- Francis Bacon, the British statesman who died in 1626, would have liked this Australian Open. There are eight singles players left in Melbourne, with eight different passports, who speak over nine languages including Australian. Only two have won this Open before, one contender is only 21 (Sofia Kenin) and another is 38 (you know who). "Nothing is pleasant," wrote Bacon, "that is not spiced with variety."
Francis Bacon, the British statesman who died in 1626, would have liked this Australian Open. There are eight singles players left in Melbourne, with eight different passports, who speak over nine languages including Australian. Only two have won this Open before, one contender is only 21 (Sofia Kenin) and another is 38 (you know who). “Nothing is pleasant,” wrote Bacon, “that is not spiced with variety.”
Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem probably agree. The beanpole, blingy German and the ball-damaging Austrian provided their own variety by ensuring the men’s semi-finals aren’t another European Pensioners Convention. Federer, 38, and Novak Djokovic, 32, are still there but Zverev, 22, sent home Stan Wawrinka, 34, and Thiem, 26, held off Rafael Nadal, 33. Generations are guaranteed to collide in the final.
