Seven-time grand slam champion Venus Williams advanced to the third round at Melbourne Park on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Stefanie Voegele but conceded she was still troubled by an elbow injury that forced her to pull out of the women's doubles.
Ash Barty's bid to end the host nation's long wait for a homegrown Australian Open champion will begin against Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko
While knowing the limits of his body and full of praise for his team for being able to patch him up repeatedly, the 37-year-old admitted fortune has played a part in his longevity.
"Well, I don't know what his intentions are, how he feels, but he is definitely always one of the top favourites in every tournament that he plays," said Djokovic, who beat Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to join the Spaniard in the second round on Tuesday.
No sooner had Novak Djokovic claimed his 17th Grand Slam trophy by triumphing at the Australian Open for the eighth time on Sunday, the Serb was already setting himself a deadline to claim the record of major titles. Djokovic's 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in a thriller over fifth seed Dominic Thiem drew him within three slams of Roger Federer's haul of 20 and two behind second-placed Rafa Nadal's 19.
Dominic Thiem fell in straight sets to Rafael Nadal in the 2018 French Open final but took the 12-time Roland Garros champion to four sets last June. On Sunday, the Austrian appeared to be heading towards a four-set victory before Djokovic mounted a spectacular comeback to deny him again.
With the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup sitting a few centimetres away from his left hand, Novak Djokovic was a contented man at his post-match media conference.
Novak Djokovic created history at the Australian Open this year. Djokovic joined a select group of players who have performed a three-peat at the majors since tennis went professional in 1968. Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra takes a look at the elite club of which Djokovic is the new member.
Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci wore down local hopes Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to become the first Italian pair to win the women's doubles at the Australian Open on Friday.
Roger Federer fended off a withering challenge from Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to prevail 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 in Rod Laver Arena and reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open tennis on Wednesday.
Juan Martin del Potro suffered the first real upset and Victoria Azarenka had a big scare, but Serena Williams and Andy Murray eased through challenging ties to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open on Saturday.
Roger Federer, who suffered a groin problem in the quarter-final against Tennys Sandgren, bowed out of the Australian Open after a comprehensive 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-3 defeat to the defending champion Novak Djokovic.
Images from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
David Ferrer underlined his Australian Open threat by thrashing Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-2 to reach the final of the Auckland Open on Friday and remain on course for a fourth title at the tournament.
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic led the tennis world in mourning for "mentor" Kobe Bryant on Monday after Melbourne Park awoke to the news that the NBA great had died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter and seven others. Djokovic had spoken fondly of his relationship with the former Los Angeles Laker in an interview at the weekend and the 16-times Grand Slam champion signed off his Tweet of condolence with the words: "RIP my friend".
Roger Federer faced down local battler John Millman 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(8) in a five-set thriller on Friday night to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open. Defending champion Novak Djokovic thumped Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday to stay on course for a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park. Images from Day 5 of the 2020 Australian Open.
Coco Gauff claimed the biggest win of her young career on Friday with a stunning upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open to reach the fourth round. Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams also lost their respective matches earlier in the day. Images from Day 5 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Friday.
Davenport, who was beaten in last year's final by Serena Williams, remains on course for a quarter-final meeting with 10th seed Venus Williams or eighth seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium.
Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley confirmed in an email to players that authorities had agreed to allow players to train during two weeks of strict quarantine.
The German picked up two ATP titles in Cologne and also made the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris in an encouraging close to the season.
Rafael Nadal confirmed he will miss this year's French Open as he is yet to recover from injury.
Simona Halep's powers of recovery will be put to the test on day eight of the Australian Open on Monday when the world number one meets Japan's Naomi Osaka in a tricky fourth round clash.
Images from Day 8 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.
Images from day three of the Australian Open 2012 tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Wednesday.
A proposal to boycott the Australian Open by male players at the weekend over prize money was supported by the majority of ATP players but not followed through as it would have been unfair on tournament organisers, Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky said.
A ruthless Andy Murray powered his way to a 6-1, 6-3 win over injury-hampered Alexandr Dolgopolov to win the Brisbane International and take a timely shot of confidence ahead of the Australian Open.
Roger Federer may have his doubts about Australia's Nick Kyrgios, but the firebrand talent believes he is ready to become his nation's first home Grand Slam winner in 40 years.
Carlos Alcaraz moved to within two wins of completing the 'Sunshine Double'
Rediff.com presents the early surprises at the year's first Grand Slam.
The seventh seeds overcame the Czech pair of Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner 7-5, 6-3
Robin Soderling and Andy Murray served up reminders that there are more than two contenders for the men's title at the Australian Open with dominant third-round victories on Saturday.
The Australian Open draw has opened up a potential can of worms for security organisers at Melbourne Park, with rival Serb and Croatian supporters to be thrown into close proximity for Novak Djokovic's second round match against Croatia's Ivan Dodig.
Two surprise Grand Slam final appearances have given Vera Zvonareva the world number two ranking and the confidence to go one better at the Australian Open, but remarkably, the Russian remains saddled with the 'dark horse' tag.
Federer is tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the race to be the most successful men's singles Grand Slam champion of all time and Australian Open organisers would have been hoping to have all three at Melbourne Park.
Rafael Nadal announced on Sunday that he would be opening his 18th season as a professional at the Brisbane International in January.
For someone who was the only man to beat world number one Novak Djokovic in a grand slam in 2015, Stan Wawrinka was indifferent about the attention on the feat heading into this year's Australian Open. Djokovic was virtually untouchable last year as he compiled an 82-6 win-loss record and won three grand slam titles as well as six of the eight ATP 1000 top-tier tournaments he played. Wawrinka, however, surprised the tennis world when he produced a barrage of backhands on the clay at Roland Garros to beat the Serb in the Paris final and claim his second grand slam title.
Under mounting pressure from students and the Indian government, Australia's police on Thursday stepped up efforts to identify the killer of 21-year old Nitin Garg, who was brutally murdered recently. Inspector Bernie Edwards, Australia's leading homicide squad detective, appealed to public for information on the murder, which occurred in a Melbourne park last Saturday night as the 21-year old Indian was going to work at a nearby eatery. An information caravan was set up.
Rampant Red Bull charged to a front row sweep in Melbourne on Saturday with Sebastian Vettel denying disappointed team mate Mark Webber pole position for the Australian's home Grand Prix. The German, still only 22 but heavily fancied for this year's Formula One title, lapped Albert Park's tight street circuit in one minute 23.919 under overcast skies for his second pole in two races.
In the email, the WTA said it wanted to "clear up false and misleading information" about the conditions players would face at the Australian Open.
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