After two years of injury frustration and bouts of depression, Victoria Azarenka is hoping a little bit of motorcycle riding and some street art will change people's perceptions and help her to a third Australian Open title. The 26-year-old Belarusian is one of the favourites for the year's opening grand slam that starts on Monday after proving her fitness following a nagging foot injury that has restricted her appearances over the past two years. Now injury free and fresh off her first title since August 2013 at the Brisbane International last week, she is looking forward to the courts she made her own in 2012 and 2013.
Former US Open champion Del Potro fired down 11 aces and did not face a break point during the one hour, 33 minutes match.
Victoria Azarenka defeated Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-1, 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with Jelena Jankovic.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova eased past defending champion Peng Shuai 6-3, 6-1 at the Tianjin Open on Saturday to reach her first WTA final in almost two and a half years.
Victoria Azarenka withstood some early pressure from Britain's Johanna Konta to continue her quest for a third Miami Open title with a 6-4, 6-2 quarter-final victory on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic overcame a battling Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach his sixth Cincinnati Masters final on Saturday while Roger Federer enjoyed a less-taxing route to the title match after his semi-final opponent David Goffin retired with a shoulder injury.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Naomi Osaka eased into the second round of the Italian Open on Monday with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over former world number one Victoria Azarenka, on a day in which local favourite Roberta Vinci called time on her career.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
When Meenakshi Arvind and Mookambika Rathinam took an epic car journey from Coimbatore to London, they encountered a world that was more good than bad. In the cry for freedom in a dark corner of the globe, they discovered that The Mahatma remained India's greatest icon.
Still undecided about the events they will be competing in at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Indian athletics trio of OP Jaisha, Lalita Babar and Sudha Singh will take a final call after the Mumbai Marathon slated for January 17.
The Scot lost 6-4, 6-4 to Richard Gasquet in his first singles match since January before saying he had turned down a wild card into the men's draw at the year's final Grand Slam.
The 28-year-old Belarusian returned to action in June, after the birth of her son Leo last December, and had been hopeful that legal arrangements could be worked out to allow her to compete in the August 28-September 10 grand slam in New York.
Wozniacki battles past Kerber into Eastbourne final
Second seed Sloane Stephens was shocked 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 by Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the second round of the Citi Open on Wednesday, disrupting the American's buildup to her US Open title defence.
Russian sixth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova claimed her third title of the year by beating seventh-seeded Australian Daria Gavrilova in the final of the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Sunday.
As Serena Williams sits out a fourth straight Grand Slam, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova will join Caroline Wozniacki in a quest for a major breakthrough in Australia.
Naomi Osaka continued her stunning run of form with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, the latest big win for the 20-year-old Japanese player.
'If grunting would win titles then everybody in the world would be grunting as loud as they can be.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
'Yeah, I'm a little sad. I don't know. I'm going to have my Stevie G jerseys hanging somewhere'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Two time Miami Open winner Victoria Azarenka crushed Serbia's Jelena Jankovic.
IMAGES from the PNB Paribas Open played at Indian Wells in California on Monday
Victoria Azarenka cannot wait to renew her rivalry with close friend Serena Williams in what could shape up to become a future battle of the tennis mums.
Rohan Bopanna and Daniel Nestor went through several anxious moments before making it to the second round, even as Mahesh Bhupathi and Jurgen Melzer failed to, in the men's doubles at the Australian Open, in Melbourne, on Thursday.
Former world number one Garbine Muguruza was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Aryna Sabalenka in the China Open second round on Tuesday while an ailing Jelena Ostapenko lost 6-0, 6-0 to Wang Qiang.
The controversy stoked by marathon runner O P Jaisha took an interesting turn with Indian athletics contingent's middle and long distance coach Nikolai Snesarev, on Thursday, asserting that she herself had said no when asked by him if she would need personalised refreshment during the race in the Rio Olympics.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Caroline Wozniacki said she felt 'cursed' at Melbourne Park after losing in straight sets to a resurgent Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open second round on Thursday.
Seven-time Italian Open winner Rafael Nadal lost 7-6(7), 6-2 to Stanislas Wawrinka.
Milos Raonic overcame third seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Tuesday and set up an all-Canadian clash with teenager Denis Shapovalov.
IMAGES from Day 7 at Wimbledon on Monday
Two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka crashed out of the French Open in the first round losing 5-7, 5-7 to Katerina Siniakova on Monday, playing only her fifth tournament of the year after a legal battle over the custody of her son.
Ailing knees, Father Time and even a resurgent Victoria Azarenka stand in the way of Serena Williams clinching her seventh Australian Open title and giving her one more shot at an achievement that would cap her storied career.
'They insist to compete in national cross country just a week ahead of the much important Mumbai Marathon where top runners will compete. Imagine, if your boss tells you each week, several times a day 'I stop your salary, I stop your salary', how you would feel...'
The seventh-seeded Bulgarian advanced to his eighth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Del Potro, who struggled with the intense heat in the closing stages of the one hour, 39 minute match.
Hot favourite Caster Semenya qualified for the women's 800metres semi-finals at the Rio Olympics with supreme ease on Wednesday and will no doubt be braced for another wave of discussions about her gender should she go on to take the gold medal on Saturday.
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