Novak Djokovic brilliantly dominated a listless Andy Murray to claim his second Australian Open title on Sunday to confirm the arrival of a genuine third force at the top of men's tennis.
The 24-year-old Tunisian is the only player from the continent in the women's draw and only the second Arabic woman ever to crack the top 100 in the WTA rankings.
Novak Djokovic laid down an early marker ahead of the Australian Open with a scintillating performance on Tuesday as Serbia beat Australia to move closer to a place in the final of the Hopman Cup mixed team event. The world number three brushed aside former world number one Lleyton Hewitt 6-2, 6-4 to secure an unbeatable 2-0 lead for the top seeds after Ana Ivanovic eased to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Alicia Molik.
The game of tennis has "enough depth" to negate the absence of star players when the sport makes its debut at the Commonwealth Games, feels India's star player Sania Mirza.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world of sport last week, in 10 images.
Novak Djokovic continued his Wimbledon preparations by beating American Donald Young 6-2, 7-6(9) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Aegon International tournament at Eastbourne.
Pakistan will not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semi-final berth.
Jose Mourinho's side had paid lavish sums to bolster key areas by this time last year but, having claimed the title at a canter, the motto of this transfer window seems to be: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
A controversial penalty in the dying minutes cost Manchester United dear as they suffered another defeat after Leicester City fought back brilliantly to win 5-3 at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
World number one and top seed Rafa Nadal will launch his U.S. Open campaign against Russia's Teymuraz Gabashvili after the singles draw for the last grand slam of the year was made at Flushing Meadows on Thursday.
Losing Shane Watson early was the turning point of the match.
Juan Martin del Potro is unlikely to be fit enough to play in next month's Australian Open, the Argentine told a news conference on Tuesday.
As tradition demands the Serb will open play on Centre Court on Monday as defending men's champion but rather than a gentle loosener the 28-year-old faces a real danger in the form of Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, the world number 33.
Roger Federer said he was not worried by his shock defeat against Lleyton Hewitt on Sunday in Halle even though a disturbing trend is developing for the Swiss.
Leicester City sacked director of football Terry Robinson on Sunday as the Premier League's bottom side look to avoid another transfer window of disappointment.
'Now even winning our games does not guarantee us to be in the Champions League, that is what we have to achieve'
The battle to avoid relegation is now a straight shootout between Hull City and 17th-place Newcastle United, who are two points better off heading into Sunday's final round.
Queens Park Rangers striker Eduardo Vargas will be out of action for six weeks due to a knee ligament injury, the player's agent said on Monday.
The Indian arm of global FMCG major Unilever, Hindustan Unilever, was ranked at the fourth spot, Aditya Birla Group was at the sixth spot, Infosys Tech was ranked eighth and another IT major Wipro cornered the 10th slot.
Britain's rise from embarrassing Davis Cup lightweights to title contenders has been nothing short of spectacular and they will begin slight favourites to reach a first final in 37 years against Australia on Friday.
He has not won any tournament since the Australian Open in January. Last week, he even lost on grass. Will it be a different story at Wimbledon?
"We think Indian companies are getting ready for the revival and plan to hire strategically going forward. 2010 looks to be a good year from a salary increase perspective."
Blames mid-week Champions League win against Juve for 'mental pressure'
Sri Lanka will miss the services of paceman Lasith Malinga for about three-and-a-half months until early next year as the speedster has planned to get his troubled ankle treated in Australia.
David Warner's fitness coach Wayne Geber has revealed about the sacrifice that the explosive Australian opener had made in the last few years in order to transform himself into a successful batsman.
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi advanced to the semi-finals of the ATP Tour event in Casablanca, Morocco, after a straight sets win over Simon Greul and Peter Luczak. The Indo-Pak pair beat the German-Australian pair 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the euro 450,000 clay-court tournament.
Chelsea travel to Old Trafford to play Manchester United on Monday and Mourinho said he would miss the relationship he used to enjoy with their former manager Alex Ferguson, who retired at the end of last season.
Liverpool regained their place at the top of the English Premier League with a 2-0 win at Cardiff City on Sunday that restored their two-point lead over Manchester City
Two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter is to present Tennis Australia with plans to stop the national men's game from sliding into oblivion.
Chelsea and Everton have been charged by the FA after Wednesday's stormy Premier League encounter.
The toughness and guile that made Diego Simeone a great player has been there for all to see in his time as manager of Atletico Madrid, and the Argentinian marks his 300th game at the club with a major challenge on Sunday against Barcelona.
Serena Williams will try to take a step closer to history on Saturday when she plays her third-round match at the US Open.
World number ones Serena Williams and Roger Federer showed little gratitude to their hosts as they knocked out the last remaining home players on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Three-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic beat Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-3 in his first grasscourt match of the season on Wednesday to reach the third round at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
Spain eased past Australia to book their place in the final of the Hopman Cup on Thursday, dashing any hopes the hosts had of advancing with an emphatic 3-0 whitewash.
- 'It's probably been the best preparation I've ever had for Wimbledon because we have a week more on the grass' - 'This year I feel my game is better'
The turning point of the match has Kumar Sangakkara's wicket.
Despite the world number nine's withdrawal, a strong field is expected for the event, including Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov and Juan Martin del Potro, who have all confirmed their participation.
The top performer of the day has to be Mahela Jayawardene for his unbeaten 84 that put the game beyond Australia's grasp.
Arsenal enjoyed a 3-0 win in Azerbaijan against Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday and AC Milan beat Greece's Olympiakos Piraeus 3-1 but Sevilla suffered a shock defeat by Russians Krasnodar.
