Djokovic, playing his first tournament for six months because of an elbow problem, dropped his opening two service games and although he battled back to break Monfils twice he wavered again as scrappy opener went his opponents' way.
The tournament marks the 50th anniversary of the first 'Open' Grand Slam event
Roger Federer held firm against a furious fightback from fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, edging his former apprentice 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 in a Melbourne Park classic to reach the final of the Australian Open on Thursday.
As mostly sports-mad Mongolians cheer on the country's two medalists at the Rio Olympic Games, deepening economic troubles at home mean the new government cannot afford to pay its athletes.
Looking back, the Indians had rubbed their hands in delight at the variety of marquee events at home the sporting calendar of 2017 offered, and they now look forward, with optimism and anticipation, to a challenging 2018.
Bayern Munich slumped to their first defeat for three months when the Bundesliga leaders suffered a shock 2-1 reverse at home to Mainz 05 on Wednesday.
Michael Phelps gifted himself an early birthday present by winning the 200 metres butterfly at the US Olympic swim trials on Wednesday to punch his ticket to the Rio Summer Games.
Usain Bolt once again produced his best when it mattered most to retain his 100 metres world title and reassert his status as the number one sprinter on the planet at a rocking Bird's Nest Stadium on Sunday night.
From the dust and dirt of a warzone to the gleaming uniforms of an army parade -- these are the images that show the reality of life for British servicemen and women. The revealing series of photographs are some of the winning entries in this year's Army Photographic Competition.
Andy Murray thinks he played his best tennis of the tournament during his Australian Open quarter-final victory over David Ferrer on Wednesday.
Dropped from the ODI squad, Suresh Raina is all set to join the Indian team for the upcoming T20 series in Australia and determined show what the 'Men in blue' are missing.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
With Sushil Kumar's chances of participating in the second season of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) next to nil, another star India wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt is also likely to opt out of the upcoming event taking the sheen away from the tournament.
All the results from the I-League and ISL matches played on Saturday.
Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa struck as Bayern Munich disposed of Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0 on Saturday to claim their first win in three Bundesliga matches and power three points clear at the top.
Former Asian champion Renjith Maheswary nabbed his maiden National Games gold with a new meet record in triple jump as previous marks continued to tumble like nine pins in the athletics arena on the penultimate day of competitions in the 35th edition in Thiruvananthapuram.
The terror threat level has been raised to its highest level of "critical", meaning further attacks may be imminent.
As the countdown to 2018 starts, it's time to rewind those moments in sport that stood out this year.
Dheeraj, whose performance under the woodwork during the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India earned him accolades, is the third player after skipper Amarjit Singh and defender Anwar Ali from that squad, to get a call in the senior team camp.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. cemented his place among the pantheon of boxing greats by improving to 48-0 with a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao on Saturday in a fight that lived up to its immense hype and price tag.
Etiquette classes today cater to a wide audience of job seekers, front-desk execs, business heirs, romantics, students and even those with low self-esteem
Two-times Grand Slam champion Pat Rafter's return to the big-time after retiring 13 years ago lasted just 73 minutes when he and his former Davis Cup team mate Lleyton Hewitt lost in straight sets in the Australian Open doubles.
Virat Kohli continued his day job of mesmerising fans with a magical willow
Rediff.com recaptures these and other exciting sporting moments from the week gone by....
The velodrome is only 85 percent ready and workers need another 30 to 40 days to finish the structure, meaning there will not be time for a proper test event before the games begin on August 5.
Football fans in Goa are shaking off their sussegado and becoming an animated, raucous, even belligerent lot.
Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar scripted history as she became the first Indian to make the cut for the individual vault finals in her debut Olympic Games after finishing 8th in the qualifying round in Rio de Janeiro.
Novak Djokovic reasserted his rule over the hard-courts of Melbourne Park
Tennis fans expressed frustration that the players weren't getting better crowds.
Bahrain's Ruth Jebet blew away the competition to win the women's 3,000 metres steeplechase gold on Sunday, but narrowly missed out on the world record. Jebet ran a bold race, bursting into the lead after a few laps and setting a blistering pace to win in 8 minutes, 59.75 seconds, just shy of the 8:58.81 world record set by Russia's Gulnara Galkina at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Two errors from his favourite backhand and a double-fault opened the door for Tsonga to break back and the Frenchman then swept through the final three games, sealing the 16th five-set victory of his career with a textbook serve and volley winner.
'Neither Modi nor the BJP have lost control over the minds and votes of their original supporters due to their tremendous political ability to play upon baser communal instincts.' 'But this buoyant support will melt away if the economic scenario remains depressing.' 'That makes 2020 an interesting year to watch out for,' notes Sheela Bhatt.
West Indies head into World Cup with little or no expectations of success.
Pune Marathas made a remarkable recovery from 0-2 down to win their next three matches in a row as their contest against Bangalore Raptors ended in a thrilling tie to run away with a bonus point in the Champions Tennis League on Thursday.
India's ace shuttler P V Sindhu did the star turn, winning two matches as Chennai Smashers outclassed Ahmedabad Smash Masters 2-1 in the Premier Badminton League in Chennai, on Saturday.
China continued to put up dominating performances in the pool, this time taking gold in women's 10 metre synchronized diving on Tuesday. Slovenian Judoka Tina Trstenjak became her country's second Olympic champion in the sport.
Warm, dry conditions and an unknown hard-hitting opponent gave Andy Murray some cause for concern before the sixth seed advanced to the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over India's Yuki Bhambri on Monday. The 27-year-old Murray, appearing on the newly refurbished Margaret Court Arena, did not look too troubled by the former junior world number one, even though he had some nervous moments in the third set when the qualifier held a 4-1 lead.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Clinton will be a commander-in-chief who would defeat the Islamic State, the US president said, adding she will make a "smart and steady" US president, though not without her share of mistakes.