Japanese trailblazer Kei Nishikori had a thrilling run at the US Open, but could not summon a finishing kick as he hit the wall against big-hitting Marin Cilic in Monday's final at Flushing Meadows.
Dominic Thiem will clash with Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the men's singles final of the Australian Open. The Austrian made the title round with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) victory Germany's Alexander Zverev in the second semi-final at Melbourne Park on Friday. Djokovic beat great rival Roger Federer 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-3 in the first semi-final on Thursday.
The 39-year-old appeared at Italy's Sanremo festival in March, where he sang a duet with Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic and said he would like to try acting.
Seven-time champion Serena Williams endured an unlikely scrap in her Wimbledon opener and will look to shake off more rust in the second round on Thursday when she faces another qualifier in 18-year-old Kaja Juvan.
A pioneering Kei Nishikori blazed a new trail for Japanese tennis with a shock win over World No 1 Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open on Saturday, becoming the first man from Asia to book a place in a Grand Slam final.
A resurgent Marin Cilic blasted his way by sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Thursday to become the first Croatian to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals since his coach Goran Ivanisevic in 1996.
"But tomorrow is a new day and I have to move on. It's only the quarter-finals, and I want to fight for the title. That's what I came here for. I have to kind of direct my thoughts to the semis."
Murray credits marriage for recent surge on clay
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
A long year has taken its toll on some of the world's best tennis players but the relentless Novak Djokovic gives no indication that he is about to slacken the pace as he heads to the season-ending ATP World Tour finals in London.
Rafael Nadal, after having suffered a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) loss in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors to teenager Borna Coric, has shut down his season to undergo appendix surgery.
2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie eliminated in 1st round.
As tradition demands the Serb will open play on Centre Court on Monday as defending men's champion but rather than a gentle loosener the 28-year-old faces a real danger in the form of Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, the world number 33.
5 exceptional players who surprised us at Melbourne.
Nadal produced a rich vein of form as he thrashed Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to clinch his fourth Canadian Masters 1000 title at the Rogers Cup
What makes winning in Indian Wells and Miami difficult is the fact that the two tournaments are held back-to-back, over four weeks, and in completely different directions. No wonder they are sometimes labeled as the 'Fifth Major'.
Andy Murray is undefeated since September, has won 24 matches in succession and his win-loss record since losing to Novak Djokovic in the French Open final is 53-3.
The triple grand slam winner, who will take over from Serb Novak Djokovic at the top when the rankings are updated on Monday, still went out on centre court for a practice session in front of a bemused crowd.
Wozniacki battles past Kerber into Eastbourne final
A summary of the first day's play at the US Open.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka advanced to the Rogers Cup quarter-finals on Thursday to set up their first meeting since the American's infamous row with an umpire overshadowed last year's US Open final.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
The unprecedented shutdown of world sport in response to the coronavirus spread that has infected more than 134,000 people and killed around 5,000 also prompted organisers to postpone the Formula One motor races in Vietnam and Bahrain. The start of the lucrative Indian Premier League has also been postponed until April 15 as a "precautionary measure", the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.
With temperatures reaching almost 38 degrees on court, Murray, a twice Wimbledon champion, was beaten 7-6(4), 6-2 by Australian world number 90 Jordan Thompson.
Following badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei's provisional ban, Rediff.com brings you ten top sports persons who gave in to drugs - one of the mighty perils that has affected modern sporting culture.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
With Serena Williams vying to safeguard her World No 1 ranking and Djokovic fighting off a wrist injury, expect to see a few surprises at the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
IMAGES from the matches played at Miami Miasters in Key Biscayne, Florida, on Wednesday
The Scot credits Mauresmo for guiding him through some testing times and contrasted the Frenchwoman's approach to some of her predecessors.
A summary of the action on Day 3 at the US Open.
Images from matches played on Day 4 at the US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday.
Croatian Cilic, who lost last year's final to Roger Federer, underlined his credentials for another Grand Slam title bid to add to his U.S. Open triumph in 2014.
As Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo watched, the World No 4 Nadal went past Italian Bolelli to set up a quarter-final clash against 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
There comes a moment in all great sporting careers when the puzzle fits together and for Kei Nishikori it arrived on a sweltering early September afternoon in New York.
Practising his strokes for over seven million times has given him an unforgettable muscle memory and an uncompromising diet has kept his enviable fitness intact in an astonishing 25-year long career but Leander Paes is not training the way he used to train 20 years ago. The 43-year-old has just finished another season in his glorious career and he is not finished yet. Rather, he has set himself a new target - taking his Grand Slam tally to 20. Passion for the game and a knack for creating history has kept him going but it also involves pain of hard work that may become difficult to sustain year after year.
Rafael Nadal looked something close to his old masterful self on clay again as he crushed Czech Tomas Berdych.
World number one Serena Williams opened her US Open account with a tidy 6-3, 6-3 win over Ekaterina Makarova on Tuesday, to join her sister Venus in the second round of the year's final Grand Slam.
No current athlete in the world of sport can match the 31-year-old for reliability at present and the American, despite a brief blip, eased past Luxembourg's Mandy Minella 6-1, 6-3.
As his blazing backhand skidded off from inside the baseline, Stanislas Wawrinka sent his racket rocketing skywards after dashing Novak Djokovic's French Open dreams with a victory barely anyone expected on Sunday.
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