod Laver and on social media shocked.

‘Not sure that camera will work any more,’ said one commentator after the insane moment.

Meanwhile, grounds staff have been on the court attempting to fix the camera.

Wow! Daniil Medvedev has fully just lost it on Rod Laver!

This is insane!

The Russian star had gone two sets down to his 23-year-old opponent Kasidit Samrej, who is also ranked as No 418 on the ATP Tour.

But during the third set, the Russian’s frustrations got the better of him, with the world No 5 brutally smashing his racket against the middle of the net after losing a point.

He has broken his racket and the camera that is mounted on the middle of the net, which is now not showing any footage!

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Gael Monfils put on a show for fans currently putting on a show on Court 3!

I can hear the roars going up all the way from the media centre too!

It was Monfils though who would claim the win 7-6 6-3 6-7 6-7 6-4.

Cam Norrie took ill during last-weeks warm-up event in Auckland, with the British star admitting following his defeat by Matteo Berrettini that he had barely practised ahead of today’s match.

I haven’t been able to prepare as well as I could. I’ve been pretty sick in Auckland, then coming here. Just barely practised.

Honestly, I’ve been feeling the ball so well. Pre-season was excellent. It was a bit unfortunate with the timing. I definitely gave myself the best chance. Just hit the wall after like an hour and a bit. I was not able to stay sharp on court.

It’s disappointing. Yeah, It is what it is. Most importantly just to get my health back to 100 per cent and get some rest. Just tough to sustain that today.

There was heartbreak for one British star earlier today at the Kia Arena as Cameron Norrie was beaten 6-7 6-3 6-1 6-3 by Matteo Berrettini.

It comes after the Brit said he had been struck down with an illness during last week’s warm-up tournament in Auckland.

Norrie admirably pushed ahead, despite having only just recovered from the sickness, bushing hard at the Italian on his serve to create five break points during the match.

But the Brit could not make good his opportunities, with the 2021 Wimbledon finalist showing that he is back on the up once again after his ranking dropped down to No 34 following a spate of injuries.

Frances Tiafoe shocked some fans yesterday as he appeared to throw up on the court during his first-round victory against Arthur Rinderknech.

He credited the moment to being ‘overly hydrated’ having ‘mixed a lot of electrolytes’ before claiming he hadn’t eaten since 10 o’clock, before going on to play for four hours.

It showed how much of a gruelling sport tennis really is, with pro players placing a huge emphasis on their nutrition and hydration to ensure they perform to the best standards while on the court.

In fact, Emma Raducanu has just revealed what she eats before a match to keep her functioning at the top.

It’s a very early wake-up call. I think for me I struggle to eat when I open my eyes first thing.

I actually was pretty light this morning. I just had some berries and a coffee before I practiced. After practice, I just had toast, like plain toast with honey and a banana. Pure carb-loading.

I couldn’t stomach some rice and salmon. I’ll be sure after this to get my salmon and take in for the day!

Emma Raducanu spoke after her victory on the changes she has made to her service game coming into the Australian Open.

Yeah, honestly I’m not sure what I changed in my serve today. I think it had a mind of its own…

I will be sure to reflect, look at that and come back to you.

Raducanu would serve out 15 double faults and while her first-serve percentage points won sat at a solid 67 per cent, her profitability off her second serve was much lower at 30 per cent.

I think in the first set I was hitting a lot of good first serves. I hit a few aces. At the same time I was hitting a [lot of] double faults.

I think as the balls got heavier it was a lot more difficult. As I think more kept coming it was not easy to refocus but I knew that even if I was down, I have great returns. It was good to be able to rely on other parts of my game today that I know are quite strong.

I’m just very proud that I didn’t let it affect me too much and let the match run away from me.

So, it seemed like Emma Raducanu has made some alterations to her service game coming into the Australian Open this week.

The British star got her tournament off to a flying start earlier this afternoon beating Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 7-6.

While she had to battle hard in the match, the 22-year-old played some of her best tennis to surpass Alexandrova in both tiebreaks.

But after making some tweaks, Raducanu appeared to struggle with her service game, double-faulting 15 times.

Mail Sport’s Matthew Lambert recaps on what was a great start from the British star.

Good afternoon (or good morning if you’re waking up in the United Kingdom)!

It’s a hot day here in Melbourne, it’s 26ºc but it feels way, way hotter out there.

On my travels this morning I’ve seen fans running through sprinklers and long queues outside the peach ice cream stand next to the Kia Arena.

It’s been a busy day on court too!

British fans will be excited to hear that Emma Raducanu has advanced to the second round of the Australian Open, beating Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 7-6.

We’ve also got some huge matches coming your way later today with newly-engaged couple, Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur in action!

First, though, let’s recap on Emma Raducanu’s win from today… here’s the moment she clinched victory!