Serena Williams ended the fairytale run of Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the Australian Open on Thursday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 win that set up a final against her sister Venus.
Garbine Muguruza swapped her rackets for crampons and headed to Tanzania with a friend to climb 5,895 metre (19,340 feet) Mount Kilimanjaro, a five-day expedition in which she scaled
Five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova cut a forlorn figure in the post-match press conference as she was questioned about her injury problems.
Derara Hurisa wasn't the favourite for Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020 but the Ethiopian upset the odds to win in a course record of 2:08:09 in Mumbai on Sunday. Hurisa was rewarded with his biggest ever pay day, a US$45,000 winners cheque and a US$15,000 course record bonus. The amount he picked up on Sunday for his stunning win was more than he had pocketed across his entire career. In addition, the race was won with a pair of borrowed racing shoes. "I misplaced my shoes while travelling from Addis Ababa to Mumbai earlier in the week. So I borrowed some shoes from my friend Abraham Girma (who also ran the Tata Mumbai Marathon). So I only tried them on for the first time yesterday," Hurisa revealed after the race. In a thrilling finish to the 17th edition of TMM, three men approached the last kilometre together, but Hurisa went through the gears as the trio passed that check point and he pulled away from his compatriots Ayele Abshero and Birhanu Teshome. Abshero and Teshome finished second and third respectively in a time of 2:08:20 and 2:08:26, both coming inside the previous course record of 2:08:35. Prior to Sunday, 22-year-old Hurisa's most notable achievement was winning the silver medal in the African Cross Country Championships U20 race four years ago. This was Hurisa's second international win, the other being a low-key half marathon in Turkey in 2017. The men's race started at a pace which indicated a course record was on the cards, and the weather was several degrees cooler. A large group of 18 men, including pacemakers, sped through the 10km marker in 30.01, 20km in 1:00:35 and hit the halfway mark in 1:03:52. However, as the second half of the race progressed, the runners started to regularly drop off the back of the leading pack with the leaders passing 30km in 1:30:52 although eight men still remained in contention at 35km. As the runners passed the 36km marker, Teshome put his head down and started pumping his arms, attempting to almost sprint away from his rivals. It was a short-lived surge but it had the effect of splintering what remained of the pack. With four kilometres left, Hurisa, Abshero and Teshome still had Uganda's 2013 Mumbai Marathon winner Jackson Kiprop for company and their Ethiopian compatriot Abera Kuma, after going through a bad patch, was back in contention. First Abera and then Kiprop broke off with three kilometres to go, but the Ethiopian trio stayed together, testing each other, until Harisa made his decisive move. Kenya's defending champion Cosmas Lagat had much earlier dropped out injured at around 14 kilometres. In the women's race, Amane Beriso stormed back after a 15-month injury-induced absence from competition to win the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020 in a time of 2:24:51. Despite being 38 seconds adrift of race leader Kenya's Rodah Jepkorir at the 30km checkpoint, with Ethiopia's defending champion Worknesh Alemu drifting back off the lead and shortly to drop out, over the next kilometre Beriso reeled in Jepkorir and then overhauled the 2019 winner of the Gold Coast and Buenos Aires Marathons. Once out on her own, Beriso was never challenged and, despite looking extremely tired over the final few kilometres, she came home more than two minutes clear of Jepkorir who crossed the line second in 2:27:14 with Ethiopia's marathon debutante Haven Hailu third in 2:28:56. "I was nervous to start because I had spent so long without racing, but I started to feel confident at about 31 kilometres and I was certain I could win from about 36 kilometres," said Beriso. "With a kilometre to go, my (male) pacemaker Sylvester Kiptoo was pointing at his watch and was telling me I could still get the course record but I was tired. I tried but I couldn't do it," she added. Nevertheless, Beriso will go into the record books as the second fastest woman in Mumbai Marathon's history, despite finishing 18 seconds outside the 2014 course record of Kenya's Valentine Kipketer. Results: Men 1. Derara Hurisa (ETH) 2:08:09 2. Ayele Abshero (ETH) 2:08:20 3. Birhanu Teshome (ETH) 2:08:26 4. Jackson Kiprop (UGA) 2:08:41 5. Abdi Ali (BRN) 2:08:56 Women 1. Amane Beriso (ETH) 2:24:51 2. Rodah Jepkorir (KEN) 2:27:14 