The Serb was knocked off top spot by Rafael Nadal on Monday despite winning the Paris Masters last week and will need a strong finish alongside the River Thames to snatch it back.
Andy Murray ran and ran until the skin on his feet came off and still it was not quite enough. The Briton's hopes of winning his second successive Grand Slam title were ended by the resilience and defensive brilliance of world number one Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
Novak Djokovic became the first man to win three successive Australian Open titles in the professional era when he beat third seed Andy Murray 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a battle of attrition on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic became the first man to win three successive Australian Open titles in the professional era after following his victory over Britain's Andy Murray in the men's singles final in Melbourne, on Sunday.
A summary of Sunday's action in Serie A and Bundesliga.
Serbia's World No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic has been named Balkan Athlete of the Year, the Bulgarian state news agency (BTA) said on Tuesday.
The Serb, who turned 30 last month, will drop outside the top two for the first time since march 2011 on Monday -- quite a contrast to a year ago when his domination of men's tennis was complete after winning the French Open for the first time.
Djokovic may never feel the affections of the crowd savoured by Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal but his record of 16 Grand Slam titles is proof that tennis is no popularity contest.
Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz continued his brilliant run at the Paris Masters on Friday while fourth seed David Ferrer knocked out local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
With his hopes of a French Open final fading, Novak Djokovic even requested to have the Chatrier Court surfaced hosed down as he withered in the face of a Rafa Nadal firestorm on Friday.
'It will take time for him to get his intensity back'
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic suffered an injury scare at the Hopman Cup on Monday when the world No1 hurt his leg as fans pushed towards him while he signed autographs.
The two great rivals meet at Roland Garros for the first time in eight years in Friday's tie.
Tournament officials said there was no heat rule in effect on Friday for the first time in three days, with cloud cover expected to bring cooler temperatures.
Serena Williams' tactic of staying in her hotel room and being "boring" appears to be paying off after the world number one and top seed swept past Sara Errani into the final of the Madrid Open on Saturday.
Benfica will rely on little-known duo Nemanja Matic and Enzo Perez, who have played only a handful of games since signing in 2011, to lead the Portuguese league leaders against the vast talents of Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won their matches for their respective countries on Day 4 of the ATP Cup on Monday.
Novak Djokovic's hopes of a calendar year Grand Slam are hanging by a thread as he slipped two sets down to big-serving American Sam Querrey before rain stopped their Wimbledon third- round clash in London, on Friday.
Second seed Sahil Deshmukh crashed out of the boys' under-18 singles in the CCI-ITF junior boys and girls' tennis championship, losing his opening round match to Indian compatriot Vidit Vaghela in straight sets, in Mumbai, on Monday. Deshmukh, ranked 290 in the world among juniors, was no match for Vaghela as he lost 2-6, 5-7 at the Cricket Club of India's courts.
Images from the US Open mathches played at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday.
A tired sounding Novak Djokovic says he will need to draw on all his mental and physical strength if he is to crown another stellar season with the ATP World Tour Finals title.
Physically extraordinary Djokovic is battle ready, asserts coach Agassi
Top three seeds Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray moved into the third round of the Cincinnati Open with relatively comfortable straight set victories on Wednesday.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic and Russian Maria Sharapova shook off windy conditions to move into the fourth round of the Sony Open at Miami on Sunday.
New AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic is known for his hot temper and iron will and fans will hope those traits inspire rather than alienate his players as he bids to turn around the fortunes of Italy's fallen giants.
Rafael Nadal rallied from a set down to ease past Fabio Fognini 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the Italian Open quarter-finals on Friday and set up a mouth-watering clash against long-time adversary Novak Djokovic for a place in Sunday's final. Djokovic plotted a similar path to the Spanish clay-court king when the Serb lost the first set against Japan's Kei Nishikori before recovering to win 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 and seal an open-era record 51st career meeting against Nadal.
Ana Ivanovic recovered from her opening loss to race to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over an out-of-sorts Eugenie Bouchard on Wednesday, putting the world number seven back into the mix for a WTA Finals last-four berth.
Novak Djokovic claimed his sixth Australian Open title on Sunday as the 28-year-old continues to dominate men's tennis. Here are some of the key statistics for the all-conquering Serb.
Top seed Serb Novak Djokovic brushed aside German Florian Mayer on Saturday to set up a final clash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the China Open.
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic will be fit for the start of the new Premier League season, manager Alex Ferguson said on Tuesday.
Novak Djokovic refused to be downhearted after his Wimbledon title defence ended in semi-final defeat by an inspired Roger Federer on Centre Court on Friday.
Former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic insisted she still had the game to challenge for grand slam titles after booking a spot in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open on Monday.
Nick Kyrgios ended Novak Djokovic's 19-match winning run at Indian Wells by beating the Serb 6-4, 7-6(3) to reach the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals in Indian Wells on Wednesday, while Roger Federer also advanced with a straight sets win over Rafael Nadal.
World No 2 Andy Murray beat World No 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to win the 2013 Wimbledon Championship.
Novak Djokovic survived a scare at the French Open to beat unseeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman in five sets.
Novak Djokovic completed a weather-interrupted 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer on Sunday to return to the men's final at Flushing Meadows in his pursuit of a repeat US Open title.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, two players who have tasted the wrath of the New York crowd, begin their title campaigns with first-round matches at the US Open on Tuesday.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic and defending champion Andy Murray produced contrasting performances to secure their berths in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters on Thursday.
World number two Novak Djokovic has a shot at revenge against Juan Martin del Potro, who ended the Serb's medal hopes at the London Olympics, when the two clash in the Cincinnati Open semi-finals on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic confirmed he will be coached by Andre Agassi at the French Open after being humbled by German youngster Alexander Zverev in the final of the Italian Open on Sunday.
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