Linda Pearce is the Chief Tennis Writer and general sports reporter for The Age. She writes about a range of sports, including football, netball, and gymnastics. Linda has twice been named Australian tennis writer of the year.
Bernard Tomic's replacement Jordan Thompson made a winning start to his Davis Cup career, passing the baton and a 1-0 lead to Nick Kyrgios, who extended it to 2-0 with Usain Bolt-like speed. The first round tie against the Czech Republic could be over by Saturday afternoon. Bernie who?
While Nick Kyrgios may be this weekend's headline act at Kooyong, John Peers is quietly making news of his own.
Debutant Jordan Thompson has been drawn to begin Australia's Davis Cup world group first-round tie with Czech Republic at Kooyong on Friday morning.
In the same room where, 11 months earlier, his Davis Cup commitment was questioned by Bernard Tomic, Nick Kyrgios passed judgment on his erstwhile teammate before this week's first-round Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic
Nick Kyrgios is positive about the improvement in his knee injury, and optimistic about the impact of the Davis Cup environment on a career that resumes this week after his Australian Open meltdown.
Roger Federer has ranked his 2017 Australian Open triumph and the 2009 French Open title that finally completed his grand slam set as two of his most significant and emotional career achievements.
He wasn't finished, after all. Roger Federer's grand slam-winning days were not done. More than four years after his most recent success, at Wimbledon, a secondary result of Federer's 18th major title – and possibly his greatest victory – is the improbability that his great nemesis Rafael Nadal can catch him now.
Rafael Nadal believes good things are still possible for him on hardcourts, having only narrowly failed to win his first title on the surface in three years in Sunday night's Australian Open final against Roger Federer.
Given that few saw it coming, the question now is which way the dream Australian Open men's final will go. The slick court surface combined with an extended recovery time from a less physical semi-final point to Roger Federer over Rafael Nadal, according to several former greats, while others have declared the contest too close to call.
Serena Williams insists she has given no thought to the calendar-year grand slam that would complete her fabulous CV, having just marked off another achievement that she believes adds to the discussion about who is the Greatest Of All Time.
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