Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka won a battle of former girls' champions at the Australian Open by easing past Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
" As six-time Melbourne Park champion, Serena will be clear favourite, of course, more so because she has reached her 34th grand slam semi-final without losing a set. Lucic-Baroni's path to the last four has been more of a battle, as befits a woman who has overcome huge adversity to get back to the top of the game after years in the wilderness.
'I surprised myself also today'
Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has urged Nick Kyrgios to cut out distractions such as social media and practise harder to fulfil his potential, but the Australian firebrand responded by telling Cash to mind his own business -- via Twitter.
Australia's number two Bernard Tomic will be absent from this week's Davis Cup quarter-finals but the United States will still have a fight on their hands in Brisbane due to the impressive form of Nick Kyrgios, US team captain Jim Courier said.
Serena Williams sets up an all-American semi-final against teenager Madison Keys.
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.
Lucie Hradecka was screaming in delight after causing a huge first day upset at the Australian Open with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over the fifth seeded Serb to record her third career victory over a top-five opponent.
'If one thing seemed clear in this week of very uneven tennis in Melbourne though, the much celebrated golden age of tennis may be over.'
Roger Federer added yet another record to his vast collection when he guaranteed becoming the oldest ATP world number one by beating Dutchman Robin Haase 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals in Rotterdam on Friday.
Australian Open runner-up Marin Cilic queried the decision to close the roof at Rod Laver Arena for the men's final on Sunday and said it had contributed to his slow start in defeat to Roger Federer.
Rafael Nadal's Australian Open quarter-final curse struck again on Tuesday, an injury forcing the top seed to retire in the fifth set against Croatia's Marin Cilic.
Champion Novak Djokovic foiled a stirring fightback from Roger Federer to defeat the Swiss 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 at the Australian Open on Thursday and charge into a fifth successive Grand Slam final.
Andy Murray took to Melbourne Park's centre court as top seed at a grand slam for the first time in his career on Monday but the recently knighted Briton's victory over Illya Marchenko was far from a regal display.
?Andy Murray's preparations for this month's Australian Open suffered a setback on Wednesday when the world number two went down in straight sets to local favourite Nick Kyrgios at the Hopman Cup in Perth.
India's former Davis Cup captain Akhtar Ali discusses the secret behind Leander Paes's success with Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com.
Australia and England will play the first day-night Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval in December next year, adding a bold new ingredient to one of cricket's oldest and fiercest rivalries.
Bernard Tomic is set to sit out the Australian Open after Tennis Australia (TA) decided not to award him a wildcard to the main draw, the organisers said on Thursday.
The 33-year-old left-hander from Luxembourg had lost all five of his previous tour finals but prevailed at the sixth attempt in the Australian Open warm-up event at the Olympic Tennis Centre.
England are still playing catch-up with the modern way of batting in the 50-over format but are showing encouraging signs in closing the gap with the major cricketing nations, the team's batting coach Mark Ramprakash said on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic reasserted his rule over the hard-courts of Melbourne Park
Rafael Nadal's hopes of a 15th Grand Slam title were crushed by an inspired Roger Federer in the Australian Open final on Sunday but the rejuvenated Spaniard was already rubbing his hands together with the prospect of a 'special' season on clay.
Venus Williams drew on the experience of 73 grand slam campaigns to come from a set down for a 6-7(3) 6-2 6-3 victory over fellow American Coco Vandeweghe on Thursday to set up a possible Australian Open final against her sister Serena.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka engaged in a war of words with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before winning the only argument that mattered on Tuesday, storming into the Australian Open semi-finals with a 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-3 win over the Frenchman.
Andy Murray looked every bit the world number one as he gave a Russian teenager Andrey Rublev a lesson in Grand Slam tennis to reach the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 win.
Roger Federer made a winning return to competitive tennis after six months out of the game on Monday, thrilling a packed Rod Laver Arena as he beat qualifier Juergen Melzer 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the Australian Open second round.
Former world number one Andy Murray withdrew from the Brisbane International with a hip problem on Tuesday, further putting in doubt the Briton's prospects of being fit in time for the Australian Open later this month.
'It helps me get into a mindset that I have nothing to lose and play accordingly.'
Ronda Rousey's effort to reclaim her UFC bantamweight title ended in spectacular failure as champion Amanda Nunes stopped her after just 48 seconds of the first round of their title fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday.
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India will take on Australia in the second ODI of the tri-series, also involving England, on January 18, after Cricket Australia decided to swap the first two matches to give appropriate recovery time to the Indian players following the rescheduling of the four-Test series.
Bikash Mohapatra traces the rise of the Swiss, first man to win multiple Slams in the 'Big Four' era.
This is the first time that the towering Croatian has made the final of the Aus Open
Glancing up at the legends of tennis can make 17-times Grand Slam champion Roger Federer push too hard for the "wow" factor, so new coach Stefan Edberg can expect a cold shoulder from the cool Swiss when watching from the stands.
Roger Federer avoided an embarrassing start to the new season when he dug himself out of trouble to beat little-known journeyman John Millman 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at the Brisbane International on Thursday.
Serena Williams' relaxed outlook on life spilled over even in defeat on Saturday when she appeared to be almost as happy that Angelique Kerber had won her first Grand Slam final as the German herself.
Australian Bernard Tomic has hit back at Roger Federer's suggestion that he is a long way from being a top 10 player, saying the 17-times grand slam champion faced a quality deficit of his own compared to Novak Djokovic.
As the countdown to 2018 starts, it's time to rewind those moments in sport that stood out this year.
A rampaging Roger Federer delivered a stunning reminder of his class at the Australian Open on Friday with a crushing 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 win over Tomas Berdych to storm into the fourth round.
If familiarity between the two sides has not quite bred contempt, the frequent heated exchanges in their clashes indicates at the very least a fierce competitiveness.
Enjoying a prolific run with the bat, Indian opener KL Rahul has said he has become a better cricketer in the last one year owing to a roller-coaster ride both in the domestic and international arena.
