Zverev shakes off Tien to enter Australian Open semis
The German was runner-up to Jannik Sinner last year and is set to face either Carlos Alcaraz or Alex de Minaur in what woud be his fourth last four appearance at Melbourne Park.
New Delhi: Third seed Alexander Zverev Learner Tien 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1 7-6(3) to advance to the semi-finals of Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
The German was runner-up to Jannik Sinner last year and is set to face either Carlos Alcaraz or Alex de Minaur in what woud be his fourth last four appearance at Melbourne Park.
"Learner, from the baseline, was playing unbelievable," Zverev said after service 24 aces and one double fault during his win.
"I don't think I've played anyone who plays that well from the baseline for a very, very long time. I don't know what (Tien's coach) Michael Chang has done with him in the off-season, but the way he's playing it's incredible.
"Without my 20 aces, or something like that, I probably wouldn't have won today, so obviously very happy with my serve. And just generally happy to be back in the semis."
Ban on wearable fitness trackers raises eyebrows
Aryna Sabalenka hopes Australian Open would allow players to wear fitness trackers after they were asked to remove them before coming onto court in the ongoing tournament.
While wearable trackers are allowed at most tournaments and approved by the International Tennis Federation, Grand Slams have not cleared them for use during matches.
In Melbourne, Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and other players have been asked to remove them before playing.
"The reason why I was wearing that on court, because we received the email that we got approval from the ITF to wear this device," Sabalenka said.
"The whole year we are wearing -- on WTA tournaments, all the tournaments I play -- we wear Whoop. It's just for tracking my health.
"I don't understand why Grand Slams have not allowed us to wear it. I really hope that they will reconsider the decision and let their players track their health monitor."
Tennis Australia said they are looking into the matter even as Sinner said he uses it for performance data collection to improve training sessions.
"Wearables are currently not permitted at Grand Slams. The Australian Open is involved in ongoing discussions on how this situation could change," Tennis Australia told Reuters.
Fitness tracking device company Whoop's CEO Will Ahmed insisted it doesn't pose a health risk.
"We will fight this so athletes can have the data they need," he said on X.