3. Haven Hailu (ETH) 2:28:55 4. Fetale Dejene (ETH) 2:30:11 5. Maeregu Hayelom (ETH) 2:31:26. Srinu Bugatha, Sudha Singh win Indian Elite category Army man Srinu Bugatha and defending champion Sudha Singh won the Indian Elite athlete men and womens category respectively in the 17th edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon held on Sunday. Arjuna Awardee Sudha Singh clinched the title with a timing of 2:45:30s. "My aim was for a hat-trick this year. The route was also good. I attained my best timings last year but the climate was humid and hot, whereas the weather was more suitable this time. My overall experience was good. I want to thank my coach Bijendra Singh," Sudha said on her performance. Overall Sudha stood 10th in the Marathon, which was won by Ethiopian Amane Beriso, clocking 2:24:51. First time full marathon runner and Army man, Srinu Bugatha finished first among Indian runners by clocking 2:18:44. "I am thankful to my pacers for their help. I am happy but I feel I would have clocked a better timing than this. My pace dropped at the last kilometre and I couldn't make a proper recovery from that. Regardless, I am looking forward to performing better in my upcoming marathons," he said. Srinu's overall ranking stood at 13th, with a gap of 10:35 seconds between him and Derara Hurisa, the winner of the International Elite Full Marathon. Sher Singh, who was participating for the first time in the Tata Mumbai Marathon, finished second clocking a timing of 2:24:00. Sher said, "I started the race with Srinu Bugatha and kept my pace along with him steadily till 35km after which I slowed down. The route was good but the weather was quite humid." Durga Bahadur Budha, also from the Army, finished third with a timing of 2:24:03 among Indian runners. "At present, I'm not practicing for marathons regularly. Mostly the only form of training I do is my army training. Also, an injurykept me away from the marathon scene last year. So, I am personally happy with my timings," Durga said. Among Indian runners, Jyoti Gawate emerged runner-up clocking a timing of 2:49:14, while Shyamali Singh from West Bengal attained the 3rdposition in the Indian Elite women category with a timing of 2:58:44. Sudha Singh and Jyoti Gawate ran together till the 30km mark, post which Sudha took the lead. Meanwhile, in the women's elite half marathon, Parul Chaudhary finished winner, breaking the course record by clocking 1:15:37. Aarti Patil and Monika Athare secured 2ndand 3rd position with timings of 1:18:03 and 1:18:33 respectively. Chaudhary pocketed an additional Rs 1.50 lakh bonus amount as course record jackpot. In the men's elite half marathon, Tirtha Pun emerged winner, finishing the race in 1:05:39s. Securing the runner-up position, Man Singh clocked the timing of 1:06:06, while Balliappa AB finished third with the timing of 1:07:11s. Mumbai Marathon: 64-year-old runner dies of heart attack A 64-year-old man died after suffering a heart attack while running in the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020 on Sunday morning, officials said. Gajendra Manjalkar, a of Nalasopara from the neighbouring Palghar district, who had been participating in the marathon for last four years, came to Mumbai to participate in the latest edition of the run on Sunday. He collapsed while running the marathon a police official said. He was later taken to Bombay Hospital in south Mumbai where doctors declared him brought dead, he said. Talking to PTI, Dr Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician at Bombay Hospital, said 10 to 12 people were brought to the hospital with various complaints, including dehydration. "Manjalkar was declared dead on arrival. He died due to a heart attack," Bhansali said. The body was sent to GT Hospital for a postmortem, he added. "An accidental death report has been registered at Marine Drive police station. Further probe is underway," Deputy Commissioner of Police Pranay Ashok told PTI. Besides, a runner, Sanjay Bafna (51), was undergoing treatment for brain stroke, while angioplasty was performed on another participant, identified as Himanshu Thakkar (47), at the Bombay Hospital, Bhansali said, adding that both of them were currently recuperating. Over 55,000 runners participated in the 17th edition of Tata Mumbai Marathon on Sunday.
'I don't see him in any way stressed. He won't be completely destroyed if Rafa makes the 20'
Maria Sharapova's hopes of a title-winning return to the Australian Open were unceremoniously crushed by Angelique Kerber as the battle of the former champions ended 6-1, 6-3 in the German's favour.
A ruthless Petra Kvitova trampled on the hopes of the host nation with an emphatic 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Ashleigh Barty to reach her second Australian Open semi-final.
