'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Ash Barty was the crowd favourite at Melbourne Park long before she ended a 42-year drought by reaching the Australian Open final.
Danielle Collins said it'll be "spectacular" to take on the women's No. 1-ranked player in the final of her home Grand Slam event on Saturday.
The 28-year-old American got a little taste of what to expect in her first Grand Slam final as she left the court on Thursday following her 6-4, 6-1 semifinal win over seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek.
Barty beat Madison Keys 6-1, 6-3 in 62 minutes in the first of the semifinals, and Collins wrapped up the night by beating 2020 French Open champion Swiatek in 78 minutes.
Predictably, there were boos after Collins finished her on-court TV interview. Not too loud or long, but an indication of things to come nonetheless.
Barty won her first major title on clay at Roland Garros in 2019 and her second on grass at Wimbledon last year. Now that she's become the first Australian woman into the final here since Wendy Turnbull in 1980, Barty has a good chance to claim her first on a hard court. She's only too aware, though, that no Australian woman since Chris O'Neil in 1978 has won the singles title here.
"As an Aussie, we're exceptionally spoiled we get to play in our own backyard," the 25-year-old Barty said. "Now we have a chance to play for a title. It's unreal."
Barty lost to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in 2020 the last time she reached the Australian Open semifinals. She said she's learned from that kind of pressure as much as winning other Grand Slams.
"Absolutely embrace it," she said of the home expectations. "You have to. It's fun. It's brilliant to be playing in the business end of your home Slam. I'm not gonna lie about that -- it's amazing."
Keys is just the latest in a line of rivals to explain how she had few answers to Barty's slice backhand and wide variety of serves.
Barty hit 20 winners to only eight for Keys, who was playing in the Australian Open semifinals for the first time since 2015. She lost that year to eventual champion Serena Williams, who was the last No. 1 seed to win the women's title at Melbourne Park.
Barty converted four of her six break-point opportunities and saved the only two break points she faced on her serve against the 2017 U.S. Open champion runner-up. In six matches so far at the tournament, she has dropped one service game.
The 27th-seeded Collins relies on a power game and imposes a relentless energy on every contest.
Her forehand cross-court winner to set up her first match points was typical of her semifinal form. She hit 27 winners and had only 13 unforced errors. She opened each set with a break of serve and raced to 4-0 leads both times.
Collins delayed her professional career by playing in the U.S. college system, and said it gave her a good grounding in handling what she calls "adverse" crowds.
Playing in empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic has given her an appreciation of crowds, whether the fans support her, are against her or are neutral.
"That's something that I really thrive in, whether I have a full crowd going for me or whether I have the opposite," she said. "I really just love the energy. I'm just really excited to go out there and compete.
"I realize that there is going to be a lot of people supporting Ash. It's all in good spirit."
Collins' run to the semifinals in 2019 was her best previous result at a Grand Slam tournament. After undergoing surgery last year to treat endometriosis, she's in less pain and said she's in better shape to win.
Keys was on a career-best 10-match winning streak ahead of the semifinals, including a run to the title in a tune-up tournament in Adelaide -- her first WTA title since 2019. Her full tally of 11 match wins this month already equals her total for 2021, when she dropped into the 50s in the rankings. She's expected to return to the top 30 next week.
The stadium was limited to two-thirds capacity, with the state government allowing an increase from the earlier 50% restriction on ticketed courts late this week as part of the easing of rules in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most of the support in the first match, obviously, was for Barty. Chants of "Let's go Barty, Let's go!" -- combined with coordinated clapping -- were regular at each changeover, with pockets of fans wearing the yellow shirt synonymous with the Australian player scattered around arena. Rod Laver, the aging Australian tennis great, was in the stadium himself.
While Barty is one win away from giving the host nation a title, there's a guaranteed win in another competition.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, dubbed "Special K," ensured an all-Australian men's doubles final with 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over third-seeded Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in a nearly full Rod Laver Arena. Fans were allowed into the main stadium with grounds passes during the day session and didn't need stadium tickets for the afternoon session.
On a near-empty adjoining Margaret Court Arena, Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell beat the second-seeded team of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-3, 7-6 (9).
Also on Day 11, Dylan Alcott's farewell tournament ended with a loss in the wheelchair quad final to Sam Schroder of the Netherlands.
Alcott was named Australian of the Year at celebrations for the national day and attended a ceremony in the capital of Canberra between his win in the semifinals and the final.
Alcott retires with 15 Grand Slam titles in wheelchair quad. He completed an unprecedented Golden Slam last year, winning all four majors as well as the Tokyo Paralympics gold medal.
After her win, Barty paid tribute: "He's inspired a nation ... I couldn't be more proud of him."
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.