Weekend Tennis Roundup

Was looking forward to alt-right poster boy Tennys Sandgren's Australian Open points falling off this month only to have him win his first ATP Tour singles title Saturday, beating Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the weak-fielded ASB Classic. 

Despite my despair over the final's outcome, what the field was lacking in depth it more than made up for in eye candy, starting with the British runner-up, whose quarterfinal against Taylor Fritz was a jizzfest. Norrie also defeated dreamy Joao Sousa and Jan-Lennard "All the Right" Struff. (Stevie "The 'Stache" Johnson, Marco Cecchinato and Matteo Berrettini were also in Auckland, but lost early.) 

And speaking of Struff, he and Ben McLachlan took out Raven Klaasen and hot-ass Michael Venus 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles final. 

Over in Sydney they almost had two home-grown champions. Alex de Minaur defeated Andreas Seppi 7-5, 7-6(5) for his first ATP title. Seppi had the harder road to the final, knocking out top-seeded Stefanos Tsitispas and third-seeded Diego Schwartzman, before coming up short versus Lleyton Hewitt's star pupil. 

Meanwhile, Ash Barty crushed Jelena Ostapenko, top-seeded Simona Halep (who has now lost her first match in her past four tournaments), Elise Mertens and Kiki Bertens and won the first set 6-1 against Petra Kvitova before the Czech managed to crawl her way back into the match, winning 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(3). It was a hot and humid day that saw Petra doubled over between points and repeatedly double faulting, yet somehow playing her best when it mattered most. Kvitova has now won her last eight finals -- but has has very little success in the majors. Will that change this year?

The hurting Murray family got some good news this week, with Jamie winning the men's doubles with Bruno Soares over top-seeded Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, 6-4, 6-3.

It wasn't the result the Colombia duo was hoping for. But at least Robert got to spend some time with his god sons and their BIG-ASSED DADDY.

And finally in Tasmania, the WTA reports that American Sofia Kenin finished off a fortnight of perfect preparation for the Australian Open on Saturday. The 20-year-old rolled to her first-ever WTA singles title at the Hobart International against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-3, 6-0, for her second tour-level crown in as many weeks to begin 2019. 

 Kenin partnered Eugenie Bouchard to win her first WTA doubles title at the ASB Classic in the season's opening week in Auckland, and needed just one hour and 11 minutes to add a first career singles title to her mantle in her tournament debut.

P.S.

It's Sunday night in New York as I compile this, so that means the Australian Open is on for the next two weeks at Casa de Walsh. We're already perving on Adrian Mannarino's coach, Jean-Christophe Faurel, and James Duckworth's HUGE ASS.

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