The absence of expectant mother Serena Williams and a failure by any of the other top women to produce the kind of dominance the American seven-times champion has consistently delivered makes this year's Wimbledon the most open in years.
The Swiss snapped a five-year barren run at the slams by bagging the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this year and, in the absence of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, is the favourite at Flushing Meadows with an equally resurgent Rafael Nadal.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Here is a Factbox on Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who beat American Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 to win her first Wimbledon singles title on Saturday:
Tennis sensation Serena Williams flaunted her toned figure while on a holiday in Miami to celebrate her French Open win.
Novak Djokovic claimed a fourth Wimbledon title in ruthless fashion as he beat giant South African Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the final.
Roger Federer clinched a record-extending 10th Swiss Indoors championship title in his hometown of Basel with a crushing 6-2, 6-2 victory over Australia's Alex de Minaur on Sunday.
Roger Ferdrer came up with a solid all-round display to beat world No 1 Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-3 in the final and win the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.
Sticking to a limited schedule has helped Roger Federer enjoy a renaissance late in his career but the Swiss says rest time is now over and he is looking forward to returning to action at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.
Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna made it to the second round of the Miami Masters after getting the better of Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Briton Jamie Murray in Miami.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic showed signs of rediscovering his form with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory over Dusan Lajovic in the opening round of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Serena Williams has won 21 Grand Slam titles but failed to finish 5km run in Miami, Florida.
hampion Rafael Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic turned in impressive displays to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday. Nadal, chasing a record-extending 12th Monte Carlo title, broke Grigor Dimitrov's serve on four occasions to defeat the Bulgarian 6-4 6-1.
What makes winning in Indian Wells and Miami difficult is the fact that the two tournaments are held back-to-back, over four weeks, and in completely different directions. No wonder they are sometimes labeled as the 'Fifth Major'.
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The 32-year-old, who has not played since retiring injured in the US Open semi-finals, cited an abdominal injury.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Federer had skipped the clay court season the past two years since last competing in Rome in May 2016 but confirmed his participation for the tournament in Madrid earlier this year.
Novak Djokovic has parted company with coach Radek Stepanek days after the departure of head coach Andre Agassi from his team, the former world number one announced on Wednesday.
The big-serving seventh seed, who has flown somewhat under the radar throughout the Championships, will meet the winner of the second semi-final between Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Canadia's Denis Shapovalov in Sunday's final.
Fourth seed Angelique Kerber's bid for consecutive Grand Slam titles ended when 29th seed Dominika Cibulkova defeated the German 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the US Open third round on Saturday.
Serena Williams became just the fourth player ever to win a particular tournament at least seven times when she triumphed in the Sony Open last week. Here's a look at three players who preceded the American to the feat.
The breakdown in communication between national selectors, led by chairman Chetan Sharma, and the team management comprising skipper Virat Kohli over Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran's contentious selection, is not the first such instance in Indian cricket.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique blamed the club's pre-season trips to the United States and Japan for their shaky start to the season.
It is not the first time Tomic has been in trouble for not trying.
Rafael Nadal won a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final on Sunday.
The sixth seeded Indo-Czech pair failed in their bid to won back-to-back Masters titles, in Miami on Saturday.
Rohit Gawli, who co-founded The Lokal Kitchen in the lockdown, shares some interesting career lessons.
Serena Williams and friend Caroline Wozniacki arranged a get-together in the US Open women's final, winning their Friday semi-finals in contrasting fashion on a stifling hot, humid day at Flushing Meadows.
Roger Federer may have lost the tag of world number one but he is still a formidable opponent, several top players said on Monday.
De Bruyne out for up to six weeks due to injury, says Guardiola.
Serena Williams crushed Romanian qualifier Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 to book her place in the Italian Open final and extend her winning streak to 23 matches on Saturday.
Defending champion Serena Williams battled to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over world number four Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the Sony Ericsson Open final on Thursday. The American, who had to cope with back trouble along with the hot and humid conditions, is bidding to equal Steffi Graf's record of five title successes in the tournament.
out-of-sorts Roger Federer smashed his racket in frustration as he fell to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 defeat to Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Friday. Federer, who made 47 unforced errors, did not look like the man who dominated the sport for so long.
Serena Williams and Marin Cilic both survived third round scares on Friday to keep their US Open title defences on track but there was no escape for Rafael Nadal with the twice-winner going down in a late night thriller.
The 19-year-old's triumph, which came in her US Open main draw debut and against the undisputed queen of the sport, was the latest step in a meteoric rise for Andreescu and it dominated front pages across the country.
From Ana Ivanovic riding a dolphin to Roger Federer enjoying the company of Mickey Mouse to Real Madrid's Karim Benzema doing what looks like a Bollywood dance step, Rediff.com has it all snapped right here...
Around 1,20,000 Indian-Americans reside across Florida.
According to The New York Times, this move means that many highly vulnerable people will begin receiving the vaccine within days. It further called the authorisation by the FDA as a 'historic turning point' as the US death toll from the Wuhan-originated virus nears 300,000.
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