A relieved Rafael Nadal felt the confidence come flooding back in a first-round romp at the Australian Open on Monday.
Novak Djokovic pronounced himself fit and raring to go in search of his fifth Australian Open title on Sunday after overcoming a bout of illness that had prompted social media users to suggest he was in doubt for the tournament.
Petra Kvitova was proud of her second-set fightback against Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open final, on Saturday, but was left ruing her inability to convert her chances in her loss to the Japanese.
Champion Novak Djokovic did not bother with a practice hit before his showdown with Kei Nishikori and his "less is more" approach paid off with an easy 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win on Tuesday to set up a blockbuster Australian Open semi-final with Roger Federer.
"It's kind of hard to say because she -- there's nothing I did wrong on those match points," Williams told reporters after her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title ended.
The seventh seeded Indo-Swiss pair turned back the clock to serve past third seeds Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-3 in 62 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena.
Second seed Roger Federer was dumped out of the Australian Open third round by Italy's Andreas Seppi on Friday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Maria Sharapova beat Ana Ivanovic in the final of the Brisbane International on Saturday in a display that bodes well for her chances at the Australian Open.
Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard swatted aside an out-of-sorts Serena Williams 6-2, 6-1 at the Hopman Cup in Perth on Tuesday.
Rediff.com gives you a throwback to an eventful 2017, in pictures.
Maria Sharapova joined Serena Williams in making an early exit from the Australian Open on Monday but defending champion Victoria Azarenka swept into the quarter-finals with an 18th straight victory at Melbourne Park.
Boozy celebrations have been a part of Australian cricket for decades but Test hopeful Fawad Ahmed will be politely declining when the victory beers are passed around on the tour of the Caribbean and England.
Images from Day 8 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Serena Williams took some coaching advice from a fan during her fourth round match.
Eugenie Bouchard will spend Monday 'cramming' for one of the toughest exams of her fledgling career when she faces second seed Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Andy Murray's dream of winning a maiden Australian Open title was left in tatters on Sunday after the top seed and world number one was knocked out in the fourth round by Mischa Zverev.
Serena Williams is playing at another level, says beaten Agnieszka Radwanska
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.
Serena and Venus Williams rolled back the years as they swept through their last four clashes to set up a retro family final at the Australian Open on Thursday, their ninth meeting in a grand slam title-decider.
An emotional Roger Federer wiped away tears and urged Rafael Nadal to stay with him on the tour for years to come after felling his great rival to win his fifth Australian Open on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal stormed into the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 demolition of former finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
Andy Murray won 23 consecutive points in an inspired passage of play to emerge from a hole and roar to a 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 victory over qualifier Vincent Millot at the Australian Open.
Edmund, playing in his first Grand Glam quarter-final, showed no nerves as he blazed away with his fearsome forehand to subdue a nervy Dimitrov.
Showing great mobility, the towering Czech neutralised the potentially tricky world number 25 in a sometimes tetchy two-hour contest on Margaret Court Arena.
Nick Kyrgios's Australian Open ended with a gallant fourth round defeat by an inspired Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday but the maverick talent leaves Melbourne Park after winning over a nation.
India's most successful Test captain also presided over a dismal away record with the team winning only two of 22 Tests on foreign soil since 2011.
Andy Murray continued his strong build-up in his quest for a maiden Australian Open title with a comfortable victory over Frenchman Benoit Paire in the Hopman Cup mixed-team event in Perth on Monday.
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.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
A gallant Milos Raonic was left heartbroken by his Australian Open semi-final loss to Andy Murray on Friday, having pushed the Scot to his limits before a leg injury took the game out of his hands.
Andy Murray thinks he played his best tennis of the tournament during his Australian Open quarter-final victory over David Ferrer on Wednesday.
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.
Roger Federer advanced to his 12th Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday with an efficient 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 victory over sixth seed Tomas Berdych.
Exhausted by a near five-hour contest, Denis Istomin struggled to formulate his thoughts following his stunning upset of Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.
Australia won the ICC cricket World Cup for a record fifth time when they beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro served notice of his strong form ahead of the Australian Open when he crushed defending champion Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the Sydney International on Saturday.
From potential dark horses to former champions, here are the players who were knocked out of the Australian Open on Thursday