Frances Tiafoe is hopeful to build on his own stature in the game as he prepares for an Australian Open quarter-final clash with Rafael Nadal on Tuesday.
Simona Halep begins her Australian Open campaign against Kaia Kanepi on Tuesday in a rematch of their U.S. Open meeting which the world number one lost in straights sets.
The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has disappointed athletes around the world but, if the coronavirus pandemic eases over the next few months, it could turn out to be a blessing for the tennis world.
Simona Halep's brave Australian Open campaign but the exhausted Romanian hit a dead end in the final as she crumbled in a thriller against Caroline Wozniacki.
Croatian Marin Cilic prepares to try to stop the Swiss claiming a sixth Australian Open title on Sunday.
Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki will compete for high stakes in Saturday's Australian Open final, having each needed to save match points to prevent a premature exit at Melbourne Park.
'It wasn't really a nice time to be dealing with everything'
Edmund, playing in his first Grand Glam quarter-final, showed no nerves as he blazed away with his fearsome forehand to subdue a nervy Dimitrov.
Nick Kyrgios's Australian Open ended with a gallant fourth round defeat by an inspired Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday but the maverick talent leaves Melbourne Park after winning over a nation.
List of Australian Open men's singles champions since the event began in 1905 (Australian unless stated):
The claycourt Grand Slam at Roland Garros would now take place from Sept. 20-Oct. 4, dates that clash with several other events. With players already counting the cost of the tennis shutdown, the decision did not go down well.
Novak Djokovic took a tumble in the first set but returned to his feet quickly to complete a 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 trouncing of Argentine Leonardo Mayer and march into the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The second round match against Argentine Federico Delbonis lacked nothing in quality power tennis but was almost entirely devoid of drama and the most notable incident came late in the third set when the ball flew off top seed Nadal's racket and hit a ballgirl on the head.
Osaka was less than impressed with one social media user who wrote "Boooooooooooo" on the event's official page as it announced the match was about to start.
Images from Day 2 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
Novak Djokovic crushed Andy Murray 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(3) on Sunday to match Roy Emerson's record of six Australian Open titles and leave the Briton heartbroken again at Melbourne Park.
An emotional Roger Federer wiped away tears and urged Rafael Nadal to stay with him on the tour for years to come after felling his great rival to win his fifth Australian Open on Sunday.
Dominic Thiem fell in straight sets to Rafael Nadal in the 2018 French Open final but took the 12-time Roland Garros champion to four sets last June. On Sunday, the Austrian appeared to be heading towards a four-set victory before Djokovic mounted a spectacular comeback to deny him again.
Ash Barty's dream of ending her nation's 42-year wait for a homegrown Australian Open champion lay in tatters on Thursday after the world number one crumbled on the big points in a straight-sets semi-final defeat to Sofia Kenin. The 23-year-old Queenslander beat a hasty retreat from Rod Laver Arena after losing her first Melbourne semi-final 7-6(6), 7-5, shaking her head ruefully as she walked down the player's tunnel.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau's dream run came to an end in the mixed doubles event of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Federer won the first set but Sandgren rallied to bag the next two against the error-prone Swiss
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic led the tennis world in mourning for "mentor" Kobe Bryant on Monday after Melbourne Park awoke to the news that the NBA great had died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter and seven others. Djokovic had spoken fondly of his relationship with the former Los Angeles Laker in an interview at the weekend and the 16-times Grand Slam champion signed off his Tweet of condolence with the words: "RIP my friend".
Novak Djokovic showed a few signs of rustiness after the off-season but still comfortably reached the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 victory over Lukas Lacko on Monday.
Tsitsipas will play 22nd-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the semi-finals.
'I felt like I was very focused today. Every match I've played this year, I've been pretty good. It's probably because of everything going on'
'I felt comfortable knowing that I just needed to change a few things, to adjust, to try and bring the match back in my favour'
Eleven years after their first meeting in the Australian Open final, Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will take a trip down memory lane on Thursday to renew their rivalry in the second round in Melbourne.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played on Thursday
No wonder Caroline Wozniacki could not stop hugging the trophy she referred to affectionately as 'Daphne' on Saturday after outlasting Simona Halep to win the Australian Open title.
Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei has enjoyed double good fortune at Melbourne Park this week.
Rafael Nadal has the opportunity to add another chapter to his storied career, and intensify an already robust debate, should he beat Stanislas Wawrinka in Sunday's Australian Open final.
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