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.
Djokovic's family said his release was the 'biggest victory of his life'.
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.
Serena Williams beat her sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 in the Australian Open final on Saturday to win her 23rd grand slam singles title and become the most successful tennis player in the open era.
Rafael Nadal announced on Sunday that he would be opening his 18th season as a professional at the Brisbane International in January.
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".
Aryna Sabalenka rose above geopolitical tumult to become the first player to claim a Grand Slam title as a neutral at the Australian Open.
Chinese tennis star Li Na gave birth to a baby girl early on Wednesday morning.
Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, once nicknamed "the magician" by Pete Sampras for his habit of mystifying bigger, stronger opponents, could perform one final, record-breaking trick before his remarkable career ends.
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.
Johanna Konta's exhilarating run at the Australian Open was finally halted by Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals on Thursday, but the Briton leaves Melbourne Park 'hungry' for more Grand Slam success.
Novak Djokovic will need to spend some time on the sidelines recovering from a muscle tear that hindered him in the later rounds of the Australian Open, the Serbian said as he celebrated his ninth Melbourne Park title on Monday.
Novak Djokovic belted out Serbian folk songs in an all-in party after clinching the Australian Open, but shrugged off a poor night's sleep to focus on more glory on the clay-courts of Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray in straight sets to win the men's singles title at the Australian Open on Sunday. The Serb, seeded third, needed 159 minutes to overcome his fifth-seeded opponent 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in a one-sided contest at Melbourne Park.
The Australian Open trophy continued to elude Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as the re-united 'Indian Express' could not stop Mike and Bob Bryan from scoring a hat-trick of titles at the Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will put friendship aside when they meet in Sunday's Australian Open final to decide who fills the power vacuum left by the early exits of Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer.
Rafael Nadal and Kim Clijsters swept into the Australian Open third round on Thursday as Serbia's Jelena Jankovic became the first top-10 player to exit the tournament. After three days of scares but no upsets at Melbourne Park, former world number one Jankovic, the seventh seed, was dumped out 7-6, 6-3 by Chinese upstart Peng Shuai.
Images from the Australian Open matches played on Thursday.
Caroline Wozniacki and Justine Henin barely broke sweat as they swept into the third round of the Australian Open in the first hour's play on another cool morning at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
A rampaging Rafael Nadal roared through the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday when Brazil's Marcos Daniel retired with the world number one on a tear at 6-0, 5-0.
World number one Rafael Nadal has been laid low by flu this week but Andre Agassi is confident the illness will not scupper the Spaniard's chances of winning the Australian Open later this month.
World number four Andy Murray admits he still needs to improve his serve if he is to break his grand slam duck at the Australian Open later this month.
China's hopes of a first grand slam finalist were crushed by two of the greats of the women's game on Thursday but Li Na and Zheng Jie's brilliant Australian Open run marked another step in the country's inevitable rise.
India's Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj crashed out of the Australian Open with a disappointing 6-1, 6-3 loss to Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Australian Paul Hanley at Melbourne Park on Friday.
Maria Sharapova's eagerly-awaited return to the Australian Open ended swiftly on Monday when she was sensationally knocked out of the first grand slam of 2010 just hours after it began.
Rafael Nadal thrashed Frenchman Florent Serra, while Justine Henin beat Russia's Olga Poutchkova in the second round of the Australian Open.
Osaka will play Jennifer Brady for the title.
Victoria Azarenka remained on course for a third straight Australian Open title with a thumping 6-1, 6-0 victory over Yvonne Meusburger in exactly an hour on Saturday.
A man has been arrested and charged at the Australian Open for 'courtsiding', a form of gambling that involves placing bets on point outcomes during a match from the side of the court, police said on Wednesday.
Holger Rune rallied from a set down and saved a match point to defeat former champion Taylor Fritz 2-6 7-6(2) 6-3 on Wednesday and reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals where he will meet fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.
World No 1 and top seed Serena Williams was knocked out of the Australian Open by Serbian Ana Ivanovic on Sunday.
Mhieslhouto (left) of Nagaland and Khamgailung of Manipur, among the ball kids selected for the Australian Open '09, at a function in New Delhi on Monday.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in a triumphant return two weeks after appendicitis surgery as Red Bull's World champion Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement in two years.
Melbourne may not continue to host the Australian Grand Prix after the current contract runs out in 2014, the Premier of the state of Victoria John Brumby said on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal easily avoided the embarrassment of a back-to-back first round exits at the Australian Open on Tuesday, ramping up his serve and rattling off 39 winners to beat Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.
Images from the matches played on Day 8 at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday
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 Austrian spent four days in bed with a virus after pulling out of a tournament in Doha last week.
His 11th Grand Slam title has only whetted Leander Paes' appetite for success and the Indian ace on Sunday said he remains a "student of tennis" who draws inspiration from Roger Federer and strives for perfection.
