Time to prepare your pipes for that never-dying “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chant.

Aussie junior Emerson Jones is at the forefront of any conversation about the future of women’s tennis in Australia. And in some good news, you can watch her in action today.

The 16-year-old didn’t get to finish her girls’ quarter-final on Thursday due to bucketing rain (classic Melbourne).

She’s back on court 3 at noon, and although she has a hill to climb as she’s 4-1 down in the first set, we already know she’s a fighter.

Meanwhile, wheelchair doubles star Heath Davidson is playing in a semi-final at noon on Margaret Court Arena.

He’s a four-time Australian Open doubles champion, all partnering Dylan Alcott, but now has teamed up world No.5 Canadian Robert Shaw.

They are up against the United Kingdom’s Andy Lapthorne and USA’s David Wagner.

Novak Djokovic steps out on Rod Laver Arena in a few hours to face Italian Jannik Sinner in the semi-final.

While we don’t know what’s going through the 10-time Open champ’s mind, women’s finalist Qinwen Zheng reckons he’s relaxed before big matches, and she’d like to copy his style.

Earlier this week, Zheng told reporters of the pair’s brief chat before the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park.

“You know, he came to say hi to me, so chill. Looks like he doesn’t have a match. Because me, before a match, I’m really focused, and I don’t want to talk with anyone,” Zheng said.

“I really want to learn that chill from the top players because I think that is what I’m missing.”

Zheng will be needing all the cool in the world against defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who is on fire and keen to defend her Open title when the pair meet on Saturday.

Australian tennis is experiencing a doubles renaissance, and Matthew Ebden and Storm Hunter are two of the driving forces behind it.

Hunter stormed to the women’s world No.1 doubles ranking late last year and now Australian tennis stalwart Ebden is right there at the top of the tree, too.

Hunter’s Australian Open women’s doubles quest ended agonisingly on Thursday, but Ebden is gunning for a third major title this weekend.

Two years after being denied by the Special Ks – Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis – 36-year-old Ebden has another chance to claim an elusive Australian Open men’s doubles title after reaching the final with Indian Rohan Bopanna.

They’ll be up against Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.

Read about Ebden’s road to the final here.

“Whatever happens, I’m happy to be out there competing for grand slam titles,” he said.

Then there were two.

On Saturday, 12th seed Qinwen Zheng and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will go head-to-head in the women’s singles final for the grand slam title and trophy.

But how did we get here? The road to the final was paved with big contenders, early exits and exciting runs from youngsters.

Take a look here:

Novak Djokovic says he won’t retire any time soon and he loves coming to Australia for the Open.

In the preview of an extended interview with Today’s Karl Stefanovic to air on Monday on Nine, the world No. 1 laughed off a question about his deportation saga of 2022.

Speaking of how much Melbourne and the Open meant to him, he said: “I wanted to say I’ve enjoyed myself every single year but one year.”

Earlier, he said coming to Melbourne meant a lot to him because of the success he has had here.

“Every time I step out on Rod Laver Arena, the memories of previous years and everything I’ve been through [come out],” he said.

“It’s multicultural, on the water, beautiful parks, beautiful weather… people excited about sport, tennis.”

Djokovic also spoke of how much he missed his children, Stefan, 9, and Tara, 6, while on tour.

“I do struggle with that more and more as time goes on. Australia is a long trip, probably the longest one we have in the whole year. Being away for five weeks is quite a lot … My daughter’s first tooth went out and I wasn’t there for that… But at the same time, it’s all about balance,” he said.

The 10-time Open champion also touched on difficulties Serbia went through when he was a child in the 90s.

“We’ve been through two wars, embargo for four years… no Serbian athlete could travel abroad for competitions,” he said.

“In this kind of circumstance, when you grow up and face adversity, it toughens you up and makes you more appreciative of the value of life and everything you’ve been given.”

Jelena Dokic’s interview with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka after her semi-final victory against American Coco Gauff is making headlines around the world.

Dokic, a former world No. 4 and domestic violence survivor, who interviewed Sabalenka after the match on Thursday night, asked the defending Open champion to sign a towel, adding:

“We will auction it off for kids and women affected by domestic violence.” Sabalenka signed two towels.

In her first book, Unbreakable, Dokic detailed how she had suffered years of abuse at the hands of her now-estranged father Damir, including when she was a top 10 player competing at Wimbledon.

The Open does not have a domestic violence policy, but questions have been put to players following revelations that Germany’s world No. 6 Alexander Zverev, who plays Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the men’s semi-finals tonight, would face trial in Germany on domestic violence allegations.

It is the latest in a series of claims against Zverev, all of which he has consistently denied.

This masthead is not suggesting that Jelena Dokic’s gesture on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday is related to Zverev.

Dokic posted the clip of the video to her Instagram account, attracting wide praise from followers, many of whom shared her post. Some fans have made a link to Zverev, with the most-liked comment on the post being “slight dig at Zverev”.

In the UK, the Telegraph reported that Zverev’s success at the Open had brought the lack of tennis’ policy on domestic violence into sharp focus. It said that if Zverev won the title on Sunday, his off-court situation would become a PR disaster for the ATP and Tennis Australia.

“To add another issue to the mix, this past month Zverev was also elected by his fellow players to the ATP Player Council. It means he could well have input into the ATP’s plans for the domestic abuse policy”, the Telegraph reported.

Zverev has said he had no reason to stand aside from the leadership role, and he believed he had the confidence of his tennis colleagues to continue.

Alright, Open fans, I want to know how you’ve been finding this year’s tournament. Drop a line in the comments, if you’d dare.

Last week, Neil McMahon, wrote for us about how the queues, and queues, and then more queues, combined with some late scheduling and ticket prices, was starting to take some shine off the tournament for long-term fans.

“Crowds were so large on the opening days and nights that the experience was often more jostle than joy. The crowds felt more vast and unrelenting and that vibe – that it might all be getting a bit much – is borne out by the hard numbers,” he wrote.

However, social media has been painted with the blue colours of the Open as young people flock to Melbourne Park and post about it on every platform, seemingly having a great time. (Guilty).

While personally, I don’t love a past 2am finish, I don’t mind a tennis ball shaped cake from Brunetti’s while watching a quality match, either.

So, what are your thoughts? What’s worked, what hasn’t? Who’s been exciting (Qinwen Zheng, anyone?) and who… hasn’t?

What’s been the best dish, the most over-priced? Let’s have a chat.

A frosty look-away handshake and a toilet break perceived as gamesmanship contributed to the simmering on-court feud between Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, which is set to resume in the Australian Open semi-finals at Rod Laver Arena on Friday night.

Medvedev won five of the six matches between the pair last year, but Zverev believes he is well-placed to conquer the enigmatic Russian after tipping Spanish prodigy Carlos Alcaraz out of the Open in the quarter-finals on Wednesday night.

Zverev, who is set to stand trial on domestic violence charges in May, is aiming to win his first grand slam title at Melbourne Park. He said that, when he lost to Medvedev last year, he was still recovering from a gruesome ankle injury – having torn three ligaments during a 2022 Roland-Garros semi-final.

Their rivalry is covered in the second series of Netflix’s Break Point docuseries, where Zverev criticises Medvedev’s on-court tactics. The feud flared during their match at the Monte Carlo Masters last April, when Zverev took exception to Medvedev leaving the court for a bathroom break. At the time, the German described his opponent as “one of the most unfair players in the world”.

Read the full article here.

What do we think, tennis fans, are we in for some on-court antics and tempers to flare tonight when these two go head-to-head on Rod Laver Arena?