Serbian Viktor Troicki ruthlessly dismantled ailing Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-3 to win the Sydney International for his second career ATP title on Saturday.
World number eight Caroline Wozniacki pulled out of her first match at the Sydney International with a wrist injury on Monday.
John Isner limped out of the Sydney International on Wednesday with his Australian Open participation in doubt but the thing that frustrated him most about his last 16 defeat was the umpire checking how long he was taking to serve.
The women's draw for the Australian Open is resembling the march of the walking wounded, with more than a quarter of the top 25 ruled out or carrying injuries into the year's first Grand Slam.
Caroline Wozniacki seems a certain starter for the Australian Open in Melbourne next week after a scan on the world number one's injured left wrist showed no serious damage.
Former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro stepped up his comeback from another wrist surgery by toppling top seed Fabio Fognini at the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic and Rogerer Federer loom over Melbourne Park for the year's opening Grand Slam as favourites for the Australian Open as questions remain as to whether one of Generation Next could finally end their stranglehold.
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis are gunning for their third title of the season as they take on Czech Republic combination of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradeck in the Women's Doubles final at Australian Open. The Indo-Swiss pair had a dream time in 2015 when they won 9 titles which included the Wimbledon, US Open and the year-ending WTA finals. That form has carried in 2016 as they eye a successive third Grand Slam. The World No.1 duo had defeated Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-0 to continue their dominance in Women's Doubles events.
Argentine Juan del Potro has withdrawn from next week's Brisbane International due to a persistent left wrist injury, tournament officials announced on Thursday.
There are only a certain number of ways to avoid addressing your chances of winning the Australian Open but Kim Clijsters found yet another on Sunday at Melbourne Park.
Italy's Flavia Pennetta advanced to her first Australian Open quarter-final with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory over ninth-seeded German Angelique Kerber.
India's tennis stars enjoyed comfortable wins in the Australian Open on Thursday as Sania Mirza eased into the second round with partner Martina Hingis while Rohan Bopanna also registered a straight sets victory in the men's doubles first round.
Kim Clijsters came through a major test of her early season form to reach the Sydney International final with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory over Alisa Kleybanova on Thursday.
Former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro's comeback from injury faltered on Wednesday when his lack of match practice was exposed at the Sydney International.
World number one Caroline Wozniacki's preparations for the Australian Open suffered a major setback when she was knocked out of the Sydney International in her first competitive match of the year on Tuesday.
Kim Clijsters beat Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru 6-1, 6-2 in her first competitive match of 2011 to ease into the second round of the Sydney International on Sunday.
Pliskova was down 5-1 against Williams in the final set before the seventh seed produced a fight-back for the ages to claim a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 quarter-final win over the American great.
Ash Barty carries a nation's hopes of ending the long wait for a home champion into the Australian Open
French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and her fellow Russian Elena Dementieva won their opening round matches at the Sydney International Sunday, one of the major lead-up events to the Australian Open.
Russia's Elena Dementieva defeated a hobbling Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 at the Olympic tennis centre on Friday to win the Sydney International for the second year in a row.
Serena Williams started her 2010 season in the same devastating fashion in which she ended 2009, thrashing Spain's Marie Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Sydney International on Tuesday.
Former world number one Justine Henin is set to play in next month's Sydney International after being granted a wildcard by organisers. Henin, who announced her comeback to the women's tour in September after a 15-month absence, makes her return in Brisbane in early January before playing in the Sydney tournament as part of her preparations for the Australian Open the following week.
The world No 1 women's doubles team added another crown to their overflowing trophy vault, winning the WTA Apia International in Sydney. They beat Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in the final.
A look at the records of Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova and Japan's Naomi Osaka before their semi-final match at the Australian Open on Thursday (prefix number denotes seeding):
Australia's gruelling summer conditions claimed three more victims on Monday when Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka and Marion Bartoli all pulled out of the Sydney International because of injury and illness.
Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus overcame the distraction of a lengthy rain interruption to beat France's Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-6 in the final of the Sydney International on Saturday.
Serena Williams survived a scare from France's Aravane Rezai on Thursday before booking her spot in the Sydney International final against Russian Elena Dementieva. The Australian Open champion was teetering on the brink of defeat after losing the first set and trailing 5-2 in the second but she raised her game to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Serena Williams continued her smooth lead up to next week's Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Vera Dushevina at the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Amidst calls for his head after the recent Ashes loss, Australia skipper Ricky Ponting today said he would not mind sharing the captaincy, with his deputy Michael Clarke being made in-charge of the shorter versions of the game.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Last year's Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could miss next week's tournament after a back injury forced him out of the Sydney International on Thursday.
Elena Dementieva overpowered Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 at the Sydney International on Thursday to set up an all-Russian final against Dinara Safina.
Sania Mirza and doubles partner Cara Black got off to a bad start in the New Year with a shock first round defeat against wild cards Jarmila Gajdosova and Ajlaat Tomljanovic at the WTA Apia International, in Sydney on Monday.
A US-based group on Thursday strongly criticised Australia's reported decision to sell uranium to India saying it violated Sydney's international nuclear non-proliferation commitments.
Serena Williams saved three match points and Novak Djokovic revived his stuttering Australian Open preparations in fierce heat at the Sydney International on Wednesday.
David Nalbandian made his Australian Open credentials clear to all concerned on Saturday by swiping the Sydney International title.
Leander Paes and his American partner Scott Lipsky advanced to the finals of ATP Heiniken Open in Auckland, New Zealand but it was curtains for Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles at the Sydney International after they lost in the doubles semi-finals on Friday.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic missed his chance to leapfrog Roger Federer into second place on the world rankings when he was beaten 6-4, 7-6 by Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in the semi-finals of the Sydney International on Friday. Last year's Australian Open winner, ranked third in the world behind Rafael Nadal and Federer, would have moved to a career-high second by reaching the final in Sydney but was outplayed by Nieminen, ranked 37 places below him at 40.
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic overcame the distraction of two violent thunderstorms to beat Croatia's Mario Ancic 6-3 6-4 on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Sydney International.
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