A summary of Wednesday's action at the US Open on Day 3.
So while Halep went about dominating Serena, here are some famous people who got a ringside view of the action
With no standout favourite in the women's field, it could provide an ideal stage for American Serena Williams to finally end her quest for an elusive 24th Grand Slam title.
Martina Navratilova is awaiting a response from Australian Open organisers after leading calls for the Margaret Court arena to be renamed after the former champion said tennis was "full of lesbians".
Images from Day 7 of the 2022 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
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Serena, a six-times champion in New York who is seeded 17th, will start her campaign against Polish world number 60 Magda Linette and could face Venus in the third round before a possible fourth-round showdown with Romanian top seed Halep.
Murray has struggled to regain form since undergoing hip surgery last January, and was quickly dismantled by the six-time Australian Open champion at Margaret Court Arena before the players called time on their match after less than an hour.
Serena Williams has not won a set in any of the four Grand Slam finals she has reached since returning from maternity leave in September 2017.
Romania's Italian Open winner Simona Halep, Spain's Garbine Muguruza and US Open semi-final foe Victoria Azarenka of Belarus present a major challenge for Serena Williams at the upcoming French Open.
The 36-year-old has been practising hard on the grass and few would bet against her becoming the first mother to win the title since Evonne Cawley 38 years ago.
Here are eight women to watch during the US Open which starts on Monday.
Ons Jabeur hopes her success at the Australian Open will inspire other players from her region after the Tunisian became the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final on Sunday. The 25-year-old dazzled the crowd at Margaret Court Arena with her variety and power, striking 29 winners to defeat China's Wang Qiang 7-6(4), 6-1 in the 77-minute contest.
Williams, who has been outspoken in pushing for gender and racial equality, was asked in her post-match media conference whether she should focus more on her tennis than on social issues and being a celebrity.
How Nadal surpassed the haul of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Players in the men's draw at the Australian Open will be allowed 10-minute breaks during matches as part of an updated extreme heat policy at the year's first Grand Slam.
Aussie Millman loves the support that he gets in Melbourne.
American Serena Williams dropped a large hint that she could soon be back on court competing when she posted an Instagram photo of a pair of dazzling gold and white tennis shoes.
Frenchman Mouratoglou said Williams had been able to recharge during the break and that her appetite for titles had not waned.
Daniil Medvedev fired Russia into the final of the ATP Cup on Saturday with a tense 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over an injury-hampered Alexander Zverev after the German destroyed a racket in frustration over a lost service break.
Steffi Graf acknowledged Serena Williams had achieved her success in the more competitive Open era and said she would eventually finish her career as the game's greatest player.
Australian great Margaret Court won 24 grand slam singles titles, one ahead of American Williams, who confirmed she was pregnant on Wednesday and will sit out the rest of the season.
American Frances Tiafoe celebrated his 21st birthday by stunning Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 7-5 in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Serena confirmed her entry to the tournament she won for a seventh time on her last appearance in 2017.
Serena Williams was the highest paid female athlete for a third consecutive year in 2018, according to an annual list published by Forbes on Tuesday that was dominated by tennis players.
Images from Monday's action at the Australian Open.
Take a walk around the Grand Slam Oval at Melbourne Park and it is easy to see why Australia has such high expectations of tennis success.
Former world number one Venus Williams produced a vintage display to outclass Netherlands' Arantxa Rus in straight sets and storm into the second round of the Yarra Valley Classic.
Whack. Whack, whack, whack. Whack. Whack. Four broken racquets, $1,250 worth of fines and more than 200,000 hits on video sharing website YouTube was all it needed for Marcos Baghdatis to enter Australian Open folklore.
Garbine Muguruza claimed a 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-5 win over Johanna Konta
Bianca Andreescu, 19, the first Canadian to win a major in the professional era, prevented Serena Williams from equalling Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Serena Williams, who had come into the first Grand Slam since in Auckland claiming her first title since becoming a mother, suffered an error-strewn 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 defeat by China's Wang Qiang in the third round at the Australian Open on Friday.
Osaka threw her racket, slammed a ball into the court and gave her racket a kick for good measure before steadying the ship
Serena Williams can 'absolutely' surpass Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles if the American returns to tennis after giving birth earlier this year, former world No 1 Steffi Graf said on Sunday.
Images from day three of the Australian Open 2012 tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Wednesday.
Simona Halep has been in red-hot form and the absence of top-ranked Australian Ash Barty, who won her maiden Grand Slam in Paris last year, and US Open champion Naomi Osaka, will boost her chances further.
IMAGES from Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Friday
Star Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri suffered a major setback in the Australian Open after a straight-set defeat at the hands of the sixth-seed Tomas Berdych in the opening round of the tournament on Monday.
Wimbledon was scrapped for the first time since World War Two on Wednesday due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the suspension of professional tennis extended to July 13. The 38-year-old Federer is well insulated from the shutdown's financial fallout it could well impact his hopes of adding to his record haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.
Images from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club in London on Sunday.
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