Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
The world number one opens his defence against Alexander Bublik, a lucky loser ranked 134, on Centre Court in front of his home fans on Monday.
Named after France's second-most decorated female player, the arena is nestled among the area's graceful 19-century greenhouses.
Sabine Lisicki, the 2103 Wimbledon runner-up and former World No. 12, now on a comeback trail, found the going too tough against eighth seed Nao Hibino of Japan, losing in three sets in a first round match.
Serena Williams beat Germany's Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 to claim a seventh Wimbledon singles title and equal Steffi Graf's professional era record of 22 grand slam singles crowns on Saturday.
Murray, playing in his first Davis Cup tie since 2016 and only five months after returning to the sport following career-saving hip surgery, clawed out a 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(5) victory
A Sela double-fault secured Nadal the break of serve he needed in the first set and Nadal moved two sets clear with a punishing forehand return.
Heavier balls to blame for slower game: Nadal
As Russian Maria Sharapova and American Serena Williams get ready to slug it out in their big-ticket semi-final, records and history tells us who has had the upper hand.
World No 1 Serena Williams has backed Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki's accusations of ' sexist scheduling' at the Wimbledon Championships.
Reading out a reply to the government's talks offer during a press conference, farmers leaders said that they are ready for dialogue with an open mind if they get a concrete proposal, but made it clear they will not accept anything less than a complete repeal of the three agriculture laws and legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
Murray was slightly vexed by a question at the post-match news conference that suggested the fans' loyalties were more divided than if he were playing anyone but Federer.
Denis Shapovalov may not be old enough to drink in New York but is quickly becoming the toast of the Big Apple and the 18-year-old Canadian will again have a chance to light up the U.S. Open when he takes on Briton Kyle Edmund.
The Wimbledon tennis championships were cancelled for the first time since World War Two as the coronavirus pandemic wiped another blue-riband sports event off the calendar on Wednesday.
There was just gut-wrenching despair as Serbia's hopes slipped away in the cruellest fashion imaginable.
Novak Djokovic extended his unbeaten start to the season to 15 matches as he swatted aside German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-1 with ease on Wednesday to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-finals.
PHOTOS from day seven of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis in London on Tuesday.
An inspired Halep took full advantage of an error-strewn display by seven-time champion Williams to become the first Romanian to win the Wimbledon title.
Images from Day 1 at the Australian Open.
Both are in superb form and have yet to drop a set at this year's championship. Britain's Murray, the number one seed, will face 28th ranked Fabio Fognini from Italy while Spaniard Nadal will go up against Russian Karen Khachanov, ranked 30.
Murray, who took a wildcard into the seaside event as a fitness test for next week's Wimbledon, looked sharp on a sun-baked centre court and tasted victory for the first time since beating Benoit Paire in the last 16 of Wimbledon 350 days ago.
Factbox on Novak Djokovic's five Wimbledon titles
So prior to their Melbourne Park rematch, former champion Sharapova said she was primed and ready for another drawn out dog-fight against the 14th seed.
Norma Godinho has just about caught her breath after all the action at SW19 on Super Sunday. Here are Norma's memorable moments from this year's Wimbledon.
Roger Federer breezed back into action to reach the second round of the Dubai Open with a straightforward 6-1, 6-3 over erratic Frenchman Benoit Paire on Monday.
The emotional and financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic is weighing on Indian shuttler HS Prannoy's mind and he believes that the already "bleak" scenario would only get worse if things don't take a turn for the better in one and a half month's time. The coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 40,000 globally, has put countries in lockdown and halted sports, including badminton, across the world. It has also triggered financial and mental woes across the world.
"This is going to be a huge confidence boost and springboard for whatever is coming up and for the rest of my career."
It was a case of down but definitely not out as a Rafael Nadal kept picking himself off a slippery and dusty Centre Court surface to storm into the Wimbledon semi-finals with a pulsating 7-5, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 over Juan Martin del Potro.
Rafael Nadal was kept on Centre Court longer than he would have liked but that did not stop him from putting baby-faced Alex de Minaur firmly in his place with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win in the third round of Wimbledon on Saturday.
Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, arrived for the first day of Wimbledon on Monday with a dramatic new hairstyle to watch Andy Murray play his opening match.
The Swiss squandered seven set points in the opener and although he took the second on a tiebreak he capitulated in the decider after dropping serve at 1-2, losing 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-1.
Novak Djokovic dredged his tank of mental and physical resilience to claim a thrilling 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3) win.
With last year's French Open, her first Grand Slam title, under her belt, Simona Halep decided that 2019 would be "a chill year". Then, on Saturday, she stepped on to Wimbledon's Centre Court and obliterated the great Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 in 56 minutes to win the final.
Federer and world number one Nadal won the first three grand slam titles of the season as they came back to prominence with a bang, and nothing suggests their first-round opponents, American Frances Tiafoe and Serbian Dusan Lajovic, will bother them.
Sharapova was granted a wildcard entry to the last Grand Slam of the season but received a tough first-round draw in the shape of Romanian Halep.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.
A 20-year-old Sikh man was kicked out of an overnight queue to watch the Wimbledon tennis championships as he apparently made other people around him "uncomfortable".
The 20-year-old, free of a shoulder injury that forced her out of qualifying for last week's Hobart tournament, won her first match at the Australian Open at her fourth attempt with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Germany's Annika Beck.
Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori pulled out of Wimbledon before his second round match on Wednesday after failing to recover from a calf strain.
His great rival Roger Federer had already maintained his regal progress earlier on the showcourt and Serena Williams then followed with another thumping win.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances