Australian duo Aleksander Vukic and Alex Bolt reached the quarter-finals in straight sets at ATP Newport, while in Palermo, Astra Sharma reached the quarter-finals at WTA level for the first time since 2022.
Newport, USA, July 18, 2024 | Matt Trollope
Newport, United States
Alex Bolt beat fifth seed Brandon Nakashima in Newport to advance to the quarter-finals alongside Australia’s Aleksander Vukic.
Bolt, a qualifier, won his fourth straight match on the Rhode Island grass field to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in the storied ATP 250 event.
His 7-6(2) 6-4 win over Nakashima, the highest-ranked player he has beaten in 2024, means he has won 12 of his last 15 matches on grass since early June.
He is scheduled to play the winner of the match between second seed Marcos Girron and Frenchman Benoit Peret.
Earlier in the day, Bukić put on an impressive performance against American wild card Elliot Spiziri.
With 22 wins and just eight earned runs allowed, Vukic won 6-2 7-6(3) to set up a quarterfinal match against fourth seed Christopher Eubanks.
Like Bolt, Vukic has also impressed on grass since Roland Garros, reaching the semi-finals at Eastbourne and the quarter-finals at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Newport.
He also reached the second round at Wimbledon and has won 10 of his 16 grass-court matches this year.
Australians in action – Newport
result
Men’s Singles Round 2
[6] Aleksandar Vukic (Australia) d [WC] Elliot Speechley (USA) 6-2 7-6(3)
[Q] Alex Bolt (Australia) d [5] Brandon Nakashima (USA) 7-6(2) 6-4
Men’s Doubles 1st Round
[WC] Robert Cash (USA)/James Tracy (USA) d [3] John Patrick Smith (Australia)/Diego Hidalgo (ECU) 6-2 7-5
Coming soon
Men’s Singles Quarterfinals
[6] Aleksandar Vukic (Australia) V [4] Christopher Eubanks (USA)
[Q] Alex Bolt (Australia) v undecided
Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) V [2] Julian Cash (GBR)/Robert Galloway (USA)
Palermo, Italy
Astra Sharma has reached the quarterfinals of a WTA tournament for the first time since 2022 after a win over the Australian national team.
Sharma beat Ayla Tomljanovic 6-4 3-6 6-1 in Palermo to reach the quarter-finals for the second time after reaching the same stage in 2021.
In the pair’s first match, Sharma was immediately broken in the final set but bounced back to win six games in a row.
She will face Karolina Muchova for her first WTA semifinal since Charleston 2021.
Australians in action – Palermo
result
Women’s Singles Round 2
Astra Sharma (Australia) d Ayla Tomljanovic (Australia) 6-4 3-6 6-1
Women’s Doubles 1st Round
Yvonne Cavale-Reimers (ESP)/Aurora Zantedeschi (ITA) d Lucia Broncetti (ITA)/Olivia Gadecki (Australia) Through workover
Coming soon
Women’s Singles Quarterfinals
Astra Sharma (Australia) V [2] Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic)
Budapest, Hungary
Ellen Perez won her second match in two days to team up with Timea Babos and reach the semi-finals in Budapest.
Perez and Babos played their first tournament together as a team, again defeating Chinese duo Tang Chenhui and Wang Xiyu in a match tiebreak.
Perez will represent Australia in the women’s doubles alongside Daria Saville, and is enjoying positive results on clay as she heads into the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Australians in action – Budapest
result
Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals
[1] Timea Babos (HUN)/Ellen Perez (Australia) d Tang Qianhui(CHN)/Wang Xiyu(CHN) 7-6(6) 2-6 [10-7]
Coming soon
Women’s Doubles Semifinals
[1] Timea Babos (HUN)/Ellen Perez (Australia) v undecided
Find out how to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au Get out there and have fun!
