After just four days the Asian challenge is all but over at the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific
Barty staved off a fightback from Collins to pick up her third Grand Slam title
Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria reported no local coronavirus cases on Saturday for the second straight day, boding well for the Australian Open tennis tournament due to start in Melbourne on Monday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Ashes Test played in Perth on Friday.
It has been 24 days since Victoria reported a locally acquired COVID-19 infection, while Australia as a whole posted a 13th straight day without a community case on Saturday.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were nicknamed the 'Special Ks' as juniors
'We're absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead'
World number one Carlos Alcaraz eased to a 6-2, 6-4 win over Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Finals on Saturday to set up a highly-anticipated title decider with defending champion Jannik Sinner.
'Like any player he has weaknesses, but he's improving them all the time.'
Abhishek Sharma finished as the highest run-getter in the rain-hit five-match T20I series, having amassed 163 runs in the series at a strike rate of 161.39.
The World No 1, who extended his hardcourt winning streak to 26 matches, will play against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.
Scott Boland will step up and uncapped Brendan Doggett is tipped for a high-stakes debut to try to shore up the loss of a combined 604 Test wickets of experience.
'...He'll provide us a good challenge...I think you want to be challenged against the best players in the world...'
Jannik and Carlos are the favourites at Flushing Meadows, but don't write these men off!
Kasprowicz recalls being thanked "for saving Test cricket" for his Ashes 2005 Birmingham dismissal
One of the rising stars of the men's tour, Fonseca shocked ninth seed Andrey Rublev on his Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open in January and became the youngest Brazilian to win an ATP tournament at the Argentina Open the following month.
Australia paceman Mitchell Starc has warned against flattening surfaces to maximise five-day revenue as England's aggressive "Bazball" approach looms.
With skipper Pat Cummins already out of the series opener because of a back injury, Australia are expected to send out Hazlewood with Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland as their pace attack.
They beat sixth seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Russian Elena Likhovsteva to win the mixed doubles title.
amiliar names, however, are tipped to take off with the winners' trophies. The following is a list of talking points at the Australian Open:
IMAGES from the fourth T20I between Australia and India played in Carrara, Gold Coast on Thursday
Saina Nehwal was the lone Indian left in the Australian Open Super Series badminton tournament after a hard-fought victory over China's Sun Yu in Sydney on Thursday. The world No 1 overcame a stiff challenge from Yu, ranked No 9, winning 21-19, 19-21, 21-14 in 78 minutes.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are poised to reignite their rivalry at the ATP Finals, with the year-ending championship that begins on Sunday expected to produce another title showdown between the pair in a season that has belonged to them.
Women's World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will take on Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios in a 'Battle of the Sexes' exhibition match in Dubai on December 28, organisers announced on Tuesday.
England's Ashes hopes rest largely on the all-round performance of talismanic captain Ben Stokes, who took 17 wickets against India in the recent home series.
'That so many have reached such an advanced stage of their careers without obvious replacements is certainly a reflection of their quality, but will be a matter of concern in the case of more injuries during the series.'
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting tips confident England to pose real Ashes threat.
Williams, Bharti join camp, signalling new chapter for Indian football
Factbox on Italy's Jannik Sinner, who beat Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the Australian Open final
Australian Open organisers have tweaked their 'Extreme Heat Policy' for next year's tournament after being accused of forcing players to perform in "inhuman" conditions during a heatwave in January.
'I'm looking at it as a chance to play international football, to represent India, and to hopefully inspire other players with a similar background to me, to show them that they can come to India and do the same thing.'
Organisers are confident a rain-hit opening day will not hold up the tournament.
Nadal said his back was still bothering him against world number 56 Djere
Jannik Sinner began his bid to retain the ATP Finals title with a resounding 7-5, 6-1 win over injury-hit Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in their round-robin clash.
Aryna Sabalenka is the first woman to win back to back US Open singles titles since Serena Williams in 2014.
The Swiss was handed a code violation for swearing in the third set of Tuesday's match after the lineswoman reported Federer to Serbian chair umpire Marijana Veljovic.
Finland's Harri Heliovaara and Briton Henry Patten fought back from a set down to win the Australian Open men's doubles title on Sunday.
The 34-year-old practised for an hour on Thursday evening at the Rod Laver Arena and his fitness was improving "little by little, step by step", sources close to Nadal told Reuters.
The defending champion withdrew from this year's Grand Slam tournament because of a knee injury.
Dokic's father Damir told a newspaper that he had spoken to his daughter "10 or 15 days ago" and she had told him she would not play in Australia.
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