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MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) – Teenager Shang Juncheng created a slice of history Monday by becoming the first male Chinese player to win an Australian Open main draw singles match. The gifted 17-year-old, a qualifier, battled past Germany’s Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 7-5 in nearly three hours of intense tennis to progress. After saving two break points in the opening set, he did not face another as he sealed the win on his third match […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the ATP Cup in Sydney, organisers said on Wednesday, heightening doubts about his vaccination status and whether he will defend his Australian Open title. “World No.1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the 2022 ATP Cup. Team Serbia will now be led by world No.33 Dusan Lajovic,” organisers said in a statement ahead of Saturday’s start to the tournament. There has been intense speculation as to whether […]
BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Novak Djokovic said Australian Open organizers should consider delaying the first Grand Slam of the year if haze from bush-fires raging around the country threatens players’ health. The opening major of 2020 is due to start at Melbourne Park on January 20 and the city was blanketed by smoke from blazes burning to the east on Saturday, compromising air quality. Djokovic, president of the ATP players council, said in the early […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Japanese fourth seed Naomi Osaka edged past 13th seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in three sets Monday to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals. The US Open champion triumphed 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a last eight clash with Ukrainian sixth seed Elina Svitolina and keep alive her dream of a second successive Grand Slam title. It is the second time in a row the 21-year-old had been forced to come […]
by Martin PARRY Agence France Presse MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Serena Williams’ relentless drive towards an eighth Australian Open title cranked up another gear Saturday with a third round drubbing, as Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina survived big scares to stay in the hunt. On day six at Melbourne Park, the 23-time Grand Slam winner crushed Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-1 before consoling her at the net as she burst into tears. The 37-year-old, […]
by Neil SANDS Agence France Presse MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Maria Sharapova denied revenge was a motivating factor behind her shock win over defending Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki on Friday. The five-time Grand Slam winner dumped the Dane from the tournament in a three-set thriller 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to claim her biggest scalp since completing a drugs ban in 2017. At the time, world number three Wozniacki was an outspoken critic of the way […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Maria Sharapova has declared herself the underdog in her blockbuster third round clash with Australian Open defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, despite having five Grand Slam titles to the Dane’s one. Sharapova has struggled since returning from a drugs ban in 2017 and is seeded 30th at the tournament, while Wozniacki is third seed after claiming her maiden major at Melbourne Park last year. But the 31-year-old Russian has been in sizzling […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Serena Williams kickstarts her bid to match Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles on Tuesday in her first return to Melbourne Park since winning in 2017 while eight weeks pregnant. The American giant, now 37, has kept a low profile in the lead-up to the opening Grand Slam of the year, avoiding any pre-tournament press conferences to focus on her game. Seeded 16, she opens against Germany’s Tatjana Maria […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — World number one Novak Djokovic exposed Andy Murray’s frailties in a practice match ahead of the Australian Open on Thursday, with the Scot calling it a day while losing 6-1, 4-1. Three-time major winner Murray is on the comeback trail after missing 11 months with a hip injury which has seen him slump to 230 in the world. He was bundled out of the Brisbane International warm-up last week in round […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — World number ones Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep were named top seeds on Thursday for next week’s Australian Open, with 23-time major winner Serena Williams lurking at 16 on the women’s side. Djokovic heads long-time rival Rafael Nadal and defending champion Roger Federer, with young-gun Alexander Zverev seeded four as he targets a maiden Grand Slam title. The Serbian world number one is aiming to make history by claiming a record […]
by Daniel HICKS Agence France Presse MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Former world number one Andy Murray’s ranking dropped as low as 839 during 2018 as he played only six tournaments, with the Scot arriving in Melbourne looking to prove he can compete again at the top level. The three-time major winner and double Olympic champion pulled out of last year’s Australian Open to have hip surgery and only returned in June on grass at Queen’s […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Serena Williams will make her return to the Australian Open for the first time since winning in 2017 when eight-weeks pregnant, it was confirmed Wednesday, with virtually all the world’s top 100 players due at Melbourne Park. That includes injury-prone Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Williams returned from giving birth to her first child to reach the 2018 Wimbledon and US Open finals, but suffered upset losses in both to leave […]
