An Australian Open electrified by the revivals of seasoned champions will bathe in the warm glow of nostalgia on Saturday when the Williams sisters contest the women's final at Rod Laver Arena.
Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova glittered under the Rod Laver Arena lights on Monday, restoring order at the Australian Open after eight women's seeds crashed out in the afternoon sun on a manic opening day. The evergreen Federer strolled into the second round with a classy 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun before fellow-second seed Sharapova ruined Croatian qualifier Petra Martic's 24th birthday with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Rafael Nadal claimed a record-stretching 12th French Open title by beating Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in a repeat of last year's final on Sunday.
It will be 'Mother's Day' on Wimbledon's Centre Court on Monday when Serena Williams takes on fellow mum Evgeniya Rodina for a place in the quarter-finals of the grasscourt major.
Images from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.
The peak remains tantalisingly close for Serena Williams but negotiating the final incline to a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam singles title is proving the trickiest of all.
Andy Murray may have a dismal record in the Australian Open final, but he is not the only tennis star to come up short at the majors.
Serena Williams is a five-times Wimbledon champion but the American has surprisingly declared that she has "never really liked grass".
World number one Simona Halep saved three match-points before edging past an inspired Lauren Davis 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 in a thrilling marathon to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
Challengers to Serena Williams' throne have proved as fickle as a Paris spring and as the year's second grand slam starts the veteran American is again seemingly in a league of her own. The 34-year-old's charge to overhaul Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam singles titles may have stalled since she chalked up major number 21 at last year's Wimbledon. But after fine-tuning her claycourt game by winning last week's Italian Open she will begin the defence of her French Open title as the strong favourite. With twice French Open champion Maria Sharapova suspended pending the findings of an anti-doping hearing after she tested positive for Meldonium in Australia this year, the list of players capable of toppling a fully firing Williams is short.
Coco Gauff claimed the biggest win of her young career on Friday with a stunning upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open to reach the fourth round. Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams also lost their respective matches earlier in the day. Images from Day 5 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Friday.
Factbox on Rafael Nadal's French Open final wins
IMAGES from all the action on Day 8 the Australian Open on Monday
Form guide for American Serena Williams ahead of Thursday's US Open semi-final clash against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova:
Twelve months on from making the most bizarre of exits from Wimbledon, drama queen Serena Williams will be back at the All England Club next week eager to complete the "Serena Slam".
Rafael Nadal weathered an early serving storm from Kevin Anderson before dismantling the South African giant with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 masterclass to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.
India's star tennis player Sania Mirza says she has achieved everything in her path-breaking career and has 'nothing to prove' in her second innings, which is likely to begin by January 2020.
Images from Day 3 of the 2016 Australian Open in Melbourne, on Wednesday
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday
Images from matches played on Day 7 at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park on Sunday
Images from the matches played on Day eight of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday
Images from Day 2 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Monday
Seven-time champion Williams had been bidding to claim a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown but made too many errors as Kerber ran out a comfortable winner in the final.
It was Kristyna's first win over a top-five ranked player and she will go on to play fellow Czech Barbora Strycova in the quarter-finals.
A win by Venus would keep the 35-year-old on track for a first grand slam title since 2008 Wimbledon and a possible return to the US Open final where she first made the final in her debut in 1997. But a victory would end little sister Serena's quest for the rarest of tennis feats -- a calendar-year grand slam.
Rafael Nadal easily avoided the embarrassment of a back-to-back first round exits at the Australian Open on Tuesday, ramping up his serve and rattling off 39 winners to beat Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.
Serena Williams squandered four match points and blew a 5-1 lead in the decider to fall to seventh seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4 4-6 7-5 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open, in Melbourne, on Monday.
American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was suspended for six months by USA Swimming on Monday following his recent arrest on a drunken driving charge.
The Swiss great is looking to win a 102nd tour-level trophy and move closer to Jimmy Connors' record of 109.
IMAGES of the all the action from Day 1 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Monday
Belgian former World No 1 and seven-time grand slam singles champion Justine Henin headlined the list of nominees up for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Images from Day 2 of the 2020 US Open in New York
Images from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
Serena Williams and Marin Cilic both survived third round scares on Friday to keep their US Open title defences on track but there was no escape for Rafael Nadal with the twice-winner going down in a late night thriller.
Images from Day 7 of the 2019 French Open in Paris on Saturday.
Serbian Djokovic, 31, needed elbow surgery in February to cure a problem that surfaced in 2017, but after some jarring defeats he returned to the kind of domination he achieved in 2015, winning Wimbledon and the US Open.
Photos from the US Open matches played on Monday
IMAGES from matches played on Day 7 of the French Open at the Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday
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