After spending 43 years working inside Dubai's royal palace, a man from Kottakkal returned home with nothing but gratitude for the life he lived in extraordinary circumstances.
Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka bowed out of his last Australian Open on Saturday, the three-times major winner losing 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to American Taylor Fritz and soaking up warm applause as a muchloved former champion.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka enters the Australian Open in her familiar role as the hot favourite but unlike in the past two years the powerful Belarusian arrives without a title to defend or the momentum of a winning run in Melbourne.
Nick Kyrgios will only feature in the doubles at the Australian Open, which begins at Melbourne Park on January 18.
Carlos Alcaraz powered into his third successive Australian Open quarter-final, beating Tommy Paul in straight sets in a match interrupted by a medical emergency.
Jannik Sinner was in ominous form on the Rod Laver Arena court he has ruled for two years before the match was cut short.
Osaka made her way into Rod Laver Arena carrying a parasol, wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a veil, and Nike's Copa-Light Liquid Lime-White dress with soft, jellyfish-inspired ruffles.
'The only reason I come back is because of the love you (fans) give me'
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrew from the Australian Open on Sunday after the Czech player said she was dealing with a shoulder injury.
Aryna Sabalenka exemplified consistency in 2025 and arrives for the November 1-8 tournament having retained her US Open title in September, after finishing runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff at Roland Garros.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka fended off a serious challenge from Anastasia Potapova to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
A defiant Novak Djokovic is adamant he can still beat any player on his day but at 38 the Serb is no longer focusing on the Grand Slam record, saying he does not need the pressure it brings.
One marvelled at the freedom with which the Nepal batters played. They trusted their strokes, ran hard between the wickets, and refused to be overawed.
Tennis showman Gael Monfils bowed out of his 20th and final Australian Open on Tuesday with a mix of pain and regret as he fell to an injury-hampered 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 defeat in the first round to local qualifier Dane Sweeny.
Naomi Osaka battled past Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the Australian Open second round. Later, Osaka apologised at her press conference, calling her on-court comments 'disrespectful'.
It will be an all-American quartet in the last eight at Melbourne as fourth seed Amanda Anisimova beat China's dark horse Wang Xinyu in their fourth round match on Monday.
Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva turned pantomime villain at the Australian Open on Friday after beating Turkey's qualifier Zeynep Sonmez in the third round.
'The Pakistani team visited India in 2005-2006, and there was a grand dinner. He urged me to get on stage and speak on behalf of the Punjab Cricket Association!' 'Imagine, a coach from Pakistan speaking on behalf of the PCA!'
Jannik Sinner battled past Spanish world number one and rival Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(4), 7-5 in the decider to win the season-ending championships.
The WTA has backed players' demands for greater privacy at tournaments after footage of Coco Gauff smashing her racket off court at the Australian Open sparked debate over camera use in player areas.
'Gaurav Khanna may not have had the most inspiring journey like his predecessors, but he has clearly been one of the most well-behaved contestants and winners in Bigg Boss history. So kudos to that!'
The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System is one of the Indian Army's deadliest guns with the longest firing range.
Abhishek Sharma's flamboyance will meet its match in Shaheen Shah Afridi's precision in what promises to be an "edge of the seat" battle in the Asia Cup final on Sunday.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne on Thursday.
Keys, who captured her first Grand Slam title at the tournament last year, said she was still getting used to the surreal experience of seeing herself immortalised around Melbourne Park.
Iga Swiatek has dismissed suggestions the career slam is driving her Australian Open campaign this year, with the world number two saying on Friday that she tries to block out outside noise and focus only on "grinding match by match".
The US raced into a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak, and though the Greek duo rallied to level at 6-6 a perfectly placed volley from Harrison squeezed through Tsitsipas's legs and sealed a 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 victory.
Carlos Alcaraz beat his great rival Jannik Sinner 7-5, 7-6(8) to win their Hyundai Card Super Match exhibition event in Incheon, South Korea, on Saturday that marked the start of the season for the world's top two men's tennis players.
Novak Djokovic felt unaffected by his recent losses to the top two players in the world, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, saying that while it is not ideal to lose big matches to the top talent regularly
Defending champion Jannik Sinner stormed to a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Alex de Minaur in the last four of the ATP Finals on Saturday, as the Australian suffered his 13th straight loss to the four-time Grand Slam winner despite a fighting start.
Coco Gauff started her quest for a maiden Australian Open title with a straight games win over Kamilla Rakhimova to reach the second round.
Elena Rybakina put on a brilliant performance to defeat favourite Aryna Sabalenka 64, 46, 64 and lift her first Australian Open trophy.
Poland battled past Switzerland 2-1 in the United Cup final on Sunday to banish the pain of title-round defeats in the previous two editions and secure a long-awaited maiden triumph in the season-opening mixed-team competition.
Swiss Olympic snowboard medallist Ueli Kestenholz dies in avalanche
Bangladesh is preparing for elections and a referendum on reforms, but the absence of the Awami League and rising political tensions are raising concerns about the legitimacy and stability of the process.
Piastri now leads Britain's Norris by 14 points with five rounds and two sprints remaining, while Verstappen has slashed his gap to the Australian to 40 after being 104 behind at the end of August.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka brushed aside Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3 in the Brisbane International final on Sunday to retain the title without losing a set ahead of her bid to reclaim the Australian Open title this month.
'I really want to get someone to do a painting of me. I need to find an artist but from my view.'
Large chunks of Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 are exhausting and boring, despite the efforts of the likeable cast, with the '80s outfits and big hairstyles that were trendy then, looking earnest and hassled because the fate of the world depends on them, observes Deepa Gahlot.
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